ONLY this site

 
Vindicated Doctor [Heberle] Returns to Medicine - David Bruce; Erie Times-News; 2007-04-05 --  "The community spoke when the jury acquitted Dr. Heberle and he deserves a chance like any member of the community in the same situation who wants to return to his or her job," [Millcreek Community Hospital spokesman] Bellicini said. ... [Heberle] still thinks about his former chronic-pain patients. 'Nothing has changed for them, except that there are fewer doctors than ever who are willing to prescribe the drugs they need to manage their pain,' [he] said."

See also:
'The Doctor Wasn't Cruel Enough' - Szalavitz, 2006
No Convictions - but Dr. Fisher's Practice is in Ruins
Eric Snider, Weekly Planet, 2004-06-21 
Erie: Dr. Klees Incarcerated, Dr. Heberle Exonerated, Pain Patients Abandoned - WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS #10 
 
 
Blog entry about this article
 

 
Drugs-for-Sex-Case [Dr. Rottschaefer] Claims Reversal of Misfortune - Charlie Deitch; Pittsburgh City Paper; 2006-08-21 -- "U.S. Attorney [Mary Beth Buchanan] alleged during the Rottschaefer prosecution that the women were addicts and that the pills, which included OxyContin, were prescribed in exchange for sex, rather than for medicinal use. However, [Defense attorney] Stutsman’s brief claims that in their depositions, the women acknowledge having had medical ailments requiring treatment with painkillers."  

Stutsman Explains Basis of Second Motion See also: for a New Trial - Stutsman; TPPCD listServ; 2006-09-06
 
Brief: Dr. Rottschaefer's 2nd Motion for a New Trial (PDF)  - Ceraso et al.; 2006
Sex, Lies and OxyContin - Tierney; NY Times; 2006
 
The Outrageous Case of Dr. Rottschaefer - Radley Balko; The Agitator; 2005-08-30
 
The Sex-for-Drugs Trials of Dr. Rottschaefer - compiled by DeLuca; War on Pain Sufferers #14; 2006
 

 
U.S. Rx Painkiller Deaths Up - Miranda Hittite; reviewed by Louise Chang, M.D.; WebMD; 2006-07-24. Posted: 2006-09-14. -- "[Efforts] to reduce mortality from opioids must be [targeted] at those who cause the problem while not impeding... patient care. However, targeting interventions requires information about why prescription drugs are misused, how they are diverted, and who diverts them. This area continues to be ripe for a public health examination." - Joranson and Gilson, 2006 (see below)

Comment (DeLuca):
The WebMD article is fairly confused. It mainly reports on a terrible article by Paulozzi et al., which is soundly criticized in Commentaries by Fishman and Joranson & Gilson (see below). Joranson describes a basic public health approach to the 'drug abuse crisis.' One wonders whether the combined brain power of the NIH, CDC and FDA would not have accomplished this, except for the imperatives of the drug war.
 
Hurwitz 2005 (see below) is an example of the sort of analyses we should expect, but never get, from our academic and federal patriarchs.
 
See also:
The Challenge of Prescription Drug Misuse: A Review and Commentary - William Hurwitz; Pain Medicine; 2005
 
Increasing Deaths from Opioid Analgesics in the United States - Paulozzi et al.; Pharmacoepi.Drug Safety; 2006
 
Dr. Fishman's Response to Paulozzia's 'Increased Deaths from Opioid[s]' (PDF) - Scott M. Fishman; Pharmacoepi.Drug Safety; 2006
 
Wanted: Public Health Approach to Prescription Opioid Abuse and Diversion (PDF) - Joranson and Gilson; Pharmacoepi.Drug Safety; 2006
 
Drug Crime [Not Pain Docs] Source of Abused Pain Meds in the U.S. - Joranson and Gilson, J.Pain and Symptom Manage.; 2005
 
The War on Drugs, War on Doctors, and the Pain Crisis in America - Alex DeLuca; Columbia University; 2004
 
Related resources:  
War on Doctors Academic, Official, and Legal archives
 
The Pathological DEA: Aftermath of the DEA FAQ Debacle - compiled: DeLuca; War on Pain Sufferers series #11; 2006
 

 
Principles of Opioid Management of Pain - Joel Hochman and members of NFTP and PRN listServ; Summer 2006

The Project for Pain and Chemical Dependency:  
'Defining What is Right, Not What is Wrong'
 
Comment (DeLuca):
A consensus document defining medically correct, ethical, patient-centric, respectful opioid treatment for pain.
 
Unlike almost every other such effort  promulgated by pain societies or Fed. agencies, Principles does not encourage physicians take on a law enforcement role, and does not discriminate against high-dose patients or non-medical drug users in pain.   
 
See also:
'High Dosage' Opioid Management - Hochman; Practical Pain Management; 2005
 
Chronic Pain: I - A New Disease?  ;  II - The Case for Opiates - Daniel Brookoff; Hospital Practice; 2000
 
White Paper on Opioids and Pain: A Pan-European Challenge - compiled by OPEN Minds; 2005
 

 
The Accidental Drug Trafficker - A Repudiation of Prosecutions that Treat Doctors’ Errors in Judgment as Felonies - Jacob Sullum;  ReasonOnline; 2006-08-30 --  "[Sullum repudiates] prosecutions that treat doctors’ errors in judgment as felonies...
 
Docs who err on the side of trusting their patients risk their licenses and their livelihoods. They should not have to risk their freedom."   

See also:
Unbalanced Coverage of [Hurwitz'] Successful Appeal - Maia Szalavitz, STATS, 2006-08-23
 
Conviction Overturned , Judge Erred in Jury Instructions - Markon; Washington Post; 2006-08-23 
 
Hurwitz Wins Appeal - Letter from Family to Advocates and Former Patients - 2006-08-23
 
Ominous Implications of the Hurwitz Appeal Decision? - Bill Marcus; NFTP listServ; 2006-08-22
 

 
Dr. Hurwitz Wins Appeal - Gets New Trial - Drug War Chronicle #450; 2006-08-25 --  "'The district court effectively deprived the jury of the opportunity to consider Hurwitz's defense.' That was a fatal error. 'We cannot say that no reasonable juror could have concluded that Hurwitz's conduct fell within an objectively-defined good-faith standard,' wrote Judge Traxler."   

See also:
US v Hurwitz Appeal Decision (PDF) - Widener, Traxler, and Currie; 4th Circuit Appeals Court; 2006-08-22
 
Brief of Appellant William Eliot Hurwitz (PDF) - Robbins, Russell, & Taaffe; 2005
 
Billy's Lament  and  The Appeal  - two poems by Dr. Hurwitz; Federal Detention; 2005
 
The Dr. William Hurwitz Collection - WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS #4, 2005
 

 
Trouble Lingers for Acquitted Dr. Heberle - Lisa Thompson; Erie Times-News; 2006-05-30

Comment (DeLuca):
A follow-up on Dr. Heberle and his family months after his complete exoneration by jury trial. It is a Pyrrhic victory. He has incurred tremendous debt, is losing his office and home, is essentially unemployable in Erie due to the publicity and employers' fears of state law enforcement reprisals.
 
In the War on Doctors, even when we win, we lose. Even when we are vindicated by a jury, our lives and those of our patients are destroyed. Even when we win the Chilling Effect worsens, and fewer and fewer docs will treat chronic pain, and there is less and less access to chronic opioid therapy for patients with severe chronic pain. This is the Pain Crisis in America.
 
See also:
No Convictions - but Dr. Fisher's Practice is in Ruins - Eric Snider, Weekly Planet, 2004-06-21
 
WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS #10:  Erie: Dr. Klees Incarcerated, Dr. Heberle Exonerated, Pain Patients Abandoned, 2006
 
Pain Killer - Frank Fisher, M.D., Harvard Medical Alumni Bulletin, 2006
'The Doctor Wasn't Cruel Enough' - Maia Szalavitz, ReasonOnline, 2006
 
WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS #7: The Trials of Dr. Frank Fisher: the Cost of Exoneration, 2006
 

 
Desperate Florida Gov. Candidate Gallagher Strikes Out Unjustly at Dr. Merrill to Distract from Crippled Campaign - John P. Flannery; PRN press release; 2006-07-01 -- "'Florida,' Flannery said, 'has a policy of intimidating any doctor who would dare to help chronic pain patients and [the prescribing doc] and the patients [are] criminalized. Gallagher makes great pretense at having 'family values' and yet he has thrown his political weight against those families who value a loved one suffering from chronic pain.'"   

Comment (DeLuca):
Drug War prosecutors and pathological liars like Karen Tandy can consider this a warning shot. If you attack a pain doc for selfish and venal political reasons, expect to be held to account in the press by PRN.
 
I applaud the more aggressive stance PRN is taking - for ex the recent Heberle victory and Paey appeal.
 
See also:
  Trial Begins for [Dr. Merrill] - Nelson; AP; 2006
 
Paey Appeal Selected Transcripts: Defense Attorney Flannery Addresses the Court, February 2006
 
 
Reply Brief of the Appellant Dr. McIver - J.P. Flannery; Forth Circuit Appeals Court; 2006
 

 
Portraying Doctors as Dealers [Trash Journalism and the Case of Dr. Martinez] - Maia Szalavitz, STAT blog, 2005-12-08 -- "What [the reporters don't] seem to understand is that if Dr. Martinez is giving painful and unnecessary treatments, this is medical malpractice and not a criminal act. Just because the prosecutors are conflating Martinez' alleged poor medical treatment with his alleged drug dealing, doesn't mean that journalists have to do so as well."  

See also:
Physician [Martinez] Gets Life for Drug Deaths - [Trash Journalism by] Mike Tobin, Cleveland Plain Dealer, 2006
Dr. Fisher Comments on the Martinez Conviction - Frank Fisher, Expert Witness; PRN; 2006
 
Dr. [Martinez] of 2 Dead Patients Convicted of Fraud - Anonymous; CantonRep.com; 2006  
On Pins and Needles - [Trash Journalism by] Josh Mound, Cleveland Scene, 2005
 
The Trials of Dr. Frank Fisher: the Cost of Exoneration - WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS Collection #7; 2006
 

 
Pain Killer - Frank Fisher, M.D., Harvard Medical Alumni Bull; 2006 -- "In 1995, the Medical Board of California declared that the undertreatment of chronic pain was more problematic than its overtreatment [and set forth] guidelines for treating chronic pain with controlled substances. I believed the reign of terror directed at palliative-care physicians had finally ended. I was mistaken. Within weeks of incorporating the guidelines into my practice, I learned I had become the target of a criminal investigation."

See also:
The Trials of Dr. Fisher: the Cost of Exoneration - WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS Collection #7; 2006-06-23
 
No Convictions - But His Practice is in Ruins - Eric Snider, Weekly Planet, 2004-06-21
 
War on Pain Sufferers Special Collections - Table of Contents
 

 
Pot Smoking Not Linked to Lung Cancer - Salynn Boyles; WebMD; 2006-05-23 -- "People who smoke marijuana do not appear to be at increased risk for developing lung cancer, new research suggests... Even very heavy, long-term marijuana users who had smoked more than 22,000 joints seemed to have no greater risk than infrequent marijuana users or nonusers."

See also:
The Brain's Own Marijuana - Nicoll and Alger; Scientific American; 2004  
 
MJ Smoking and Head & Neck Cancer - Hashibe et al; Journal of  Clinical Pharmacology; 2002
Decreased Depression in MJ Users - Densona and Earleywine; Addictive Behaviors; 2005
 
Medical Marijuana, 2000-2006 archives
 

 
Doctors: New Target in the War On Drugs? -  Wayne Guglielmo; Medical Economics; 2006-05-19 -- "[DEA] has taken [Title II of the 1970 Drug Control Act] to mean that it can decide when doctors treating pain are practicing legitimate medicine. That interpretation, critics say, is a bold example of the fed overstepping its authority and treading in areas [constitutionally] reserved [to the states]... [DEA] has hired hundreds of new investigators, [and they] have made clear that quantity alone... can trigger an investigation."

