
The Pain Refugees: The forgotten victims of America’s opioid crisis - samclemens
https://harpers.org/archive/2018/04/the-pain-refugees/
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refurb
It's fascinating living long enough to see things come full circle.

Back in the 1980s, people were severely under-treated for pain. Things changed
and being on opioids long-term was OK in certain circumstances. Now we've come
full circle and people in pain are being denied effective treatments, all in
the name of moral panic.

Rinse...and repeat.

~~~
2bitencryption
> all in the name of moral panic

I think "moral panic" implies "nothing is wrong, but are all panicking
anyway."

Something is clearly wrong. And those pills are coming from somewhere.

It seems like the true panic is over finding the right balance, if that's even
possible.

~~~
jnbiche
> And those pills are coming from somewhere.

Not sure, but if you're suggesting these are from legal prescription pain
pills, please read the article and look at CDC data. You'll note that most
opiate deaths aren't from pills, but from illegal heroin, fentanyl, and
carfentanyl. Pain pill prescriptions are down 40% the past 5 years, even as
opiate deaths are up 40%.

~~~
DmenshunlAnlsis
It’s almost like... people got hooked on pain pills pushed by Perdue and
doctors, then their access was removed so they switched to “illegal heroin,
fentanyl, and carfentanyl,” and started dropping dead.

40% drop on one hand and 40% rise on the other... ah reckon thar maht be a
connection!

~~~
refurb
Read the article. People getting addicted to medically prescribed opiates is
single digit percentage.

Are their pill mills out there? Yes, and the DEA should shut them down.

But should we be undertreating real pain in order to “do something” about
opioid deaths? He’ll no.

~~~
tomnipotent
A vast majority of those that become addicted to illegal opiates start with
legal opiates, and transition when access or cash becomes a problem.

~~~
refurb
Sure, drugs illegally diverted.

That doesn’t mean you should be denying pain medication to people who need it.

------
SolaceQuantum
> He explained that Isaiah, his five-year-old, had been especially affected by
> his mom’s leaving, and a few mornings earlier, still half-asleep, had grown
> distraught. “Do you have any idea,” he asked, “what it’s like when your son
> needs you to comfort him, he needs you to pick him up, and all you can tell
> him is, ‘I’m so sorry, I just can’t right now’?”

An absolutely chilling ending to a great read. It brings to light serious
problems in how society is handling cracking down on opioid addiction, but
also there aren’t many solutions available.

~~~
toomuchtodo
> but also there aren’t many solutions available.

Properly funding mental health and rehabilitation services would be a start.

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JeffreyKaine
Marijuana is a great alternative to opioids for pain management. I got a
couple long term injuries in college (permanently broken L5 vertebrae, a
shoulder that continually dislocates) and was on opioids for quite a while. I
was noticing a dependence and quickly looked for alternatives. Weed has been a
godsend. I can sleep through the night, and mostly operate pain free these
days. I've been smoking weed for 7+ years and I'm feeling great!

Disclaimer: I work for Eaze.

~~~
culot
I have never found that to be true. I've been a lot of pain meds in the past,
and marijuana as well, and the marijuana never did squat for the pain.
Transitioning from opioids to marijuana, really? That sounds hella dubious to
me.

~~~
drewmol
I think this is quite dependant on the person, type of pain, cannabis strain,
extraction or concentration method, ingestion method etc. As mentioned up
thread, kratom provides much closer effect to the commonly prescribed opiate
derivative medications than cannabis. Note about kratom legality: Indonesia
and some other SE Asian countries where it's outright banned seem largely
influenced by the fact that opium addiction and sale is highly profitable for
the governing bodies, and mild natural alternatives are bad for business.

------
tomohawk
The supreme folly of allowing politicians to be involved in the doctor -
patient relationship. If they control medicine, they control your health, they
control you.

~~~
Qworg
The same doctor - patient relationship that was hijacked by corporations
pushing drugs and kickbacks for doctors? Who is in control then?

------
pdfernhout
Basic income the solution to the opioid crisis? A lot of financially poor
people working three part-time jobs would suddenly become a lot less stressed
and have more time to take care of themselves and their families.

------
skookumchuck
I'm surprised the pharma companies are still even producing opioids. They've
been so demonized for it, why should they?

~~~
favorited
Because there is truly no other viable solution for pain management in certain
situations.

~~~
evincarofautumn
Obviously, in certain circumstances only traditional opioids will do, but for
alternative pain management, people speak highly of cannabis and kratom.

For those who haven’t yet heard of it, kratom (variously pronounced “KRAY-
tum”, “KRAT-um”, and “kra-TOME”) is a southeast Asian tree in the coffee
family, whose leaves are chewed or ground into powder and swallowed in
capsules or brewed into tea; it acts as an atypical opioid agonist, which
appears to be less addictive and significantly less dangerous than traditional
opioids, while offering comparable pain relief. The DEA and FDA have been
making moves toward banning it for a few years now, lacking both sufficient
evidence that it’s dangerous, and sufficient research to confirm the
considerable anecdotal evidence that it’s safe and useful as a mild natural
remedy for pain, anxiety and depression, and addiction—particularly opioid
withdrawal.

So I hope cannabis legalisation continues to proceed and that kratom achieves
secure legal status so that it can be used directly, as well as studied and
used to produce derivatives, for safer and less addictive pain management.

Thousands of people claim that it has saved their lives from opioid addiction
and pain. Personally, I’ve found it useful for my minor chronic pain, but it
truly _gave me my life back_ from alcoholism by greatly reducing my desire to
drink. I fear that if it’s banned, it will result in needless deaths and
further worsen the opioid crisis.

