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 When confronted by agents about the number of pills Paey had purchased — 18,000 in two years — Nurkiewicz rescinded initial statements of support for his former patient and said Paey was forging prescriptions.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.
Where are all the drug warriors to say that he got no less than his just desserts??????
I agree, the persecutor in this case should be in prison for life and in a JUST and free society, that is exactly where he'd be!
I've been thinking starting one. jmc813 had one back in the day. It was made up of people from both sides of the issue. Wolfie sorta keeps one now, but it's not really an "official" ping list.
Heh. I'm not sure whether "persecutor" is a typo or not, but in this case it fits.
No you don't! Don't you even think about that. Not while the hard working men and women of our criminal justice system are protecting the youth of America from the scourge of criminals like Richard Paey.
Nope, not a typo... just the fact of the matter!
Good points in your post!
I find some very hypocritical when they don't want euthanesia, yet will not push for ease of enough pain meds for people in pain. And that includes medical marijuana.
Let's at least start there.
Good points in your post!
I find some very hypocritical when they don't want euthanesia, yet will not push for ease of enough pain meds for people in pain. And that includes medical marijuana.
Let's at least start there.
I smoked pot for many years and NEVER found it to be an effective means of pain relief. At all.
In fact pot always made me more sensitive to pain or any other sensation for that matter (which is why I always liked pot for sex).
Percocet, vicodin and opiates are the ONLY meds that ever gave me pain relief.
Guilty until proven innocent is now the norm.
If you think this story is bad, don't look into what the ATFE insist is settled law.
You're kidding, right?
Nope.
You still have a lot of recovering to do. There are multiple ping lists for the vocal handful of people here who never use drugs themselves, but have made legalizing them the focal-point of their political philosophy.
I actually agreed with a post you made the other day.I'd like to hear your take on this to see if youve gone back to being insane yet :-D
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Let's be nice to Bob. He's my favorite person to debate the futility of the WOD against.
Mine too.He said something on a non drug thread the other day that I actually agreed with him on. I almost had a heart attack on the spot :-)
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What I think helps with my neck is that cannabis seems to improve blood flow and especially in the smaller blood vessels. (note that it reddens the eyes) Apparently in the case of my neck pain, improved blood flow and being in a mild euphoric relaxed muscle state - I'm able to do light yoga stretches and ease the pain in my neck and back.
or any other sensation for that matter (which is why I always liked pot for sex).
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As far as sex - I have to agree that cannabis makes sex a lot better and I attribute that also to two factors -
One - Cannabis use improves blood flow - which is what makes the penis erect and from what my wife tells me - has a helping effect on the female anatomy.
Two - The mild euphoric state of mind does serve to make sexual intercouse more enjoyable.
That he couldn't prove he was taking all those pills sounds very odd. Wouldn't they show up on things like drug tests on hairs? Or did the state manage to maneuver that evidence out of the court?
Wanna bet the disqualifier for jury service was "have you ever had a headache or worse."
Yea - I was on that thread and almost commented about that - but I thought he would think I was B.S.ing him.
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