See also:
The Amazing Vanishing DEA Pain FAQ - Drug War Chronicle, #358; 2004-10-15
 
Assisted-Suicide Ruling May Affect Painkiller Cases - Marc Kaufman; Washington Post, A04; 2006-01-22
 
DEA’s 'One-tenth of 1 Percent' Myth - Libby; Cato; 2005
 
The Dr. William Hurwitz Collection
 

Comment (DeLuca):
Letter from Ed Swaim to the pain management advocates of the listServs of the Pain Relief Network (PRN) and the Nat. Foundation for the Treatment of Pain (NFTP). His wife, Dr. Deborah Bordeaux, a noble and brave soul and fine physician, is now in federal prison. She had to report on June 5, 2006, and will be serving two years. This is a black day for us.
 
See also:
Dirty Deals, Perjury, Confused Jury' - Bordeaux; 2005
 
DEA Motivation for Targeting Small Rural Medical Practices and Older Physicians - Swaim; 2005
 
WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS #6 - The Myrtle Beach Massacre collection
 

 
The OxyCops - William Fisher; OpEdNews.com; 2006-03-22 -- "In 2001, the DEA launched the "OxyContin Action Plan"... The agency, teamed up with state and local authorities, typically employs...aggressive undercover investigation, asset forfeiture, and informers...  Dr. DeLuca, of the Pain Relief Network, told us, 'Relations between physicians and the DEA have probably never been worse in modern times. Law enforcement does not deserve a place at the table where physicians, social workers, and politicians of good need to meet to deal with drug use and pain problems as public health, not criminal, matters.'"

See also:
Mandatory Madness (Paey) - Snider; Daily Planet; 2004
 
The Hurwitz Collection  ;  USA v. Dr. McIver: Zero Tolerance for Opioid Therapy collection
 

 
"The Doctor Wasn't Cruel Enough" - How One Physician Escaped the Panic Over Prescription Drugs - Maia Szalavitz; Reason Online; 2006-06-02. Posted: 2006-06-03. -- "Usually, the media buy the tale of evil substances and vile physician-pushers. But Reynolds [of the Pain Relief Network] offered a more compelling alternative narrative. She brought the suffering patients into the media eye. Rather than telling the tale of an evil drug-dealing doctor who brings down the poor addict, she and the patients provided another version of the story, in which the wonderful healer allows his grateful patients to function - until the cops drag him away." 

See also:
WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS #10 - Erie 2006: Dr. Klees Imprisoned, Dr. Heberle Exonerated, Pain Patients Abandoned
 

 
Bitter Pills - A Tale of Sex, Drugs and Deception [the Rottschaefer Trials] - Charlie Deitch; Pittsburgh City Paper; 2006-05-25 -- "Prosecutions aren’t always necessary to have a chilling effect, DeLuca says. The government’s MO, he says, it to have agents raid doctors’ and send them target letters. Some doctors stop prescribing [opioids] at that point...  Others decide, as DeLuca says he did, that they can’t operate under the fear and still treat patients correctly. 'I got out of clinical practice because I couldn’t sit across from someone in extreme pain, have the ability to ease their pain, [and] do nothing because I was afraid of the government."

See also:
Bitter Pills - A Tale of Sex, Drugs and Deception [the Rottschaefer Trials] - C. Deitch; Pittsburgh City Paper; 2006.
 
Third Circuit Denies Dr. Rottschaefer Appeal (PDF) – Rendell et. al; 2006   ;   Sad: Dr. Rottschaefer Appeal Denied - R. Balko; The Agitator; 2006
 
The Outrageous Case of Dr. Rottschaefer - Radley Balko; The Agitator; 2005   ;   Sex, Lies, and OxyContin  -  J. Tierney, NYTimes; 2006
 
Convicted Physician Seeking New Trial in Sex-for-Pills Case; T. Ove; 2005
 

 
DEA 'Silent' 1 Year After Office Raid, Doctor [Nelson] Says - Diane Cochran; Billings Gazette; 2006-04-29.

Comment (DeLuca):
OK. DEA raids doc - seizes patient records - suspends DEA license forcing abandonment of patients - conducts an 'inquiry' that 'focused on diversion' that results only in media smear of doc. No Charges.
 
1 year later DEA it is off the case, and U.S. Attorney Alme has 'no comment'. Meanwhile, patients suffered, 'We weren't treated good by doctors at the hospitals, DEA has really intimidated [them].' The doc's life is upside down.
 
This is how it works - how DEA can continue to mislead the press saying: We arrest so few docs - how could we be responsible for the Chilling Effect and the Pain Crisis?
 
This is how you get an entire community of docs to serve a police agenda to the detriment of patient care with nothing more than innuendo and an 'inquiry.'
 
 
See also:
DEA Raid on Doctor [Nelson] Brings Pain Wars to Montana - Drug War Chronicle #392; 2005
 
WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS #1: Montana 2005: the War on Sick People archives
 

 
Judge Clips Jail Time for Myrtle Beach Drug Doctors - K. Gailliard; Sun News, Myrtle Beach Online; 2006-03-28 -- "A federal judge [Houck] on Monday slashed prison sentences for three former doctors from a now-closed Myrtle Beach pain clinic where federal prosecutors say drugs were illegally prescribed. [A Fed] appeals court ruled in 2005 that Houck... could have used more discretion in those sentences."

Comment (DeLuca):
NOT. GOOD. ENOUGH. Dr. Bordeaux et al. deserve ZERO prison time - anything else reinforces the 'chilling effect' and deepens the Pain Crisis in America.
 
See also:
Dr. Bordeaux: 'Dirty Deals, Perjury, Confused Jury' ;  The Myrtle Beach Massacre archives
 

 
'Good Faith' at Issue in Pain Doctor's [Hurwitz] Appeal - Larry O’Dell; Richmond Times-Dispatch; 2006-03-17

Comment (DeLuca):
Trash Journalism - in this case regarding U.S. v Hurwitz. 'Journalist' O'Dell takes pains to specifically recount State charges against Dr. Hurwitz without making clear that Virginia ultimately exonerated him BEFORE the Fed brought the case for which Hurwitz is currently serving 25 years (life).
 
See also:
Brief of Appellant William Eliot Hurwitz (PDF) - Robbins, Russell, & Taaffe; 2005
 
Weighing the Difference Between Treating Pain and Dealing Drugs - Tina Rosenberg; NYTimes; 2006
 
WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS #4: The Dr. Hurwitz Collection
 

Jurors: Deciding Dr. Luyao's Fate was 'Difficult, Emotional' - Derek Simmonsen; TCPalm.com; 2006-03-09 -- "'We were like six college students researching a paper,' said [juror] Sanders, [recalling] counting pills in bottles and passing around autopsy records, medical charts and pharmacy notes so each [juror] could read the evidence and give their opinions."

Comment (DeLuca):
Every doctors nightmare: jurors without medical education, led by venal prosecutors, passing judgment on the basis of medical documents they are unqualified to interpret, in a criminal case. <shudder>
 
See also:
Do We Really Want e-Script  Monitoring?- DeLuca; War on Doctors/Pain Crisis; 2007-04-08
 
Reynolds Comments on Luyao Conviction (PDF version // HTML version) - Siobhan Reynolds; Pain Relief Network listServ; 2006-03-07
 
Luyao [Trials] Part of Wider Debate - Derek Simmonsen; TCPalm.com; 2006-03-12
 

 
Agents Raid Pain Doctor [Cheek's] Office - Lindsey Nair; The Roanoke Times; 2006-03-02 -- "I have to be true to the science more than I have to be true to the government." - Dr. Cheek

Comment (DeLuca):
No charges yet. The State Police are involved but the U.S. Attorney's office has no comment. Sounds like a fishing expedition. Ambitious and opportunistic, Brownlee will see what charges he can distill from the entire contents of Dr. Cheek's 3-clinician office and then decide whether to give her the full wrath of a drug war stoked govt.  
 
See also:
Jurors: Knox Was Not at Fault - Lindsey Nair; 2006  ;  Self-Absorbed Prosecutor [Brownlee] Goes Too Far  Donna Knox, 2006
Dr. Knox and Beverly Boone, Racketeers? archives
Drugs and Drug Policy - Bill Marcus, Deputy Attorney General - CA (Retired 2001); Narc Officer, 6(5), 23-29, 1989
U.S. Attorney, Heal Thyself  - DeLuca, 2006. A response to: First Do No Harm - Brownlee (U.S. attorney), Roanoke Times, 2006-01-30
Drug Crime Is a Source of Abused Pain Medications - Joranson and Gilson, J. Pain Symptom Management, 30(4): 299-301, 2005
 

 
Dr. Rottschaefer's Drug Verdict Fought - Jason Cato; Pittsburgh Tribune-Review; 2006-02-28 -- "'The same rule and statute that the attorney general was interpreting wrong in Oregon is the same rule and standard that is being interpreted wrong in Pennsylvania,' said [defense attorney] Stutsman, who filed documents last week informing the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia that he plans to use the Oregon ruling in arguing Rottschaefer's case."

See also:
The Outrageous Case of Dr. Rottschaefer - Radley Balko; The Agitator; 2005
Sex, Lies, and OxyContin  -  John Tierney; New York Times; 2006  ;  Major Media in the War on Doctors, 2005-2006
 

 
Jurors: Knox Was Not at Fault - Although the Pain Doctor was Found Negligent, He Did Not Cause a Patient's Death - Lindsey Nair; The Roanoke Times; 2006-02-24 -- "Because Tisdale was on the same dosage of methadone for more than a year, [Duke pharmacist] Latta said, he should not have suddenly died of methadone poisoning without an unauthorized increase in the drug."

Comment (DeLuca):
The entire years-long federal prosecution of Knox/Boone is a tragic shambles. Prosecutor Brownlee's 300 felony charges evaporated to a wisp, and nothing positive was accomplished.
 
See also:
Boone Brief Responds to Government Motion to Dismiss Her Civil Action Based on Wrongful Prosecution (PDF)
 
WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS collection #5:  Dr. Cecil Knox and Beverly Boone, Racketeers?
 

 
Drug Crime Is a Source of Abused Pain Medications in the U.S. - Joranson and Gilson, J.Pain Symptom Manage., 2005 -- "[Theft] is an important source of prescription opioids diverted into the illicit market... If we accept uncritically that drug diversion stems only from prescriptions, we risk distorting our view of the medical profession and patients... which further weakens physicians' desire to treat pain and worsens patient access to pain care."

See also:
Commentary by Dr. Stephen Passik - 2005  ;  Trends in Medical Use and Abuse of Opioid Analgesics: A Revisit - Novak et al.; Pain Medicine; 2004
Drugs and Drug Policy - Bill Marcus, Deputy Attorney General - CA (Retired 2001); Narc Officer, 6(5), 23-29, 1989
 

 
Dr. Mikuriya's Appeal: a Last Minute Twist - Fred Gardner, Counterpunch, 2006-02-11 -- "There has been a division of prosecutorial labor, with the state going after the docs and the feds going after the growers and providers. They all claim to be supportive of 'individual patients' while trying to destroy the networks patients need."

See also:
Decreased Depression in MJ Users - Densona, Addictive Behaviors, 2005  ;  Taking a Leaf from 'Pot Docs' - Bailey, 2004
 

 
Paey Appeal Selected Transcripts: Defense Attorney John Flannery Addresses the Court - Florida Appeals Court; 2006-02-07 -- "The government spent months trying to find evidence that he had 'trafficked'. But they found none. Because there is none. Nevertheless, Richard stands convicted of 'trafficking in illegal drugs'. I'm a former narcotics prosecutor from New York, and we never prosecuted a 'trafficking' case where there wasn't 'trafficking'."

See also:
Dr. Fisher on Paey Appeal and  PRN's Role in the Case  ;  Prisoner of Pain - Paey on 60 Minutes with Morley Safer
 

 
Boone Brief Responds to Government Motion to Dismiss Her Civil Action Based on Wrongful Prosecution (PDF) - Boone v. U.S.; Civil Action No. 7:06CV00006; 2006-02-10

Comment (DeLuca):
Boone presents cogent, well written arguments in response to prosecution attempts to dodge her charges of wrongful prosecution under the Hyde Amendment.
 
