Posted on 10/22/2021 3:51:25 AM PDT by MtnClimber
Why have Washington and Oregon reduced penalties for non-medical possession of Schedule I-IV drugs while ramping up restrictions on opiate prescriptions for law-abiding pain patients?
America's drug regulations rest on long-familiar, syllogism-like tendrils. Drugs are dangerous. Users can harm others. Laws target those who hurt people. Even if the drug war can't be won, punishing users who get caught creates deterrence. Ending prohibition is tantamount to full approval of nonstop drug-fueled debauchery. Nobody who abstains from entertainment or performance enhancement involving illicit chemicals should be concerned about drug policy. Prohibition only targets antisocial troublemakers who deserve what they get.
If you had to name downsides of the drug war, what comes to mind? Perhaps you'd list unending government spending, illicit profits enriching criminals, narrowing constitutional protections, civil asset forfeiture, or overcrowded jails. Would you list being one accident or illness away from severe, chronic pain that could be treated but is not?
Oregon Ballot Measure 110, passed by voters in 2020 and enacted February 1, 2021, dropped Schedule I-IV drug violations from felonies to E misdemeanors, a $100 fine, and no jail. Oregon's latest retreat from drug war orthodoxy follows legalization of recreational marijuana and medical marijuana, which has not attracted federal retaliation.
Oregon has reduced punishment for non-medical possession to parking-ticket levels. But Oregon's increasing restrictions on prescription opioids has gone in the direction much of the country has moved in recent years, following the CDC's lead.
Although the CDC pain guidelines and the OMB website both acknowledge that not all pain is controlled with 90 MME (morphine milligram equivalents), the all-appointee Oregon Medical Board informed pain management doctors that all patients' dosage must conform to the 2016 CDC Guidelines level of 90 MME by the end of 2021.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
The up is down and wrong is right crowd is forcing their vision on society. It will spread to other states when the sociopaths see how much fun the Oregon/Washington sociopaths are having.
But the Feds have made it more and more difficult for me to get over the last 2-3 years, and for what? Nobody gets high on Tramadol. At most it's a soporific, (with the unhappy side effect of continual constipation).
All so they can say they're "making war on drugs".
They're actually making war on elderly people who need medical support for chronic pain.
/rant off
“All so they can say they’re “making war on drugs”.”
All they do with the war on drugs is increase the usage of dangerous illegal drug’s. I’ve been counseling Vet’s with addiction problems for many years. I have a dim view of the VA and the way they handle these Vet’s but it is what it is. They get them in the system with various injuries, get them addicted to opiates and then cut them off. Many turn to heroin wile others turn to black market opiates and the numbers just seem to constantly increase. Mt wife is a nurse and works at the local VA in the DOM which is a rehab facility. The manner in which that facility is administratively run is an embarrassment, they do more damage that good.
For every success story, there are 10 failures. West Virginia is a prime example. Pain clinics opened everywhere selling Oxy to whoever wanted it. They even came into Virginia. I was in a ministry with a woman (doctor) who went to prison for it.
Our church got involved with helping people with Oxy problems and had to back out due to crime.
Tramadol? That was the last pain killer I was prescribed. Unlike Lortab and others I had taken before due to major surgeries, with Tramadol I didn’t feel pain, high, out of it, or ill. I just felt normal. And when the Tramadol prescription ran out, I didn’t feel the need for any refills. If I have another major surgery ever, I want that.
I'm very sorry that you are in such severe back pain that you need to rely upon something to take the edge off. I truly sympathize.
Let me tell you a little story about my ex-wife. She, too, had some pretty bad back pain. Multiple surgeries at the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar levels. While the surgeries definitely provided relief, she was still in a serious amount of pain. To help with that, the docs prescribed her with pain killers. They started with Tylenol 3's (Tylenol with codeine) and ended up after about 15 years or so with Opana (oxymorphone extended release) and Dilaudid (hydromorphone) to deal with breakthrough pain. That seemed to work.
For those who aren't familiar, Opana is one step in strength below Fentanyl and about 4 steps in strength above Percodan (a/k/a Oxycontin a/k/a "Hillbilly Heroin"). It's some serious stuff.
