Posted on 01/27/2006 10:48:17 AM PST by JTN
The same judicial system that prosecuted Richard Paey for obtaining too much pain medication is now supplying him in prison with more than that amount to ease his tremendous pain.
60 Minutes correspondent Morley Safer reports on this case, in which an accident victim's quest to medicate his pain ran afoul of drug laws, this Sunday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
A long-ago car accident and failed spinal operation put Paey in such severe pain that only escalating amounts of opiate medication could relieve it.
"As I got worse, I developed a tolerance also with the medication and so I needed larger doses," says Paey, who describes the pain as burning in his legs. "It's an intense pain that, over time, will literally drive you to suicide."
Paey, who also suffers from multiple sclerosis, did try to commit suicide at one point.
After moving to Florida with his wife and children, Paey says doctors there were wary of prescribing the amounts of pills he needed as that would draw the attention of law enforcement. So he persuaded his longtime New Jersey doctor to continue prescribing his medication in the high amounts necessary for relief. The doctor agreed to fax and mail prescriptions and sometimes verified them to pharmacists.
Paey's frequent refills did draw attention and, before arresting him for drug trafficking, the Drug Enforcement Agency visited his New Jersey physician, Dr. Stephen Nurkiewicz. When confronted by agents about the number of pills Paey had purchased — 18,000 in two years — Nurkiewicz rescinded initial statements of support for his former patient and said Paey was forging prescriptions.
"In Richard Paey's room ... were the raw materials to make prescriptions," Florida State Prosecutor Scott Andringa says. "They found a lot of documents that suggested forging prescriptions."
They also found 60 empty bottles of pain relievers, some of which surveillance teams had watched Paey purchase. Andringa says there was no evidence that Paey was selling his drugs, "but it is a reasonable inference from the facts that he was selling them, because no person can consume all these pills."
Paey, confined to a wheelchair, is now serving 25 years in a Florida prison. A jury convicted him of 15 counts of prescription forgery, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, and drug trafficking. He had the choice of entering a guilty plea in exchange for no jail time but, for him, that was no choice, says Paey.
"Had I accepted a plea bargain and carried that conviction on my record, I would have found it near impossible to get any medication," he says. "I didn't want to plead guilty to something that I didn't do."
Paey denies selling his medication, saying he took and needed all 18,000 pills. This scenario — 25 pills a day — is plausible, says Dr. Russell Portnoy, chairman of the Department of Pain Medicine at New York’s Beth Israel Hospital.
Once acclimated to a drug, patients can regularly take what would be lethal doses to ordinary people, Portnoy says.
"It really sounds like society used a mallet to try to handle a problem that required a much more subtle approach," says Portnoy. "If they had taken this man who had engaged in behaviors that were unacceptable and treated it as a medical issue, it seems like this patient would have had better pain control and a functional life instead of being in prison."
Andringa disagrees. "This case is not about pain patients, it's just not. This case is about prescription fraud. We were very reasonable in this case. But once somebody says, 'I'm not going to accept a plea offer however reasonable it is …' "
Paey gets all the medication he needs now, in larger doses than he was taking before, from the state through a pump connected directly to his spine. He is appealing his conviction.
Ping
A casualty of the "War On Drugs"
Was the trafficking charge due to selling? Seems debatable.
The DEA is making treatment of people with pain impossible unless you are terminal and in Hospice, and then it's okay. But short of that, not okay.
Paey gets all the medication he needs now, in larger doses than he was taking before, from the state through a pump connected directly to his spine. He is appealing his conviction.
That right there should be an automatic win for his appeal.In order to get the conviction the prosecutor had to lie to the jury saying he had to be selling the pills because no one could take all those and live and now that he is in prison hes getting more then he was taking on the street and he aint dead yet.He needs to be released from prison and the asshalf prosecutor needs to go to prison for perjury and practicing medicine without a license. These drug warriors are getting more inhumane and disgusting every day
Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here
According to the article in National Review:
State prosecutors concede there's no evidence Paey ever sold or gave his medication away. Nevertheless, under draconian drug-war statutes, these prosecutors could pursue distribution charges against him based solely on the amount of medication he possessed (the unauthorized possession of as few as 60 tablets of some pain medications can qualify a person as a "drug trafficker").
I wonder if this wheelchair bound menace to society is going to occupy a cell for 25 years that could be used for a rapist or murderer.
Florida Governor Jeb Bush
The Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
Fax:(904)488-9578
Tel:(904)488-4441 11/02
email: fl_governor@eog.state.fl.us
web: http://www.eog.state.fr.us
In case anyone wants to lobby for a pardon.
Sooner or later, all our families will face this outrage. The WOD is insane.
That right there should be an automatic win for his appeal.
In order to get the conviction the prosecutor had to lie to the jury saying he had to be selling the pills because no one could take all those and live and now that he is in prison hes getting more then he was taking on the street and he aint dead yet.
Your conclusion makes sense to me.
He needs to be released from prison and the asshalf prosecutor needs to go to prison for perjury and practicing medicine without a license.
These drug warriors are getting more inhumane and disgusting every day
And your solution makes even more sense.
You're not kidding. The War on Drugs is a greater threat to the American way of life than the drugs themselves. Unfortunately, it's a trough in which a whole lot of powerful people and institutions have their greedy snouts.
If you support the War On Drugs, I hope you find yourself in agonizing, lingering pain in a hospital bed someday, with doctors who refuse to medicate you because of the climate of fear that your own foolish devotion to statist ideology has produced. Suffer, you fascist b*****ds!
-ccm
*bad words* *more bad words* *foul language* *moral warrior nazi scum crusader bs bleep bleep bleep bleep*
God have mercy. Sounds as if this man is guilty until proven innocent.......
Isn't that an unconstitutional placement of the burden of proof? Don't the prosecutors have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he indeed sold the drugs? How can a statute create a presumption of guilt? I think there's a constitutional challenge in the making here.....if not a REVOLT!
I second that....
Before my Dad passed on, he lost a leg to diabetes. His leg literally died while it was still attached to him. My Dad was a strong man, but he was taking incredible amounts of oxycontin to control the pain until the amputation became inevitable. I'm thankful that he had a doctor that would adequately medicate him, and a local pharmacist who knew him and the family....therefore never questioned the amount of drugs, or the need for them. This poor man wasn't so lucky.
This is a travesty. Let's pile on Jeb Bush and get this man a pardon....and his "record" fully expunged.
This WOD is becomming more and more insane! That is right.
I am speechless and utterly blown away by this. I don't even have the energy to do my usual Anti WOD rant.
I am so relieved that we have rational, compassionate Freeprs on this issue. Maybe we need a WOD ping list!?
On the weekend before the root canal - I started hurting so-oooo bad I called my dentist at his home and had him prescribe something for me. He gave me a prescription for #10 lortabs. I had to munch down 3 or 4 in a few hours to get back sane. I hate to admit it but suicide did flash through my mind (briefly). I was thinking - what do people do that don't have access to effective pain relief?
I have a perpetual neck pain that really gets bad when the barometric pressure is dropping. Smoking marijuana has proved to be the most dependable pain relief of all. I won't go into the mechanics of it now, but I've had prescriptions for numerous medicines such as muscle relaxers and Viox. (Thank God that I didn't find any value in Viox.)
I wish Mr. Paey the best of success in being exonerated - and - I wish him even better success in dealing with his pain.
I plan to send a letter to the Florida governor on Mr. Paey's behalf.
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