See also:
Boone Wants Legal Fees Paid by Govt - Nair, 2006  ;  U.S. Attorney [Brownlee], Heal Thyself - DeLuca, 2006
Response to editorial: First Do No Harm - Brownlee, 2006  ;  Dr. Knox and Beverly Boone, Racketeers? archives
 

An Ethical Analysis of the Barriers to Effective Pain Management - Ben Rich; Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 2000 -- "No discussion of the goals and core values of medicine... has ever failed to emphasize the relief of pain... Consequently, the widespread failure of physicians to make effective pain management... a priority in patient care denotes an alarming departure of the profession from its deepest ethical roots, and... calls into question whether a majority of its practitioners continue to acknowledge that healthcare is a moral enterprise."

See also:
The Collapse of Medical Ethics and Standards for Pain Management - Fisher, Drug Cops / Docs conf., Cato, 2005
 

 
Pain Relief Network Clinical Litigation Project - Siobhan Reynolds, President, PRN, 2006-01-29 --  "PRN was founded in order to identify and remove the actual barriers to available pain care in the United States... Early on, we realized that innocent docs, who had treated patients in good faith, were being targeted [and] we witnessed guilty verdicts against docs who had treated their patients in accordance with states guidelines, [and employed] up-to-date and well established pain management practices."

See also:
PRN Clinical Litigation Project Case List
 
Diversion 'Cheat Sheet' for Drug War Prosecutors
 

 
Prescription for Pain [for Richard Paey] - Editorial, Boston Globe, 2006-02-05.  [See also: Radley Balko LTE response to "Prescription for Pain"]
--
"'PAIN-KILLER' is one of medicine's overblown promises. The pain is often eased and delayed, not killed. In chronic cases, it always comes back. The last thing that patients and doctors should be worrying about as they use these imperfect medications is an arrest for substance abuse by overzealous police."
 
See also:
Dr. Fisher on Paey Appeal and  PRN's Role in the Case  ;  Prisoner of Pain - Paey on 60 Minutes with Safer
Mandatory Madness - Eric Snider, Weekly Planet, 2004  ;  Punishing Pain - John Tierney, NY Times, 2005
Info about Paey from the Pain Relief Network 
 

 
An Evaluation of Fitness-for-Duty Testing - Debra R. Comer; 103rd Ann. APA  Meeting., 1995

Comment (DeLuca):
Excellent, important, review of fitness-for-duty testing of employees - a field not rich in well-designed, clear-cut research. Document greatly revised, 2006, including addition of interactive Table of Contents

See also:
A Critical Assessment of Workplace Drug Testing - DeLuca, 2002
 

 
Drugs and Drug Policy - Bill Marcus, Deputy AG, California, Retired; Narc Officer, 6(5), 23-29, 1989 -- "If we fail to distinguish between [drug use and] abuse, we risk perpetuating unreasoning fear and inadequate treatment as well as inhibiting legitimate research. Little is accomplished if a patient in real need is denied legitimate, marketed controlled substances due to unreasoning fear-on the part of the prescriber, dispenser or patient-exacerbated by ill-considered propaganda (or laws)."
 

 
^{Trial Begins for Suspended Doctor [Merrill] -} Melissa Nelson; Associated Press; 2006-01-11 -- "Merrill's attorney, Jim Appleman, said his client's major mistake was placing too much trust in patients who exaggerated their pain to obtain prescriptions... Merrill, 70, faces a 100-count indictment, including charges of illegally dispensing [and distributing] controlled substances resulting in death [and] faces life in prison if convicted."

See also:
State Suspends [Doctor] Merrill’s License - David Alderstein; The Apalachicola Times; 2004-05-13
 

 
The Big Chill - Inserting the DEA into End-of-Life Care - Timothy E. Quill and Diane E. Meier; New England Journal of Medicine; 345(1); 1-3; 2006 --
"A finding in favor of the Justice Dept  [in Gonzalez v. Oregon] would not only nullify the Death with Dignity Act, permitting the DEA to penalize physicians for providing medications to hasten the deaths of terminally ill patients, but also have a chilling effect on physicians' willingness to treat patients' terminal symptoms.^"

^{See also:
Let's Get Serious About Chronic Pain (PDF) - Jane Brody; New York Times; 2006-01-10}
 

 
Dr. Knox Employee [Beverly Boone] Wants Attorney Fees Paid by Government - Lindsey Nair; The Roanoke Times; 2006-01-07 -- "Beverly Boone, a co-defendant in the fed's case against Dr. Cecil Knox, is seeking more than $250,000 under the Hyde Amendment for the expense of defending herself in what she calls 'wrongful prosecution' for charges that were eventually dropped."

Comment:
Boone, by bringing this legal action, has brought the behavior of vindictive prosecutor Brownlee under scrutiny, finally.
Boone is a hero in the WOD.
 
See also:
Prosecutors: Scofflaws on the Inside -  Dr. Hochman’s Response to a Letter to NFTP; 2003
Dr. Cecil Knox and Beverly Boone: Racketeers? - War on Pain Sufferers archive #5
 

 
Painful Choices: Physicians Challenged by Quest to End Suffering - Collins and Jarvik; Deseret Morning News, 2006-01-02 -- "Some primary care doctors won't prescribe any narcotic pain medication, and some prescribe, but in doses that may be too small or for periods of time that aren't sufficient. Often, they're trying to follow practice guidelines that don't consider individual needs, says hospice doctor Chamberlain."

See also:
Drug Control Policy Out of Balance - Brushwood; 2003
 
 The Dr. William Hurwitz Collection
 

 
White House [OMB] Report Stings Drug Agency [DEA] on Abilities - Eric Lichtblau; NYT; 2003-02-05; Posted: 2005-12-29

Comment (DeLuca):
In 2003 the OMB gave DEA a rating of ZERO citing lack of coherent strategy and goals, and no progress in decreasing  illegal drugs. This followed years of increasing Congressional and Executive pressure on DEA to demonstrate cost effectiveness. ["Treating Doctors as Drug Dealers" - Ron Libby; Cato Policy Analysis #545; 2005]
True to historical form, DEA responded to criticism by  stepping up attacks on easy prey, docs and pain patients: the current "Reign of Terror - Part II."
 
See also:
Jailing the Healers and the Sick - Rufus King; Yale Law Review; 1953
 

Crackdown on Drugs Hits Chronic-Pain Patients - Jane Spencer, The Wall Street Journal; 2004-03-16 -- "Patients with chronic pain say the government initiatives are making it harder for them to get the painkillers they need to battle conditions such as arthritis and cancer. The crackdown is making doctors more reluctant to prescribe some drugs out of fear they will attract attention from regulators."

Comment (DeLuca):
A better-than-average review of the competing interests and worldviews that collide to produce the reign-of-terror that is the War on Doctors, and the Pain Crisis in America that is the end result of this madness.
 
What to do? Join PRN!
Constitutional Claim: PRN Seeks to Enjoin DEA from Enforcing CSA Against Physicians -  Siobhan Reynolds; Pain Relief Network; 2005-12-01
 

APPELLANTS' PETITION FOR REHEARING AND PETITION FOR REHEARING EN BANC - Eli D. Stutsman (Attorney for Dr. Bordeaux); U.S. State Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit; USA vs. Drs Alerre, Bordeaux, and Jackson; Filed: 2005-12-15 -- "The prosecution's theory of criminal culpability, expressed on this record as the 'standard of care,' 'medical necessity,' and 'legitimate medicine,' is wrong as a matter of law"

See also:
Decision in Appeal of Drs' Alerre, Bordeaux, and Jackson: Convictions Affirmed; Sentences Vacated; Remanded for Resentencing
King; 2005-12-01
WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS #6-The Myrtle Beach Massacre
 

Dr. Kale vs. the Drug Warriors - Oxycontin Is Not the Problem, He Says. 'The DEA Is the Problem' - Doug Smith; Arkansas Times; 2005-12-14  -- "In 2002, the Medical Board charged Kale with over-prescribing controlled substances and suspended his license [later exonerating him]. According to Kale, a DEA agent persuaded him to surrender his DEA registration... not mentioning... anything about possible DEA charges. He was told a year later that he had given up his registration 'in lieu of DEA charges and prosecutions.'"
 

Lawmen vs. the Drug Warriors - Attorneys General Seek Change in DEA Policy - Doug Smith; Arkansas Times; 2005-12-15 -- "Anything that has a chilling effect on physicians who prescribe pain drugs will have an even more chilling effect on their patients. And, as in all such matters, it is the people at the bottom of the economic ladder who get chilled the most... The war on drugs has many casualties. And they’re all people, not drugs."
 

War on Doctors" Hits Where it Hurts - Sid Pranke; Pulse of the Twin Cities; 2005-12-15 -- "The very real difficulties and dangers associated with continuing to treat patients who need opiates on a chronic basis was enough to scare off Dr. Zuckerman, though he continues to worry about who will treat them if he doesn't. As he states in a recent letter to state board: "The result of the inquisition was to shock and frighten me."

See also:
WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS #6-The Myrtle Beach Massacre
 

Revised! -- Major Media on the War on Doctors and the Pain Crisis, 2005 - Complied by Alexander DeLuca, M.D., MPH; Addiction, Pain, and Public Health website; 2005-12-12

Wishing Drug-Warrior Thinking - Ted G. Carpenter; National Review; 2005-12-01
 
When Treating Pain Becomes a Crime - 3 LTEs respond to Tierney; NYT; 2005-07-26
 
Justice Often Served by Jury Nullification - Radley Balko; FoxNews; 2005-07-25
 
Punishing Pain // Handcuffs and Stethoscopes - John Tierney; NYT Op-Ed; 2005-07-19/23
  
Why Is The DEA Hounding This Doctor? - Margot Roosevelt; Time; 2007-07-17
 
A Fight for Full Disclosure of the Possible Pain - Jane Brody; NYT; 2005-03-08
 
Prisoners of Pain - Barry Yeoman; AARP Magazine; Sept-Oct, 2005
 
... plus over a dozen more articles from national publications, representing the best of 2005.
 

Constitutional Claim on Behalf of Americans In Pain - PRN Seeks to Enjoin DEA from Enforcing CSA Against Physicians - Siobhan Reynolds; Pain Relief Network; 2005-12-01 -- "The Controlled Substances Act... criminalizes pain patient and physician, requiring both to prove their conduct is authorized. [It] denies people in pain the traditional presumption of innocence... and lifts the burden of proof off of the government and puts it squarely on citizens in pain and [their docs]."

Comment (DeLuca):
A brilliant and very important initiative by Reynolds and PRN. We urgently need to bring this case NOW! We need support NOW!
Please contact: Siobhan Reynolds.
 

Decision in Appeal of Drs' Alerre, Bordeaux, and Jackson: Convictions Affirmed; Sentences Vacated; Remanded for Resentencing - Written by circuit court justice King, affirmed by judges Michael, and Motz. 2005-12-01 -- "The defendants [contended that] their lawyers were constitutionally ineffective and the prosecutors engaged in prejudicial misconduct [and] that the trial evidence was insufficient to support their money-laundering conspiracy convictions."

See also:
WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS #6 - The Myrtle Beach Massacre
 

Marijuana World  - R. Downing; Tucson Weekly; 2005-11-17 -- "A Look at Pot: Its Users, Its Trade, Its Cultivation, the Research And the Anti-Prohibition Movement"

Comment:
Very good article examines the current reality of medical cannabis. Each section covered in good depth. Recommended.
 

 
Bill to Assure Fair Trials for Medical Marijuana Patients Introduced in Congress - MPP Press Release; 2005-11-09 -- "Under the Steve McWilliams Truth in Trials Act [federal defendants] could be found not guilty if the jury finds that they followed state medical marijuana laws."

See also:
WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS #3: Medical Marijuana: 2000-2005
 

 
Drug Enforcement Agency Stripped of Role on New Painkillers - Marc Kaufman, Washington Post, 2005-11-05 -- "A House-Senate conference committee yesterday dropped a controversial provision that gave the DEA authority to review, and potentially block, the sale of all new prescription narcotics... Opponents said the provision was an unwarranted intrusion by a law enforcement agency into the FDA's drug-review system."
 

