[alstewartfan]

I work as a nurse, and I say AMEN. I do not take, nor have I ever taken opiates. But to put everyone in the same stew is just what moronic pols do, b/c most voters do not understand the issues of chronic pain. Only the minority in severe pain comprehend the stakes.

[GailA]

Well said. People misunderstand what the meaning of PAIN in the first place. And the ramafications of not treating it. Hypertension KILLS. And pain drives a patient who has a heart conditon even a minor one into state 2-3 Hypertension. This is the simpliest way to explain what PAIN is. As a Nurse you now what it is, the public at large does not.

Intractable pain, also known as Intractable Pain Disease or IP, is a severe, constant pain that is not curable by any known means and which causes a bed or house-bound state and early death if not adequately treated, usually with opioids and/or interventional procedures. Chronic pain is often defined as any pain lasting more than 12 weeks. Whereas acute pain is a normal sensation that alerts us to possible injury, wound, broken bone, labor does not last overly long.