Pain patients aren’t 'drug users': Exposing a dangerous myth

Pain patients aren’t 'drug users': Exposing a dangerous myth 
American Council on Science and Health; by Cameron English; 7/18/24 
Chronic pain patients who take opioids under medical supervision are fundamentally different from recreational users who take drugs to get high. In their bid to destigmatize and legalize drugs, some drug policy reformers have attempted to blur this clear distinction. [Read case study of a hospice patient who was denied pain meds for longterm conditions, and was put on an opioid for which she had informed the hospice that she could not tolerate. Access to talking with her physician was denied. Result: She changed to a different hospice.] ... America’s drug policies are shifting from prohibition to normalization, one extreme to the other, while inexplicably neglecting pain patients. ... We should give legitimate pain patients access to prescription opioids and discourage recreational users and addicts from consuming illicit drugs—even if legalization is the goal.