 
The Thin Green Line: Employers and Medical Marijuana - Paula Barran, Atty.; MedfordNews; 2005 -- "Oregon permits certain individuals to use marijuana medically for conditions that defy other legal treatment. Although not intended to stand workplace substance abuse policies on their heads, that has happened."
 

 
St Lawrence Medical Society Upset by Investigation of Former Doctor [Latimer] - Larry Seguin; Watertown Daily Times (NY); 2005-10-28
-- "... Dr. Latimer's prescribing... pattern did not justify criminal charges," [the medical society] said. [They said] the issue should have been addressed... by the state Organization of Professional Medical Conduct.

Comment:
Good for Dr. Koberda of the med society for complaining about federal usurping of the state's right to regulate medicine and discipline docs! Very important case. By the way: the accusations in this case are a great example of FLASH TRASH - a common drug warrior stupid statistical trick.
 

Let Those Dopers Be - Norm Stamper; LA Times, 2005-10-16 -- "Combined with treatment, education and other public health programs for drug abusers, regulated legalization would make your city or town an infinitely healthier place to live and raise a family." 
 

Painkillers Understocked in Minority Areas, Study Says - Marc Kaufman; Washington Post; page A04; 2005-10-14 -- "Pharmacies in black neighborhoods are much less likely to carry sufficient supplies of popular opioid painkillers than those in white neighborhoods, a new study has found, leading researchers to conclude that minorities are routinely undertreated for chronic pain."

See also:
Race, Ethnicity, and Pain Treatment – Vence Bonham; Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Vol 29, Issue 1, page 52, Spring 2001
 
There's No Justice in the War on Drugs - Milton Friedman; New York Times, January 11, 1998
 
Minorities Get Less Pain Relief - Sid Kirchheimer; WebMD Medical News, 2003-10-08
 

U.S. Captures Terrorist [Chronic Pain Patient] Steve Tuck - Pete Guither; Drug WarRant; 2005-10-12 -- "[Steve Tuck, an injured veteran, had] 13 back surgeries and a metal plate inserted in his lower back. The pain requires high doses of morphine, which can be reduced somewhat by the use of marijuana. But then he turned terrorist." 

See also:
Steve Tuck Held in Pain and Withdrawal Without Morphine: 2005 Updates – R. Cowan; 2005-10
 
A Review of the case, and Information Regarding the Steve Tuck Defense Fund – R. Cowan; 2002
 

SARAM: the Society for the Abdication of Responsibility for Addiction Medicine - Alexander DeLuca, M.D., MPH; 2005-10-10 -- "[ASAM's silence in the face of] the complete abandonment of substance users and pain patients in the wake of Katrina confirms the American Society of Addiction Medicine’s absolute irrelevance to the public health, medical, and drug policy issues that ARE the substance abuse and pain crisis problems in America."

See also:
"Katrina Causes Wave of Addiction Problems"
and,
"Emergency Withdrawal from Pain Medicines in the Wake of Katrina"
 

Katrina Causes Wave of Addiction Problems - Bob Curley; JoinTogether; 2005-09-26 -- "Hurricane Katrina displaced thousands of people with addictions from their treatment programs and support networks... 'There has been absolutely no response to the needs of people in addiction recovery,' [said S. Atkins of the Hope Network volunteer organization]."

See also:
"Emergency Withdrawal from Pain Medicines in the Wake of Katrina" AFP 2005
 

Drug Czar's Office Slams Faulty [CASA] Drug Abuse Statistics - Unknown author; STATS weblog; 2005-07-16 -- "In 2003, [there were] 1,923,000 [Americans with substance abuse or dependence]. Only 361,000 of these were under 18 - and only 281,000 under-18's were abusing or dependent on opioids."

See also:
CASA Uses Suspect Science to Hype Teen Marijuana Menace
 
"Are Girls More Vulnerable? CASA Cries Wolf, Again"
 

Are Girls More Vulnerable to Substance Abuse than Boys? CASA Cries Wolf Again - Maia Szalavitz; STATS news; 2005-07-16 -- "At least some in the media are getting wise to CASA. Despite its alarming claims, The New York Times didn't mention the report, The Washington Post gave it less than 300 words in a round-up..."

Comment:
Columbia University ought to be ashamed of itself for having any affiliation at all with CASA's junk science propaganda machine.
 

CASA Report Uses Suspect Science to Hype Teen Marijuana Menace - Drug War Chronicles #335, 2004-04-30 -- "Other than [being] misleading, distorting, [and] downright wrong on each of its major points, CASA's report on the teen marijuana menace is a fine piece of science."
 

Comment on Prescribing Controlled Substances for the Treatment of Pain (PDF) - National Association; 2005-03-21-- "We are concerned that recent DEA actions send mixed messages to the medical community and are likely to discourage appropriate prescribing for the management of pain." [emphasis in the original]

Comment:
Ah, that would be the Chilling Effect that the DEA denies exists.
 
See also:
WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS #4 - The Dr. William Hurwitz Collection
 
NAAG Letter to DEA Administrator Tandy Regarding the Vanishing DEA Pain FAQ; 2005-01-19
 

WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS - Special Resource Collection #4: The Doctor William Hurwitz Collection compiled by Alexander DeLuca, M.D., MPH; 2005

The trial of William Hurwitz was (wrongly) about the particulars of his medical practice. The appeal is about the viability of pain medicine and addiction medicine as ethical professional disciplines. [DeLuca, 2004]
 
See also:
Index & Intro to the WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS Collections
 

The Return of Reefer Madness by Maia Szalavitz; Salon.com; 2005-09-19 -- "The rhetoric is alarming. But the research data used to support the [government] ad campaign is hazy at best [and] blurs the key scientific distinction between correlation and causation."

Comment:
Great article examines in detail govt claims that cannabis causes schizophrenia and depression, that modern pot is more potent, and the credibility and public health problems caused by exaggeration and lies.
 

Agency of Fear: Opiates and Political Power in America - How the DEA Came to Be by Edward J. Epstein;  G. P. Putnam and Sons, NY; 1977 --
"[ODALE] forces could use court-authorized wiretaps and no-knock warrants... This unique office could also feed the names of suspects to a target-selection committee in the IRS, which would then initiate its own audits and investigations. The office received most of its funds not from congressional appropriations but from the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA)..."
 

How 313 Crimes Became Four by Jacob Sullum; Reason.com; 2005-09-06 -- "[The] Justice Department's indictments were ridiculously inflated (by a factor of 78, considering just the number of counts) and based on allegations it could not prove. [The] strategy of intimidating defendants into guilty pleas by turning every alleged act into multiple offenses is a conspicuous feature of the DEA's war on pain doctors."

See also:
WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS #5 - [Doctor Cecil Knox and Beverly Boone: Racketeers?]
 

U.S. Attorney John Brownlee’s Unbelievable Hyperbole in Comments on Dr. Knox’ Conviction - R. Milliron; Letter to Editor; Roanoke Times 2005-09-19 -- "Look at the facts: Dr. Knox initially faced more than 300 felony counts, was acquitted (or charges were dismissed) of most of those in the first trial, and ultimately pleaded guilty to four [trivial charges], for which he may never serve even one single day."

See also:
WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS #5 - Doctor Cecil Knox and Beverly Boone: Racketeers?
 

Drug Cops and Doctors - Is the DEA Hampering the Treatment of Chronic Pain? - Cato Institute; host: Radley Balko; Aired by C-Span; 2005-09-09

Introduction and Conference Schedule [HTML]
 
Panel 1: Pain Diversion and Public Policy [Real Player video]
 
Panel 2: Doctors and Pain Patients Speak Out [Real Player video]
 
New! Transcripts of selected presentations:  Frank Fisher, M.D. / Ron Libby [Text]
--
Comment:
Excellent presentations by Dr. Fisher, Linda Paey, Ron Libby, Myra Christopher, Drew Edmonson, Eli Stutsman, and, of course, president of PRN, Siobhan Reynolds. I really enjoyed this conference... maybe we are finally being heard?
 

Prosecutors: Scofflaws on the Inside Dr. Hochman Responds to a Letter to NFTP by  Joel Hochman, M.D.; NFTP; Circa 2003

See also:
Three  TV news interview video clips from WBDJ TV (Roanoke, VA):
 
Knox Pleads Guilty (2005-09-02) + Interview with U.S. Attorney Brownlee (2005-09-03) + Interview with Knox' Lawyers (2005-09-03)
 
In Progress:
War on Pain Sufferers #5: Dr. Cecil Knox and Beverly Boone: Racketeers?
 

Doctor [Walter] gets Probation in Illegal Drug Ring by Traci Bridges; Morning News Online; 2005-09-01 -- "'I realized that the clinic used unlicensed individuals to perform nerve conduction studies for some patients, that these nerve conduction studies were of dubious quality or limited medical use,' Walter said."

Comment:
 Damned if you do, and damned if you don't. Fail to make extraordinary efforts to document the physical basis of a patient's pain and they get you for prescribing to addicts (like Dr. Klees).
But if you do the tests, they claim they weren't really necessary and therefore fraud. If this were not so damn tragic, it would be a joke.
 
See also:
The War on Pain Sufferers Special Collection #6 - The Myrtle Beach Massacre
\

Doctor [Gregory Walter] Sentenced: Probation, Service, Fine - Police Briefs, MyrtleBeachOnline; 2005-09-03

Comment:
Dr. Walter, like Dr. Bordeaux whose appeal will be heard later this month, is a victim of the Myrtle Beach Massacre - an example of an all too common, overzealous, drug war prosecution in which good people and good doctors like Bordeaux and Walter (I know these people) have their careers destroyed and lives ruined all because they came to the attention of law enforcement by treating pain appropriately with opioid medications.
 
The end result of this drug war stupidity is the Chilling Effect on the appropriate practice of pain medicine, and the pain crisis in America. This has got to stop!
 

[Kirstyn Knox] Shining Through - After family hardship, pain and a lot of hard, focused work, [Dr. Cecil Knox's daughter] reaches her goal -- Harvard by Beth Macy; The Roanoke Times; 2005-09-04

Comment:
Prosecutor Brownlee can try and spin this disgraceful waste of taxpayer dollars for shockingly trivial unprofessional behavior with his boasts that Knox will never write another OxyContin prescription, which is true. But it is also true that everything he ultimately accomplished could have done by an administrative suspension of Dr. Knox at minor taxpayer expense.
 
Skullduggery surrounds this case. An example: the judge, for whom Brownlee law-clerked, is also the godfather of Brownlee's child.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. HURWITZ - Brief of Appellant William Eliot Hurwitz by Robbins, Russell, & Taaffe; 2005 [260 KB PDF]

Comment from the PRN Pain & Social Policy listServ:
 
"[The] critical part... is at pages 20-48, where the judge's refusal not only to allow good faith as a defense, but to preclude any evidence on that point, is discussed...
[If] the judge refused to allow good faith as a defense, and refused to allow even evidence of Dr. Hurwitz' statements and actions (such as submitting records to DEA for review) to show his good faith, that is... not just a significant error, but a fundamental error [of law]." 
[PRN member with 30 yrs Controlled Substance case law experience]
 

Medical Marijuana, Federalism, and the Supreme Court by Gostin; JAMA; 2005; 294(7); 842-844 -- "The data suggest that marijuana may offer respite for some patients—a position supported by patient experiences and physician opinions. The "drug war" metaphor does not justify an ideology that removes hope from patients when they are most vulnerable and in need."
 

WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS - Special Collection #3:


Medical Marijuana: 2000-2005
--
Selected journalism and peer-reviewed quality journal articles and official reports
--
"Drug war posturing should not be permitted to obstruct our nation’s pharmaceutical development process, especially when it comes to researching a drug with well-founded potential to reduce chronic suffering."  
[Rick Dobins, President, MAPS]
 

Marijuana Pipe Dreams by John Tierney; NYTimes; 2005-08-28 -- "DEA [has] already shown they're quite capable of persecuting someone who uses marijuana to deal with AIDS, and they may well be even more eager to go after someone who encourages research into their least favorite drug."