As I'm sure you can imagine, pharmacies didn't like keeping any more of that in stock than absolutely necessary. When working with the "chain" pharmacies (e.g., CVS), it was strictly hit-or-miss, they wouldn't bother saying when they'd get it in, and wouldn't even help us find another store of the same chain so we could go find it. We finally found a local pharmacy that would work with us and, at worst, get it in quickly if they didn't have it in stock.
Shortly after entering office, the FDA under the Trump Administration, "requested" that Opana be pulled from use due to its high likelihood of abuse. So the doc had no choice but to move her down to morphine ER. The doc warned her about potential withdrawal symptoms.
Not all that long afterwards, there was a shortage all across our area of morphine ER. Not just our local pharmacy but all the chains. They weren't able to fill her prescription for a whole week. And she went through withdrawals (the cold sweats, the shivers, the shakes, the massive headaches, and so on). By the time it WAS made available, she had already basically physically detoxed and vowed never to take another prescription painkiller again. She told me that she really didn't understand HOW addicted she had gotten to them.
As for the pain, it was pretty bad initially but started getting less and less as time went on. From talking with a few doctors about this, I understood that minor pain that most people could take care of with a Tylenol would require something far stronger for her because of how her nervous system adapted. After she got off of the opiates, her body basically went back to normal pain response after about 6 months. To my knowledge, she hasn't taken anything stronger than a Tylenol since that time.
Please note that I say ex-wife because after she got off the meds, she started to gain independence and essentially wanted to go do her own thing. And use half my retirement savings to do that. (I don't begrudge her that and wish her very well in her independence. I hope she's having a great time on the tropical island where she's currently residing)
While I 100% empathize with your situation (while I wasn't the one on the meds, I was the one who usually had to deal with actually picking up the scripts), I have a distinctly different viewpoint on it being a pain in the rear. My view is that there are far too many doctors who would gladly write scripts when demanded...even if it's the wrong thing to do. If the bureaucratic regulations didn't exist, there'd be a lot more people in this country who would be hooked and never get off.
Every one of Xiden’s policies is designed to hurt hard working, law abiding Americans.
Mark,
Thanks for sharing that with us. You make your point in a VERY eloquent way.
Around two months ago I came down with sciatica, something I have dealt with twice in the past and both times was able to work out on my own with NSAIDS and stretching -- mostly Piriformis in those cases. But not this time around -- the pain was considerably greater and what I did before this time just wasn't working; I suspected foraminal stenosis. So after two weeks I finally called the VA, and it took two weeks just to be "seen" via a "telephone consult". While those Covid-safe methods might work for some things, other times the doctor has to actually see the patient, this being one.
In any case, the first thing they wanted was an MRI of my lumbar spine, the dermatomes affected indicated T4, T5 & S1. FIVE WEEK WAIT for that. Bear in mind that, by this time, I have already been a functional cripple for a month already; the pain at times was actually debilitating -- couldn't do my job, could not find any position where I was not in pain. Sleep deprivation was also severe and had me in a fog.
So, ok, I get to wait more than a month to get a picture taken. I asked for pain meds so that I could function in the meantime, and all they would do is recommend NSAIDS, which had zero effect, then they threw methocarbamol and gabapentin bottles at me after that. No effect from those, either.
I don't like opioids -- but when you're in so much constant pain with no respite, you will do anything for relief. My wife had some hydrocodone left over from a knee replacement last year, and my daughter had some from getting her wisdom teeth pulled a couple months ago. One pill -- just 325mg -- took the edge off sufficiently to where I was at least functional again. No mental effects noted. I candidly told this to my doctor, but even then would the VA prescribe this? Not a chance. By the way, I was a USN HM2 in an earlier life, so I do have some knowledge on these matters, but that counted for zero in this case. So the VA and its doctors, who are just following CDC guidelines no matter what suffering they cause, know what they need to do and simply don't do it.
It's only too ironic that 20 years ago these docs were tossing these pills out the window like candy at a parade, and a number of people did abuse them. So what do the 'authorities' do? What they always do -- let the criminals determine what rights are allowed the rest of us who do play by the rules.
