Due to a disability that reared its ugly head in 2011 (Spinal stenosis and numerous herniated and ruptured discs) I require (per my doctors) a pain medicine that comes as a patch called Fentanyl. It is a schedule II substance that can, if not used as directed, become highly addictive. This would be all well and good if it weren't for an incident that was so grievous and took so many lives, that access to this medicine, which allows me to get out of bed without enormous pain, was restricted to the point of absurdity. The incident involved two brothers, the Brothers George as it were, and due to the length of its tale can be read here: http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/05/07/11542417-how-florida-brothers-pill-mill-operation-fueled-painkiller-abuse-epidemic?lite . In short, these two brothers operated hundreds of fast food pain clinics that in essence allowed people to walk in, pay an enormous sum, and walk out with far more narcotics than they could reasonably use. Its impact can not be understated, they caused the death of tens of thousands of people and spurred lawmakers to assume that this was the trend all across the board. Tracking systems were put into place to track who uses narcotics, how often they fill, how much and what they fill, and who writes the prescriptions. Doctors, in fear, stopped writing these medicines and pharmacies instituted quotas that regardless of how many patients they had that needed the medicine, they would only be supplied with and fill so many narcotic prescriptions. This, coupled with the fact that Florida refuses to allow wider use of non-narcotic pain medicines (like Marinol which has been shown to reduce pain without the nasty side effects) has made life for those of us with legitimate pain (and mountains of documentation showing it is legitimate) to obtain the medicines needed to make life bearable and help make us more productive. It would seem here that two bad apples spoiled the bunch.
Ignoring the invasion of privacy these tracking systems employ (Florida rejected systems that would only disclose sensitive information if a crime was suspected by the system) one must wonder what the goal of the legislature is? Though tens of thousands of lives were lost, it is less than the lives taken by meth, heroin, cocaine, and other much more dangerous drugs. Would not a more targeted measure against those who seek only to abuse these medicines be a more ethical approach or must all of us suffer for these two very bad apples? Is it not ridiculous to assume that all doctors are pill pushers and all patients are addicts? And what of those who need help relieving their pain, do they not deserve a better quality of life than this? My pharmacist and family look at me like I'm a heroin pusher every time I fill a legitimate prescription and use it EXACTLY as directed. Do I not deserve better than this, especially when my need is documented by MRIs (numerous) and XRAYs as well as several agreeing independent evaluations?
Of course I ask these questions but you may be thinking, well that's Florida, not my state. It is foolhardy to tread that road because time and time again states will follow the most restrictive policies if their citizens do not speak up. What do you think, is Florida's policy fair, and if it were you, how would you feel about it given my condition? I welcome responses as always.
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