See also:
"The Right To Grow" by Mike Milliard; The Boston Phoenix; 2005-08-27
 "The government is basically scared of this research... They want to say there's not enough research to make marijuana into a medicine, and they want to block the research." - MAPS president, Rick Doblin
 

See also:  
“Convicted doc seeking new trial in sex-for-pills case” by T. Ove; Pittsburgh Post Gazette; 2005
and,
"Actions Against Physicians" AAPS; 2004-09-28
 

Comment:
Are the boomers finally finding out about the Pain Crisis?
 
A rarity in drug war journalism, this author actually gets the facts entirely right and communicates them in a calm yet compassionate tone.
Siobhan Reynolds and the Pain Relief Network share the blame for this powerful article.
 

 
(Informal) Medical Cannabis resource collection [updated 2005-08-28]
[This collection will no longer be updated. See Instead: "War on Pain Sufferers Special Collection #3 - Medical Marijuana"]
 
 Marijuana Pipe Dreams - by John Tierney; NYTimes Op-Editorial; 2005-08-28
"DEA [has] already shown they're quite capable of persecuting someone who uses marijuana to deal with AIDS, and they may well be even more eager to go after someone who encourages research into their least favorite drug."

The Right To Grow - A Second Chance for Medical Marijuana - by Mike Milliard; Boston Phoenix; 2005-08-27
 "The government is basically scared of this research... They want to say there's not enough research to make marijuana into a medicine, and they want to block the research." - MAPS president, Rick Doblin
 
Brewing a Pot of Hysteria - Editorial; Nature Neuroscience; 2005
 
California Medical MJ Activist [and Chronic Pain Patient] Facing Federal Prison Time Commits Suicide;  Drug War Chronicle #395; 2005-07-15
 
Brits Grow Their Own - Drug War Chronicle #393; 2005-07-01
 
RI Senate Overrides Governor's Veto of Medical Marijuana - Providence Journal; 2005
 
Crimes of Indiscretion-MJ Arrests - NORML; 2005
 
Drug Czar Report is 'Unpublished' Data - NORML; 2005
 
Taking a Leaf from 'Pot Docs' (Bailey04)  
 
Marijuana May Block Alzheimer's (BBC05) 
 
Big Lies and Bullies Trump Docs in WOD (DeLuca, 2002)
 
The Brain's Own Marijuana (Scientific American; 2004)
 
Cannabis as a Substitute for Alcohol (Mikuriya; 2003)
 
The War on Pot (Lowry, National Review, 2005)
 
ONDCP's Wasted Efforts in WOD (CAGW05)
 
Medical Marijuana: the Pain of Prohibition (Muwakkil; 2004)
 
Sativex Buccal Spray Cannabinoid Analgesic - Product Monograph (GW Pharma Ltd./Bayer; 2005)
 

See also,
Examples of excellent drug war journalism by Alec MacGillis:
 
"Baltimore OD Deaths Fall 12%" - 3/8/05
 
"Proportions of Drug Crisis Incalculable - Numbers Can't be Trusted" - 8/7/05
 
"It's really staggering if you think of the numbers that die every year... and it's preventable - that's the tragedy."
 

Comment:
 Paul Heberle is a remarkable doctor. He continues to see patients free, in their homes, even as he faces 22 years in prison. Now his patients and the larger Erie community are stepping up to support him publicly in an unprecedented show of support and awareness. 
 
See also: 
 AG Corbett Charges Heberle in Sleazy Press Conference
 
The Heberle PERP-POSTER - (Sleazy) AG Corbett; 2005-05-31
 
 Time Running Out for Erie Patients; Reynolds-PRN; 2005-05-02
 
Erie Doc [Heberle] Investigated by DEA; JET-TV; 2005-04-13
 

See also:
(Informal) Medical Cannabis resource collection
 

!! New York Times & Time Magazine Weigh In !!
 
When Treating Pain Becomes a Crime - 3 Letters in Response to Tierney's Op-Ed - McNamara-Schranz-Griffin; LTE, NYT, 2005-07-26 -- "It is inevitable, as Mr. Tierney explains, that by trying to control through criminal law which chemicals free citizens put into their bloodstreams, the sacrosanct relationship between doctor and patient is also jeopardized."

See also:
 
Handcuffs and Stethoscopes - J. Tierney; NYT Op-Ed; 2005-07-19
Punishing Pain - J. Tierney; NYT Op-Ed; 2005-07-19
Why Is The DEA Hounding This Doctor? - M. Roosevelt; Time; 2007-07-17
 

Comment:
The veto was expected, the override was not. Good for Rhode Island!
 
See also:
One Day After Raich, RI Senate Passes Medical Marijuana Bill - Drug War Chronicle, #390; 2005-06-10

!! New SERIES !!

THE WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS
The complete journalistic record;  PLUS expert commentary from the docs, patients and lawyers of the PRN;  PLUS relevant articles from the peer-reviewed medical literature and official reports.
 
Special Collection #1:
 
Montana, 2005 - the War on Sick People
  

Today, 2005-06-27, is the 4th anniversary of the vindictive prosecution of Dr. Cecil Knox and associate Beverley Boone.
And they are still fighting their asses off for us all, only because it's right, as far as I can tell. They could have copped a plea.
I hate that this is our lot - to have our lives interrupted, caught up in Reign-Of-Terror-II.
But we also have heroes <smile> who never give up.
 
See:
Kirstyn Knox - Valedictorian Rising
 

What is To Be Done, Dear Doctor? Excerpt of a letter by 'G. Ron', Pain Patient, to PRN -- "Dear Dr., I am sorry to burden you with this but I have two ways to go now. I either get the proper treatment for pain which will make me a productive member of society or I will kill myself... My pain is sharp, constant and, dehumanizing... I can easily purchase the weapon that will lead to my demise, however I can't [find a doc willing to give me] a legitimate prescription to ease my pain and bring me back from the precipice."  

Compare, Contrast & SUPPORT PRN:
 
Creepshow - A Disturbing Glimpse into DEA Mentality; David Borden, Editor; Drug War Chronicle #391; 2005-06-17
 

PRN Draws the Line Against Vindictive DEA Prosecutions
 
Pain Patients Assured They can Get Help [OR, the Myth of Available Pain Care is Alive & Well  in Billings] by Diane Cochran; Billings Gazette; 2005-07-01
-- "They are [making] me go through a full medical review twice. This isn't an assessment. This is an insult." [G. Wilkinson, former patient of Dr. Nelson]
DEA Raid on Doctor [Nelson] Brings Pain Wars to Montana; Drug War Chronicle #392; 2005-06-24
 
Pain Sufferers Rally for Baucus’ Support; Brad Fieldheim; Billings (Montana) Gazette; 2005-06-18
 
Comment:
Siobhan Reynolds, President of the Pain Relief Network, is a MASTER. Siobhan you are our leader; you have so earned everything we can do to assist you. Foundations, people with access to Resources: HELP US NOW. WE KNOW WHAT TO DO; WE ARE EFFECTIVE. thank you.
 
DEA Accused of Targeting Pain Docs; Diane Cochran, Billings Gazette;2005-06-16
 
Comment:
So, Mr. Vindictive Prosecutor, how do you like being the focus of pre-indictment publicity? OK, if you didn't know it, now you do. Siobhan Reynolds and PRN are here; get used to it. This Worm Will Turn.
 
In Search of Relief; Diane Cochran, Billings Gazette;2005-06-11
 
Comment:
DEA takes out ('investigates') Dr. Richard Nelson leaving his patients in Billings Montana unable to find any physicians willing to prescribe the opioid pain meds they need. This is THE CHILLING EFFECT - the withdrawal, for fear of litigation, by physicians from the appropriate treatment of pain.
 

"And The Plan was without substance.
And darkness was upon the face of the patients and physicians"
 
Comment:
Enjoy this one with your morning coffee. Thanks Ed! Nice to start the day with a good laugh.
 

Comment:
Trash journalism - mystifying and stupid. Exactly who is harming whom?
 
Please see:
[Drugs are Bad. Compared to What?] (DeLuca '04). Then, compare U.S. to a civilized country: [German OD's at 15 yr. Lows Due to HR]
 
Conclusion:
U.S. inflicts Harm Promotion policies:
Patients, users, & docs must suffer in pursuit of an insane police response to human suffering.
 

See also:
Minorities get Less Pain Relief
+
Race, Ethnicity & Pain Treatment
+
There's Just No Justice in the War on Drugs
 

Comment:
A perfect example of Flash Trash!
685 tabs/19 months = 36 tabs/month = 1.8 tabs / working day of a Schedule III (low abuse potential) drug, not a 'high abuse potential' Schedule II med.
Big deal. <sheesh!>
 

Comment:
 This is sweet; good for Dr. Bek! Since "Vindictive Prosecution" IS the War on Doctors, DEA should be a little worried about this. Ha!
 

Comment:
I eagerly await Cato's June 4 release of Libby's "Treating Doctors as Drug Dealers: The DEA's War on Prescription Painkillers" which will  be an important work.
 

Comment:
Luyao '05, Deonarine ,05, Hurwitz, '05, Williams '04, Kubski '03, Graves '02, & Mazella '01 -- Notice the trend?
 
See also:
[Deonarine] Murder Trial Sparked Concern Among Pain Specialists
and:
Trial Opens for Doctor [Deonarine] Accused [of Murder] in Drug OD Death
by Missy Stoddard; Sun-Sentinel; 5/4/2005
--
"On the day of his death, Labzda drank 12 to 20 beers, crushed and snorted 80 to 160 milligrams of OxyContin, smoked marijuana and took an excessive amount of Xanax."
Comment:
And the physician gets charged with first degree murder?? America is insane.
 

-- First Publication! --
Billy's Lament and, The Appeal - Two poems by William Hurwitz, M.D.; Arlington County Detention Center; 2005. -- "With motive so pure, why be afraid..."

Comment:
This is the first publication of these works. I am grateful to Dr. Hurwitz for allowing this; it is an honor.
 

Comment:
And the physician gets charged with first degree murder?? America is insane.

See also - New!:
DEA Administrator Tandy's Response to Balko's "Bush Should Feel Doctors' Pain" Article, and Balko's Point-by-Point Refutation of Tandy
Balko refuting Tandy; TPPCD listServ; 5/16/2005
--
"If she isn't targeting doctors, why in the world would the number of legitimate OxyContin prescriptions and sales be Tandy's measure of success in combating illegal diversion?"
 

Comment:
Thank you PRN, for making this happen. Thank you Mr. Paey & Dr. Hurwitz, for paying the price.
 

Sativex Buccal Spray Cannabinoid Analgesic - Product Monograph
GW Pharma Ltd./Bayer; 2005-04-13
 
See also:

California Medical MJ Activist [& Chronic Pain Patient] Facing Federal Prison Time Commits Suicide;  Drug War Chronicle #395; 2005-07-15
Brits Grow Their Own (DWC; 2005)
 
Crimes of Indiscretion-MJ Arrests(NORML05) 
 
Drug Czar Report is 'Unpublished' Data
 
Taking a Leaf from 'Pot Docs' (Bailey04)  
 
Marijuana May Block Alzheimer's (BBC05) 
 
Big Lies and Bullies Trump Docs in WOD (DeLuca, 2002)
 
The Brain's Own Marijuana (Scientific American; 2005)
 
Cannabis as a Substitute for Alcohol (Mikuriya; 2003)
 
The War on Pot (Lowry, National Review, 2005)
 
ONDCP's Wasted Efforts in WOD (CAGW05)
 
Medical Marijuana: the Pain of Prohibition (Muwakkil; 2004)
 
Sativex Buccal Spray Cannabinoid Analgesic - Product Monograph
 

DEA Motivation for Targeting Small Rural Medical Practices and Older Physicians by Ed Swaim, Family member of an American physician; Pain & Social Policy listServ; Pain Relief Network; 5/8/05 -- "Consider the possibility of the DEA as a predatory pack launching a coordinated assault on their target, wounding him and effectively separating him from the herd [which retreats to a safe distance]. The well-fed pack then takes its leisurely time to finish the kill."
 

