In general, I want to avoid rants on this blog, because I already rant enough in daily life. Every now and then, though, something really chaps my hide, and this story is one of them: the conviction of Dr. William Hurwitz on charges of drug trafficking. Dr. Hurwitz ran a clinic for treatment of people with chronic, debilitating pain. Patients came to him because he was one of the few doctors willing to prescribe opioids in large quantities, allowing them to regain their daily lives. Well, our society doesn't have a lot of sympathy for sufferers of pain, and combined with our strong Puritanical streak, we've created a situation where the possibility that a few will become addicted to painkillers outweighs the benefits to the other users. And so, the DEA came down on Dr. Hurwitz and it came down hard. Dr. Hurwitz has already served 2 1/2 years in jail and could serve up to 20 after sentencing. Even though the prosecutors could only obtain convictions on 16 of 45 counts, their goal has been achieved: doctors will be even more frightened of prescribing strong painkillers to those in agony. A more pathetic victory in the war on drugs could not be imagined.
John Tierney writes about Dr. Hurwitz's case here and Reason magazine ran a lengthy story on him at the time of his first trial.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
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Plus read Theodore Dalrymple's opus "Romancing Opiates" in which he argues that opiates are, in fact, very difficult to become addicted to, and that the withdrawal symptoms are much more innocuous than those from alcohol withdrawal.
Plus read Theodore Dalrymple's opus "Romancing Opiates" in which he argues that opiates are, in fact, very difficult to become addicted to, and that the withdrawal symptoms are much more innocuous than those from alcohol withdrawal.
Now how does one delete a double entry? My trigger finger was too quick...
My name is Kurt Fischer and i would like to show you my personal experience with Oxycontin.
I have taken for 2 years. I am 27 years old. I took percecet 10 mg 4 times a day and they helped but gave me massive mindgrains so I switched to oxycotin which I think is a better long term drug. Oxycontin doesnt have a coming down experience you stay feeling good the whole day. The only bad thing about it is getting off it, I just resestly got off it 3 days ago and had very bad withdrawl symptoms even with help of a "junkie" medication.
I hope this information will be useful to others,
Kurt Fischer
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