After two months now, my condition is slowly improving through my own efforts -- stretches, heat, inversion table, acupuncture. I finally got the MRI done by a local imaging center; I was seen in two days and it cost $250 (so much for the VA's complaint of how expensive it was). The result? At L4-L5, I exhibit "severe foraminal stenosis and compression of the L5 nerve root, accompanied by left posterolateral disc protrusion".
I supplied these test results to my VA doctor, and while they were very quick to cancel my MRI appointment in November, it's been three days now and I have not heard back yet as to what course of action they want to follow.
At this point, I am approaching this whole thing as if I am completely on my own. Which evidence to date indicates I most certainly am.
That is a horrifying story. The VA certainly has problems. It will be the same or worse if the left gets Single Payer. Look at what the UK system has become.
but you're right....you are on your own....sounds like you are doing all the right things.....
I think our future as humans is going to be self healing....thru vitamins, herbs, exercise, etc....maybe some of us will get good at it, who knows...
I think I got that wrong. I've had so many things thrown at me in the vain hope they'd stick, they are a bit blurred together. They were white oval tablets about 1/2" long, with some inset numbers on them. The bottle has long since been discarded.
It makes you compliant.
Thanks.
Again, let me stress that I am NOT saying the opiate meds shouldn't be available. What I am saying is that there need to be speed bumps to discourage doctors from being pill pushers any more than they already are.
I think it is a messed-up system when doctors receive benefit (even intangible benefit) for getting people hooked on meds...be it the latest synthetic opiate, the latest anti-psychotic, the latest whatever...in most lines of work, we'd call that a conflict of interest that could result in a proprietor being taken to court.
But if a med is necessary, it's necessary.
Having said that, after seeing what my ex- went through, I am adamantly opposed to meds for myself unless absolutely necessary (particularly long-term meds). A couple of examples: when I turned 50, I got the full physical workup. Doc wanted to put me on BP meds, because, at the time, my BP was slightly elevated (10 years ago, so I don't remember exactly how much...but it was just a little over). Never discussed ideas like controlling stress, changing diet up a little bit, exercise, losing weight, etc. Just hands me the script. I didn't accept it, but instead made the needed lifestyle changes without her assistance and my BP magically dropped down to right where it should be. Just yesterday I measured it at 123/76. Bloody quack pill pusher.
A couple of months ago, I took a dive while doing some trail biking (bicycle, not motorbike). Sprained what seemed like almost every finger on both hands from the landing (it wasn't that bad, but seemed like it at the time). Hurt like h***. Didn't even bother to go to the doc...just ice packs and strong (STRONG) ginger tea to act as an anti-inflammatory (along with some Thai massage on the hands after a few days to start getting the mobility back). Better in a week and completely recovered a week after that.
Bottom line: though I understand the need for meds, I am bitterly opposed to them for my personal use unless there is ZERO other choice. I don't try to impose my views on anybody else...if you need them, take them. Not trying to make anybody as radical as I am on the subject. But in the case of opiates...there need to be roadblocks because it is FAR too easy for docs to hand them out and make their patients feel good, even if that's not the appropriate course for long-term health.
My statements regarding hydrocodone over other medications were focused on the fact that nothing, and I mean nothing else, worked. These were to be a temporary measure only -- just as a crutch is used when you're healing up from twisted ankle. You use it as little as you can and as soon as you can abandon it, you do. Same with pain-killers.
As far as it being far too easy to get opioids, that may have been true in the past, but today -- forget it. As I mentioned, doctors used to be far too liberal with dispensing these, and so today, in typical knee-jerk bureaucratic fashion, medicine has swung violently to the other extreme, where people who are rendered insensate by pain can't get them, such as in my case. There has to be a balance, but these cold-blooded, leviathan institutions don't care about that -- their fear of bad press and lawsuits overrides all other considerations, humanitarian or otherwise.
I also have to point out that when the very people who make up these regulations, as well as those who obey them, rarely have any trouble getting these medicines for themselves should the need arise. No surprise there -- once again, we see how those who make and enforce the rules are not subject to them as we commoners are. There's no honor or virtue there.
I've worked in two hospitals over the years and I'm currently working in a third.
I've known dozens of people suffering debilitating pain from cancer and other serious conditions who have been denied pain medication because their doctors are under orders to only allow a certain amount or face serious legal consequences. You can thank the ''drug warriors'' for this. I hate drug warriors with a passion.
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