House Bill Would Block Federal Prosecution of Medical Marijuana Use in 10 States; California HealthLine; 5/6/2005 -- "[Rep. Barney] Frank said, 'The notion that a state-sanctioned practice of medicine ought to be criminalized really makes no sense'"
 

Canada Approves Sativex -- Natural Marijuana-Based Pharmaceutical; Drug War Chronicle #383; 4/22/2005 -- "This confirms that virtually everything the US government has told us about marijuana is wrong," said Rob Kampia, of the Marijuana Policy Project"
 

Dozens Denied Pain Drugs after DEA Raid by Mike Stark; Billings Gazette; 5/4/2005 -- "'Something needs to be done,' [one patient] said. 'This is not, as the DEA might put it, a drug-dealing doctor treating a bunch of junkies. That's not what's going on here.'"
 

With Time Running Out for Erie Patients in Pain, PRN Calls on Senator Specter to Stop The Madness by Siobhan Reynolds; PRN Press Release; 5/2/05 -- “I don't care what they say Dr. Heberle did or didn't do. No one can justify destroying all these sick people.”

See also:
"Erie Doc [Heberle] Investigated by DEA"
 

Convicted [Dr. Rottschaefer] Seeks New Trial in Sex-for-Pills Case by Torsten Ove; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; 3/5/2005 -- "They're saying he was bribing patients with sex for pills, but it never happened to me," [one of the female 'victims'] wrote."

Comment:
Gee, the Fed can really mount crackerjack case, huh? This one reads like a bad soap-opera.
BASTA - Enough!! The entire cop / legal / regulatory system has gone rouge. 
 

Erie Doctor [Heberle] Investigated by DEA & Attorney General - Unknown reporter;  JET-TV News 24; 4/13/2005 --In a letter to his patients, he says, "Everything in the DEA paperwork... both medical references and quotes...is a complete distortion of reality. [You] deserve to be able to work with your doctor... without being bullied by thugs with a badge."

Comment:
Pity the pain patients in Erie. First abandoned when DEA went after Dr. Klees, many were "inherited" by Dr. Heberle. Now Heberle is closed because one patient allegedly "OD'ed" and DEA is building their usual phony case and he sees the writing on the wall.
 
So who will treat those in need of chronic opioid therapy in Erie now?

[See also: "Erie Doctor [Klees] Could Face Up To 44 Years In Prison For Overdosing Patients" a 35WSEE News report; 1/26/2005.
and: "Dr. Klees Sentenced" a JET-TV News item; air date: 1/25/2005]
 

Siobhan Reynolds to Judge Wexler regarding Hurwitz Sentencing by Siobhan Reynolds, President: Pain Relief Network; 4/3/2005

Comment:
This is a phenomenal letter! Reynolds and PRN are THE most involved, most effective pain advocacy organization. SUPPORT PRN!
 
See also:
AAPS Letter to Judge Wexler on Behalf of Dr. William Hurwitz
Jane Orient, M.D., Exec. Dir; AAPS; 2/5/2005
 
And:
Letter to the Honorable Judge Wexler in Support of  Dr. William Hurwitz
by Alexander DeLuca, M.D.; 2/5/2005
 

Comments of Dr. Fisher at PRN Press Conference Prior to the Sentencing of Dr. Hurwitz to 25 Years (Life) in Prison by Frank Fisher, M.D.; PRN Press Conf; 4/14/2005 -- "[When] we persecute well-intentioned pain physicians, we assure our own future suffering. By burning Dr. Hurwitz at the stake, we are literally throwing open the gates of Hell."
 

At Least 20 Years Await Convicted Doctor [Hurwitz] by Ralph Vartabedian; LATimes; 4/14/2005 -- "Portenoy said... it would have been better for [Medicine] to handle [Hurwitz's practices] internally than to criminalize the treatment of pain."

See also:
Chill Deepens as Dr. Hurwitz is Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison
Drug War Chronicle; #382; 4/15/2005
--
 " 'In [Hurwitz the govt has said] his conviction should stand even if he [acted] in good faith. No wonder doctors are [refusing to prescribe for chronic pain patients]' " - quoting Reynolds, PRN

Comment: I was there. It was frightening and deeply disturbing. Wexler makes daytime TV judges seem thoughtful & professional by comparison. There are excellent grounds for appeal!

!! You can help Free Hurwitz on appeal !!
 

The Quality of Mercy - Why Effective Pain Treatments aren't Used by Brownlee et al; US New&World Report; 1997 -- "What is lacking is not the way to treat pain effectively but the will to do it. [Docs] are afraid to prescribe... out of fear [of] overzealous law enforcers"

Comment:
Major coverage of the pain crisis circa mid '90's. This article could pass as current. Hell, so could Rufus King: "Jailing the Healers and the Sick" published in 1953 Yale Law Review. <sigh>
 

AAPS Letter to Judge Wexler on Behalf of Dr. William Hurwitz by Jane Orient, M.D., Exec. Dir; AAPS; 2/5/2005 -- "Docs] are obligated to administer 'high dose' therapy... where medically indicated, as Hurwitz did."

See also:
Letter to the Honorable Judge Wexler in Support of Dr. William Hurwitz
by Alexander DeLuca, M.D.; 2/5/2005
 

Judge Rules [Dr. Cecil] Knox May Stand Trial [Again] - The judge said Cecil Knox's cancer was in remission, allowing the second trial to be held. by Laurence Hammack; Roanoke Times; 4/2/2005

Comment:
The Govt. failed to convict Knox & Beverly  Boone in 2003 on the usual multiple charges. Now that Knox is in remission from cancer, the Govt. decides to take another whack at them.
 
Standard Drug War 'justice': use the full power of Fed law enforcement & hit pain docs again and again. Till they stay down & stop fighting.
 
Your tax $ at work; feeling any safer, America?

Dose Response Misconceptions about Pain Treatment could get [Hurwitz Life in Prison] by Jacob Sullum; ReasonOnline; 4/1/2005 --  "In December, after a federal jury convicted McLean, Virginia, pain doctor William Hurwitz of running a drug trafficking operation, the foreman told The Washington Post "he wasn't running a criminal enterprise." Don't bother reading that sentence again; it's not going to make any more sense the second time around."
 

Sheer Torture  by John Tabin; American Spectator; 3/25/2005 -- "This isn't a new problem... experts have urged doctors to be less stingy with... opioids than the conventional wisdom once advised. Surely, they'd have more success if drug warriors weren't sending the opposite message."
 

Just Say No to a Drugs Policy that Doesn't Work:UN And US  Attempts To Enforce Total Prohibition Are Sheer Folly by Polly Toynbee; Guardian; 4/23/2003 -- "[We must end] a global policy that turns drugs from a manageable disease of the few into a widescale social calamity."
 

Weighing the Difference Between Treating Pain and Dealing Drugs by Tina Rosenberg; Editorial Observer; NYT; 3/26/05 -- "[Hurwitz's] prosecution seems inexplicable except as a signal to other doctors that they can go to prison for life for being duped by their patients. That signal is being heard - the exodus from aggressive treatment of pain is increasing."
 

Life Sentence Sought for Va. Pain Doctor William Hurwitz by Jerry Markon; Washington Post; 3/9/2005 -- "Such an extreme sentence sends the message to the medical community that the government will continue to go after doctors." [Portenoy, Chair, Pain Dept, BI, NY]
 

Fight for Full Disclosure on Possible Pain by Jane Brody; NYTimes; Page F-7; 3/8/2005 -- "[A] mass uprising by doctors and patients in support of legitimate pain treatment is overdue."

Comment: - Too bad it took the bad experience of a star reporter to get the Times to take this issue seriously.
To Ms Brody: "You Go Gurr - Tell the Truth!!"
 

A New Kind of Drug War by C. Farrell; BusinessWeek Online; 2/28/2005 -- "Instead of the battle cry "war on drugs," let's try the mantra "legalization, regulation, and taxation."
 

National Drug Control Strategy Taking Lumps from All Sides - Drug War Chronicle; #377; 3/4/2005 -- "'There is no evidence in these data, [and none] in the previous 20 years, that massive enforcement succeeds in pushing market prices up,'  said UCLA drug policy analyst, Kleiman."

See also (PDFs):
Full text ONDCP report; 2005
+
Price & Purity Illicit Drugs; RAND/ONDCP '04
 

Minorities' Pain Often Treated Too Lightly by Sheri Hall; The Detroit News; 3/3/2005 -- "[A] mounting body of evidence shows minorities are less likely than whites to receive medicines, physical therapy and care they need."
 

A New Kind of Drug War by C. Farrell; BusinessWeek Online; 2/28/2005 -- "Instead of the battle cry "war on drugs," let's try the mantra "legalization, regulation, and taxation."
 

Non-Negotiables in the DEA FAQ Redux by David  Brushwood; Pain & the Law; 2005 -- "Irrational flip-flops on the rules... provide convincing evidence that the DEA has no clear understanding of either medicine or pharmacy."

Comment:
Excellent work by Brushwood who analyses the two core statements removed by DEA. Much better than his 2004 "Chilling Effect is No Myth" and also than the recent "Why Govt. Pursues War on Docs," IMO.
 

The Double Life of OxyContin Transcript of Infinite Mind radio, 3/10/2004 -- "DEA's Willis is asked, 'How can docs be held criminally responsible for knowing whether their patients are [lying]?' She says the DEA doesn't hold docs responsible if they [prescribe] in good faith..."

Comment:
Does DEA ever not lie? The Judge in Hurwitz refused to instruct the jury that good faith and intent ARE a defense against CSA violations. Life after Hurwitz: 'Good Faith will not save even good docs whose practices have been cleared by State Med. Boards'
 

Marijuana may block Alzheimer's BBC News World Edition; 2/22/2005

Comment: 
Maybe the Drug Warriors owe us an apology for brutally discouraging research & denying millions access to meds that might have relieved untold suffering?
See also:
"Big Lies & Bullies Trump Research in WOD - The LaGuardia Commission"
 

 DEA's Campaign vs OxyContin Keeps Pain Relief from Millions by Ron Fraser; The Roanoke Times; 2/20/2005 -- "Throughout the U.S., physicians are being threatened, impoverished, delicensed and imprisoned for prescribing in good faith with the intention of relieving pain." - [Dr. Orient, AAPS]

Comment:
This is more thorough than most War on Doctors articles, and more informative.
 

 The War on Pain Sufferers by S. Richman;  Baltimore Chronicle; 2/14/2005 -- "Let's reflect: our... govt has brought about a situation in which people with pain... suffer because their docs live under a reign of terror."
and,
 Pain Meds: A Doctor's Perspective by Anonymous Doc to Dr. Meyers, Feb. 2005 -- Comment: This letter is a raw, honest view of how the War on Docs works. Recommended.
 

Severe Pain: Docs Have Much to Learn by Jane Brody; New York Times; 2/15/2005
and,
New Set of Knees: Whole Lot of Pain Jane Brody; New York Times; 2/8/2005. -- "JAMA stated: 'Bringing about significant change may depend on empowering patients to demand adequate pain treatment... especially if opioids must be used... and if the pain is [nonmalignant].'

Pay attention, current and future patients."
 

The OxyContin Debate by Ronald Frazer: Mobile Register; 2/6/2005 -- "[J]uries hear from DEA-hired docs that the use of high levels of OxyContin are outside the normal practice of medicine. Doctors for the defense give contrary testimony.
Faced with conflicting expert testimony, lay juries tend to convict."
 

I Consider Cannabis My Miracle by Evelyn Nieves, Washington Post; 1/30/2005 -- "To the federal government, Raich and Monson are illegal drug users."
 

Dr. Klees Sentenced Jet TV Action News 24; Air date: 1/25/2004 -- "During his November trial, the prosecution convinced the jury that Klees was prescribing strong painkillers, such as Oxycontin, to patients who didn`t need them."
 

Give Us The Drugs; Prejudice Denies People Access to Safe, Effective Opioids by Maia Szalavitz; New Scientist; 1/29/2005. -- "Media hysteria and govt paranoia over their addictive properties have frightened both doctors and patients alike. Yet the truth about opioids could not be more different."
 

Letter to the Honorable Judge Wexler in Support of  Dr. William Hurwitz by Alexander DeLuca, M.D.; 2/5/2005 -- "Here is what ASAM taught Hurwitz about the managing pain in the patient with addictive disorders... 'Set the dose at [an initially] appropriate level to treat the condition, and titrate as necessary.'"
 

Removal of DEA FAQ Causes Turmoil by Andis Robeznieks, AMNews; 12/20/2004 -- "Russell K. Portenoy, MD, who served as the leading expert on pain medicine for the panel that wrote the FAQ document, said the interim policy statement appears to criminalize practices such as allowing doctors to write smaller, multiple prescriptions with different dates for dispensing."
 

DEA Pain FAQ Retract Flap Fallout Continues -- Criticism Comes from [NAAG] from: Drug War Chronicle #373; 2/4/2005 -- "Now, the embattled agency has formally requested comments on the question of the proper prescribing of opioid pain medications. Leading pain physicians were quick to respond to news of the request, as would be expected, but so was the National Association of Attorneys General, representing the top law enforcement officers in each state. They were not pleased with the agency."

See Also:
 
DEA Has Stepped in It This Time
+
Removal of DEA FAQ Causes Turmoil
+
 PDF of Letter from NAAG to DEA 
 

DEA Has Stepped in It This Time by David Borden; Drug War Chronicle #373; 2/4/2005 --  "...30 state AG's... expressed 'surprise' at DEA's withdrawal of the FAQ, and concern that this action would have a chilling effect on the treatment of pain."

Comment:
Finally! Law Enforcement speaks out against DEA policy/actions. This, the new PSA and Frank Fisher's recent complete exoneration! could be very good for Hurwitz on appeal.

See Also:
DEA Pain FAQ Retract Flap Fallout Continues -- Criticism Comes from [NAAG]
 

Common Sense Unveils New Pain Management PSA Press Release; Common Sense for Drug Policy; Jan. 2005

TO CONVICT ONE DOCTOR, ZEALOTS AT DEA TORE UP PAIN GUIDELINES DEVELOPED OVER FOUR YEARS
 
"Over 30 million Americans suffer from chronic pain. Are we going to let them live in agony because of the misguided zealotry of federal prosecutors?"

Comment:
The press release, full text of the PSA, and PDF of the PSA, are available.
 

Dr. Loxley & Wife Arrested, Facing 91 Federal Charges by Anonymous reporter; WAVY.com; 2/1/2005 

Comment:
<sigh> The usual DEA barrage brought against yet another (very innocent sounding) doc for CSA violations. Aggrieved/ arrested patients testifying, scatter-shot charges, assets seized before trial, wife threatened. And Brushwood would have us "first respect"  DEA??
See also: Brushwood's  "The Chilling Effect is no Myth", and my: "Dissembling DEA & the Myth of the Chilling Effect"
 

Doctor [Fisher] And Pharmacy Owners [the Millers] Overcome Charges, Lose Footing by Maline Hazel; Redding Record Searchlight; 8/8/2004. -- "Fisher said.  'It's on the horizon -- the end of the war on drugs and people who prescribe them. It's all about giving medicine back to science.'"

Comment: 
God Bless you, Frank; I hope you are right. Brushwood says we are all to blame for the chilling effect [Chilling Effect is No Myth, directly below].
Does this mean that Frank Fisher, the exonerated physician dedicated to caring for the poor, and DA Lockyer, who perpetrated this Drug War legal nightmare, are equally at fault here?
This is a cop problem, not a doc problem. We docs take care of drug abuse and pain; the cops invented and perpetuate Prohibition and 'the drug problem' (see the difference?). 
 

The Chilling Effect is No Myth by David Brushwood, R.Ph., J.D.; Pain & the Law; 1/1/2004. -- "How can we begin to solve the problem of the chilling effect? First, we must respect DEA..."

Comment:
Anslinger who? Gee, I really thought I was going to like this one when I found it. Unfortunately, this is analysis from the "Let's pretend the world began in 1972" school.
It only makes sense if you buy into the Big Lies that drugs turn people into 'criminal addicts,' of venal pill pushing docs that need policing from the Fed, and that the drug problem wasn't, in fact, brought into existence by drug prohibition in the wake of Harrison, 1914.
<sheesh!> Please also see:
The Disembling DEA & "The Myth of the Chilling Effect," and: the Conclusion, and The Solution from War on Drugs, War on Doctors, Pain Crisis in America.
 

Supreme Court Allows Drug Dog Vehicle Searches Without Cause - Newsbrief, Drug War Chronicle # 372; 1/28/2005 -- "The Supreme Court has once again expanded the ability of police to conduct warrantless searches... Ginsberg wrote [in dissent]: "The decision clears the way for suspicionless, [drug dog] sweeps of parked cars along sidewalks and in parking lots."
 

[Hurwitz'] Punishment for the Right Call by Ray Molzon; Michigan Tech Lode; 1/11/2005

The presumption of guilt:
"The DEA had known for some time that a handful of Dr. Hurwitz's patients were distributing their drugs on the streets, yet did nothing to stop this behavior... it was the unknowing doctor who caught their attention and received the full wrath of our government's infallible justice."

Trial Slated April 11 for Doctors in Medication Dispensing... by Anonymous; Vindy.com, a service of The Vindicator; 12/28/2004. -- "Dr. Masters and two others are charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, trafficking in drugs, illegal processing of drug documents and practicing medicine without a certificate."
 

Erie Doctor [Klees] Could Face Up To 44 Years In Prison For Overdosing Patients by an Anonymous reporter; 35WSEE News; 1/26/2005. -- "The plan was simply to prescribe prescriptions, and to throw very heavy prescriptions very early in the game, and in consequence," said Doug Wright, Deputy Attorney General. "He did this without any addiction liability or worse, and somebody with a legitimate pain complaint could find themselves addicted real quick."

Comment:
Huh? Trash journalism - merely regurgitates the babble of the DA. But the quote, from our friend in Law Enforcement, is typically troubling: staggering ignorance expressed almost illiterately. God help us all.
 
This is the Big Lie, that taking 'drugs' makes you into a (criminal) 'drug addict,' which make the dealer (or doctor) you got them from a criminal too. Get it?
 

A Stunning Admission by Baltimore Police Officials, and More Drug War Chronicle #371; 1/21/2005. -- "Baltimore police officials have made the stunning admission that their campaign against inner city drug dealing has sparked a wave of homicides. But they intend to 'stay on course.'"
 

Jury Can Deny Liars for Hire by R. J. Cihak, M.D.; 1/5/2005; Medicine Men; NewsMax.com -- "[As per agreements in '97-'98] Hurwitz provided [unprecedented State & Fed.] access to his clinical plans and patient records... When Govt. agents discovered these patients [committing crimes] they bribed them to testify against the doctor... They also sent... imposters, liars for hire, paid by the prosecution."

The "Message" of Hurwitz is:
"Both Medicine and Law have become hopelessly corrupt and distorted by the drug war and now operate without pretence of ethics or justice." ..alex...
 

Doctor's [Katz] Medical License Suspended by Blake Spurney; The Clayton Tribune; 12/15/2004. -- "Katz...told the board's agent 'he takes 3-10 narcotic pills each day for "restless legs",' the [suspension] order said... Katz said he went to the Talbot Recovery Campus and underwent a five-day evaluation. 'The order says I'm impaired, the experts say I'm not,' he said."

Comment:
This article was emailed to me by an R.N./pain patient of Dr. Katz's, who wrote me passionately in his defense, concluding, "I don’t pretend to understand where all of these allegations came from. I only know that if there were more doctors like Dr Katz, there would be a lot less suicide due to untreated chronic pain." I will seek permission to reprint the entire letter for you all.
 

Black State Legislators Condemn Drug War, Seek Alternatives by The Drug War Chronicle #369; 1/7/2005. -- "That African Americans suffer disproportionately from drug prohibition is beyond doubt. Not only do blacks go to jail for drug offenses at a rate 13 times that of whites despite having similar drug use rates... and not only do blacks make up 59% of those convicted...  despite being only 12.2% of the population, but black urban communities suffer the brunt of both drug law enforcement and the community disruption caused by prohibition."

See also:
 Milton Friedman's 1998 New York Times classic: "There's No Justice in the War on Drugs"
which asks, "Can our laws be moral when they have so racist an effect?"
 

Physician discusses flip side of tort reform by W. Wilkins; Delta Democrat Times Newspaper; 1/4/2005. -- "Myers filed his complaint... alleging that the board of the not-for-profit Medical Assurance Co. in Ridgeland 'has made it clear that they do not want me to treat poor chronic-care patients and has wrongly denied coverage to other black physicians practicing in poor, primarily black communities.'"
 

Jailed Doc, Tortured Patient by Jane M. Orient, M.D.; United Press International; 1/5/2005. -- "Doctors know they will face ethical dilemmas: should they prescribe for a patient with a history of drug abuse, who now has genuine pain, thereby risking prosecution -- or [should docs] act as judge and executioner in adding unrelieved torture to whatever punishment the law metes out to users who defy the drug laws?"

Comment:
It is my personal belief that until we in America admit our wrongs in demonizing drug users and admit them once again into society as citizens with rights, there will be no assurance of decent health care for pain patients or users. This is our real "drug problem."
 

To Patients in Legal Fight, Medical Marijuana is a Lifeline by Evelyn Nieves; Washington Post; 1/3/2005 -- "The public is sympathetic to their situations; polls show up to 80 percent of Americans approve of medical marijuana. But the federal government has remained steadfast against reclassifying marijuana and has repeatedly rejected applications from university researchers who want to study the drug as medicine."
 

Study Shows Long-term use of NSAIDs Causes’ Severe Intestinal Damage by S. Boyer, R.N. for the Vidyya Med. News Service; 1/4/2005 --  "We have always known that NSAIDs can cause potentially deadly stomach complications, but the extent of the impact on the small intestine was largely unknown until now," said David Graham, MD, lead study author.  

See also:
"Drugs are Bad; Compared to What?"

GIF image of a famous Doonsbury cartoon by Gary Trudeau, in which a physician explains to a caretaker why the suffering patient cannot be prescribed sufficient  morphine to relieve her pain: 
"[Your] dear friend has the misfortune of dying after 1914, which was the last time physicians had full discretion in prescribing narcotics."
The doctor continues in a later panel,
"It's the main reason why up to 40% of cancer patients in nursing homes are in daily pain." 

Here is another cartoon (I cannot make out the author's signature, and will try to obtain correct attribution), sent me by Frank Fisher, who got it from Beverly B., "with Bill Hurwitz in mind":


"Whatda ya think I am Stupid, Doc? Youse tryin to tell me that you servin 15 years of hard time for violating a CPT code? Whatever dat is. Come on, Doc, ya killed someone didn't ya. Smoked the old lady, I bet!!"
 

Medical Marijuana: The Pain of Prohibition by Salim Muwakkil; 12/29/2004; for CommonDreams.org. -- [On review of DEA's own 1986-88 study,]  DEA’s administrative judge, F.J. Young,  said:  “[M]arijuana... in its natural form, is one of the safest active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care.”
 

[BOOKMARKED BELOW ON THIS PAGE]

Series of  more than 30 articles dating back to 2002 (new added daily!) focusing on the Federal persecution of pain doc Hurwitz, and on the Amazing, Vanishing DEA FAQ debacle of 2004
 

Deputy Cleared in Death [of Pain Patient] by Robin Knepper; Free Lance-Star; 12/1/200. -- "Elliott, 32, broke his back after falling from the roof... [The] resulting need for pain-killing medicines led to his addiction [according to his wife]. When the OxyContin he had relied on was suddenly withdrawn in November, Elliott experienced withdrawal and continuous pain..."

Comment:
Billed as a story of 'suicide-by-cop,' this entire incident could have been prevented by basic medical care. WHY WAS THIS PATIENT 'SUDDENLY WITHDRAWN' FROM HIS PAIN MEDS? Bizarrely, no one asks this question, or seems to care.
 

Prescription for Pain Care: More Docs; More Treatment by Andis Robeznieks, Professional Issues column; AMNews; 12/13/2004. -- "There are many obstacles to getting primary care physicians more comfortable in treating pain [because docs] fear law enforcement action [for] overprescribing... [E]xperts are calling for more pain education... and general changes in approaching pain treatment."

Comment:
Gee, what 'general changes' do they mean? <sheesh>
Education is NOT a solution to the Pain Crisis as long as DEA controls the medication and the docs.
See also:
War on Drugs/War on Doctors/Pain Crisis in America sections:  "Conclusion" and "The Solution..."
 

DEA Isn't "Out to Get" Doctors Karen Tandy (DEA Admin); USA-Today.com; 12/7/2004. -- "In 2003, DEA arrested only 50 doctors out of the almost 1 million who are registered with us. Those 50 doctors committed egregious acts, such as exchanging prescriptions for sexual favors or kickbacks."

Comment:
Tandy, refreshed from the Amazing Vanishing FAQ debacle, trots out the same-old, lame-O, "Myth of the Chilling Effect" in this piece of USA Today tripe.
See also:
"The Myth of the Chilling Effect" - 2003 DEA press release
"Dissembling DEA & the 'Myth of the Chilling Effect'" ..alex...
 

The Drug War Toll Mounts by Radley Balko, Cato Institute, 12/2/2004. -- "So despite all of the money we've spent and people we've imprisoned, despite the damage done to our... criminal justice system [and] our civil liberties, despite the... needless suffering we've imposed on sick people and their doctors... drug prohibition has failed, by every conceivable measure."
 

Defending Our Privacy, Except When They Abuse It by Howard Troxler, St. Petersberg Times, 2004. -- "If it's none of the state's business whether I own a gun, it most certainly is none of the state's business what I am buying down at Eckerd's. I don't care in the slightest if keeping a file on me 'maximizes investigators' effectiveness.' It is none of the government's business... It is not the job of the citizens to give up their rights to make life easier for the government."
 

HR-3015 Continues War Against Pain Patients and Doctors by Glueck  & Cihak; NewsMax.com; 11/23/2004. -- "In addition to the medicine and dose, the doctor would have to give the government the patient's name, address and telephone number... information [that] would then become part of a national computer database, available to the police and also possibly to employers..."
 

Rehab Justice by Donald Lay; NY Times Editorial; pg A31; 11/19/2004. -- "[The] total federal inmate population is 180,318. About 54 percent of that population are drug felons. The total cost for... the entire population [is] almost $11 million a day or $4 billion a year."

Comment:
The author is senior judge 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. He discusses differences in State and Federal approach to drug crimes. The former with it's progressive drug courts, the latter with it's mandatory minimums and failure to distinguish between violent and nonviolent crime.
 

Marijuana Research (PDF) Editorial: Scientific American; pg 8; December 2004. -- "[O]utdated regulations and attitudes thwart legitimate research with marijuana... a so-called Schedule 1 drug...  defined as being potentially addictive and having no medical use, which... becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Comment:
This issue of SA may be worth buying for the Medical  Marijuana policy wonk or doc in the family. Has a feature article entitled: "The Brain's Own Marijuana" by Nicoll & Alger with a wild lead-in picture.
 

Oxycodone involvement in drug abuse deaths:  DAWN-based classification scheme applied to oxycodone postmortem database containing over 1000 cases by Cone et al.; J.Analytical Toxicology; 27(2); 2003. -- "Only 3.3% of the drug abuse cases involved oxycodone as the single... entity; of these, 12 cases had OxyContin identified as a source of oxycodone. 96.7% were... deaths in which there was at least one other plausible contributory drug in addition to oxycodone."  
 

Dopeypropaganda by Anon.; South China Morning Post; pg 13; 11/20/2004. -- "The unsubtle nature of the [DEA] propaganda reminds me of the comments made by top US officials during the 1950s when they claimed that China was seeking to demonise the free people of the world with cheap, high-quality heroin. There was never any reliable evidence for that, either."  
 

Mandatory Madness-What happened to a man [Richard Paey] whose only crime, it seems, was trying to ease his chronic pain. by Eric Snider, Weekly Planet, 6/17/2004 -- "Illegally possessing [28 grams of Percoset] gets you 25 years. It's the same mandatory minimum as 28 grams of heroin... Each of his pills contained 5 mg oxycodone and 325 mg Tylenol. For sentencing purposes, though, the latter substance was weighed in as well."

Comment:
A modern classic of drug war journalism. This is an EXCELLENT article about Richard Paey, a patient with failed back syndrome, recently sentenced to 25 years in prison.  His *only* crime was trying to ease his pain. Wheelchair-bound Richard Paey remains in prison as we approach Thanksgiving, 2004.

This is SO wrong. You can help. Contact the Pain Relief Network.
 

Former Pain Clinic Doctor (Walter) Charged in Drug Conspiracy by Kenneth A. Gailliard, The Sun News, 11/10/2004 . -- "... Jackson's sentence is about 24 years, Bordeaux's about 19 years and Alerre's about eight years... Walter was indicted in October... One doctor committed suicide before trial."

Comment:
I have been in regular communication with Drs Walter and Bordeaux for years, and know them to be physicians of integrity. I have absolutely no doubt that they were practicing legitimate pain medicine and that that was their intent. This is the Fed run amok, and pain patients and substance users are denied basic medical care because the policeman believes in the Big Lie of a prescription drug crisis, and the politicians are cowards.
 

Drug Control Policy Out of Balance  by David Brushwood; Pain & the Law; 9/4/2003. -- "The necessary balance in pain policy... has tipped drastically in the direction of ruthless drug control and away from compassionate collaboration... The past five years has generated an unprecedented list of health care providers charged with murder for allegedly providing inappropriately large quantities of opioids to pain patients."

Comment:
Good review of the horridly ambiguous "red flags" used by regulators, and also of the cases of Drs. Narramore, Bek, Weitzel, Fisher, the Millers, Hurwitz, Graves, Deonarine, Green, the Henrys... and this is just the past 5 years.
I think it is important to be familiar with these names; these are very important cases. Please, everyone:
 
!! SCREAM BLOODY MURDER !!
 

Drug Czar Vows to Fight Legalization of Marijuana by Ed Vogel, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 10/21/2004. -- "'[W]e are saying this drug is part of our society. Anyone who wants marijuana can get it...' With controlled, legal marijuana, the number of illegal drug dealers would drop and teens would have a harder time acquiring it, Sandell [of the Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana] said."
 

The New York Times' Other WMD Problem by Trevor Butterworth; STATS; 8/6/2004. -- "Like the supposed existence of WMDs, the apparent epidemic of OxyContin abuse in America has led to a war. And it's a war that America will lose, if people in pain cannot go to their local physician and get the treatment they need to make life bearable."

Comment:
Very complete analysis of the media firestorm that became the 'Oxycontin Crisis' and of the real damage done by sensationalism and misinformation. Demystifying; recommended.
 

Challenging the Feds by Jordan Smith;.Austin Chronicle; 10/20/2004. -- "[M]edical marijuana advocates... petition the DHHS asking that misinformation be corrected... [Advocate Stacey Swimme said, '[A]fter 60 days we will have the opportunity to take them to court...'"
 

The Maple Leaf Forever - Walters: Canadian Pot is "Greatest Threat" by Jordan Smith; The Austin Chronicle; 9/10/2004. -- "Unfortunately for Walters, the U.S. Department of Justice doesn't agree with his dire dope assessments... According to the annual National Drug Threat Assessment report...  the increase in marijuana-related emergency room visits has 'not been significant.'"
 

Jail Stay Ends in Death For 27 y/o  Quadriplegic Man Sentenced for Marijuana Possession
by Henri E. Cauvin, Washington Post; 10/1/2004. -- "I'm not saying that he shouldn't have been punished, because he did smoke the marijuana," his mother, Mary Scott, said yesterday, a day after burying her son. "I just don't think it should have cost him his life."

Comment:
How much longer will we accept this?
Also,
if you think this is just an isolated case, read about poor Richard Paey, in "Mandatory Minimums" by Eric Snider.
 

Doctors Behind Bars: Treating Pain is Now Risky Business by Sally Satel; New York Times; 10/19/2004. -- "The red flags [alerting] regulators... are, paradoxically, the very features that can also mark responsible care for intractable pain."

Comment:
I like Sally Satel, though she completely loses me with at least one sentence or idea in every article, and this one is no exception. Still, Sally is a force for good, not evil, IMO.
She examines the War on Doctors nightmare largely by a well written review of Frank Fisher's case.     ..alex...
--
[Also: very nice picture of Frank!!]   
 

On Capitol Hill, Pain Treatment Advocates Call on Congress to Help Patients, Restrain DEA - Drug War Chronicle, #356; 10/1/2004.. -- "[Reynolds of PRN said,] 'This affects... the elderly, it affects children with cancer. This is about the denial of ethical medical treatment... because of government action against physicians... to have the whole medical system driven by fear of a small number of addicts while millions of pain patients suffer is insane.'"
 

Is Your Bong Breeding Terrorists? DEA Brings Reefer-Madness to the Big Apple by Nick Gillespie; ReasonOnline; 9/24/2004. -- "The idea [behind the taxpayer-funded DEA exhibit]  is that... if you use illegal drugs, then you are complicit in terrorist actions... Needless to say... if the drug trade were legalized, black market profits and violence would disappear. When was the last time terrorists used, say, the tobacco trade to finance their operations?"
 

Kentucky's Pain -Three years into the war on OxyContin abuse, the casualties continue. But there's hope where it all began. by Debra Rosenberg; Newsweek; 9/20/2004. -- "After reading an expose in the Lexington paper last year, Kentucky Rep. Hal Rogers used his seat on the House appropriations committee to acquire $16 million for UNITE (Unlawful Narcotics Investigations, Treatment and Education). "

Comment:
Can you spell "pork?" Typical drug war journalism - propaganda straight and pure from the DEA. Read it and weep.     ..alex...
 

Study: Teen Pot Use Sinks Like a Stone in California from: Drug Policy News, Drug Policy Alliance, 8/23/2004. -- "'Frankly, it never made any sense that kids would think a drug is cool because cancer or AIDS patients use it to keep from vomiting,' said Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project, which first reported the study last week."
 

Pill Stoppers - The DEA acknowledges yet denies the conflict between drug control and pain control by Jacob Sullum; Reason Online; 8/24/2004. -- "On the one hand, the DEA admits that distinguishing between legitimate patients and people looking to get high can be tricky. On the other... the DEA denies there is any conflict between preventing nonmedical use of opioids and making sure that people who need painkillers can get them in adequate doses."
 

No Friends of Bill Wilson by Radley Balko, New Republic, 5/17/2004. -- "The same mindset that finds a symbolic victory over alcoholism more important than a deathbed drink for a sick man can see fit to justify a 25-year prison term for an oxycodone-using MS sufferer and handcuffing an elderly post-polio marijuana user to her bed at the point of a gun."

Comment:
Well written article finds toxic similarities in the mindsets behind both the 'abstinence-uber-alles' mentality and drug war thinking. Recommended.  See also: "Back Door to Prohibition: The New War on Social Drinking" by Radley Balko.
 

Sex, Drugs, and Prohibition by Bruce Mirken, AlterNet, 8/27/2004. -- "CASA's latest report, issued Aug. 19, is a profoundly strange document. More important, it is profoundly dishonest...  Missing altogether are tables showing whether there were any correlations they chose not to highlight, or any indication of which, if any, of the results – including the touted correlations between drugs and sexual/dating behavior – were statistically significant."

Comment:
Califano and CASA are an embarrassment, as were Leshner and McCaffrey, and as are Czar Walters et. al. at the ONDCP. <sigh>
Very, very depressing. Our tax dollars at work.    ..alex...
 

The Great Oxycontin Scare by Trevor Butterworth, STATS, 8/30/2004. -- "The GAO report, when it came out, was even more damning. The DEA were forced to publicly concede that its data on abuse and diversion were not 'reliable, comprehensive, or timely.' The DEA also agreed that 'OxyContin has not been and is not now considered the most highly abused and diverted prescription drug nationally.'"
 

Fed Backs Down in Medical Pot Case - Marijuana-Growing Supplies to Be Given Back to Aurora Man by Hector Gutierrez; Rocky Mountain News; 8/27/2004. -- "[Mr. May, who is] suffering from chronic pain won a major victory when the government agreed to return all of his marijuana growing equipment.  'I think this is a big step because with the DEA giving my equipment back they know what I'm going to do with it, and it's like they're condoning it,' he said. "