Comments on: DEA’s Deadly Decision

By: jaydee

jaydee — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:50:38 +0000

The prohibitionist mentality and lack of compassion betrayed by some posters is nothing short of barbaric! I hope all these self righteous asshats experience severe pain and cannot get adequate pain relief because of the policies they advocate so loudly for. What the hell is the DEA doing in the doctor patient relationship in the first place! The DEA is nothing but a repository for cowardly sociopaths who by and large are right wing lunatics. Most of these people overdosing were using other drugs in conjunction with their methadone. And to the ‘recovering’ addict–what do you suggest those in severe pain do?

By: lakelife

lakelife — Mon, 26 May 2008 20:23:44 +0000

I am a firm believer that the true solution to addiction is a total drug free lifestyle, not substituting one mind altering or addictive substance for another. As an addict who has been clean for over 7 years I can tell you from experience that nothing beats totally conquering drug addiction. Lets stop embracing the attitude of more and more medication that often times create more problems than they solve. The real problems surrounding addiction are unhandled cravings, and unhandled feelings of guilt and depression.

By: Crystal

Crystal — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:48:41 +0000

People are blaming the DEA and the doctors for addicts. The problem is that the DEA and doctors do not create addicts, people do. Also, blame is being put on the DEA for not fixing the drug problem. The drug problem can not be fixed unless the addicts want to quit and most addicts do not want to quit until they hit rock bottom. Stop blaming everyone else because a family member is a drug addict and begin blaming the person who is really to blame…the drug addict.

By: Paul

Paul — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 04:22:19 +0000

Thank you, Darren, for the clarification and for pointing out that there isn’t now nor has there ever been a restriction under federal law limiting a practioner to writing 30 days worth of medication at a time.

Melissa- why won’t you get back on line here and admit that you were:
1. Lying 2. Misinformed 3. fearmongering….or maybe all three?

You still havn’t answered my question. How does this put more drugs on the street?

By: Darren McCoy

Darren McCoy — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:10:43 +0000

I’m a prescriber of pain medications. We are not using this rule to allow three-month visit intervals to every patient. On the contrary, it is being used very sparingly in our practice (e.g. the 70 y.o. man who has been on a stable dose for over a year, and who wants to “snowbird” in Florida with his kids for the winter months).

What no one seems to have brought up in the first place is that there’s no stipulation in the DEA’s regulations limiting a controlled substance to a 30 day supply. For a C-II medication (oxycodone, methadone, fentanyl, morphine, hydromorphone), I am free to write for a single prescription for as much as I think is appropriate. If that’s a six month supply at one time, there is no restriction against that. The primary limiting factor is, and will continue to be, insurance coverage. That is, most insurers won’t cover more than a 30 day supply on controlled meds, and most patients want everything for free, so we see them a month at a time and issue their prescriptions.

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 00:00:44 +0000

(CONTINUED)at least DEA has enough common sense to know that. Apparently you don’t.
It’s horrible and tragic whenever a child (or adult) suffers any kind of accidental death, but your argument as it stands makes no more sense than it would to ban the use of automobiles because one child (or adult) died in an auto accident, and you totally negate your credibility by the fact that you resorted to lies and distortions in the attempt to make your point.

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 23:51:12 +0000

Melissa…I would have been more respectful of your position had you not started all this with your sensationalistic but misleading title and then followed up with some outright lies about how this would somehow put more drugs on the street. 90 days equals 90 days period. No more drugs on the street (and no less).You have still not responded to my direct question: “How does this put more drugs on the street”?…because you already know the answer…it doesn’t!
The regulation you are referring to only addresses the number of Dr. visits required, and at that, only of well-established, stable patients.
The issues you now bring in (diversion monitoring, etc.)are peripheral and only tangentially related to your initial arguement. Let’s stick to one issue here.
76 million people in pain! That’s a lot! Some of them will be stable after time and no longer need to be seen monthly. YOU ARE NOT IN A POSITION TO DECIDE WHO MEETS THAT CRITERIA AND WHO DOESN’T AND NEITHER IS DEA (

By: beth c

beth c — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 16:53:42 +0000

So, in effect the first article titled “DEA’S Deadly Decision” is not really factual or correct in it ’s stating that Patients will be given a prescription for 90days worth of medication, but it does not go on to describe that a Patient will not be allowed to get more than 30 day supply of medication at one time, and that after that 30day period they then have another prescription to take to the Pharmacy to fill it?? It would have made a better and factual article if it had carried the explaination given in response no. 10, at least the general public would not have misunderstood the meaning.

Brenda Sutherland, You bring up a very valuable point, those people in terrible pain are paying the ultimate price for those who are irresponsible and misuse these medications, how many more Pain Patients will have to die for the lack of proper pain control. ??

Many people who need these medications have been seeing a Dr. for a long period of time, this will give the Dr. and the Patient more control, the Dr. can make a decision about the stability of the Patient and the Patient can decide if they think that they need more visits or care.

By: Brenda Sutherland

Brenda Sutherland — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 15:52:31 +0000

My name is Brenda Sutherland I am a POPAN Power Over Pain Action Nework Leader in The state of Washington. I am a person who along with 76 million other americans suffers with pain. I have chronic pain everyday of my life. I am disabled because of a desease that there is no cure, other then to treat the pain. The name of my desease is rsd or crps . It started 6 years ago in my left ankle, and has spread to both my legs . The only thing that keeps me out of a wheel chair and able to fution is the medication that I am on. There is not a problem in this country with drugs to treat people there is a problem with unresponciable people that use drugs to get high. Weather you control the amount of drugs perscribed or not an addit will get their drugs. By controling the amount of drugs perscribed you are only making it more dificult for people who need these drugs in order to live a futionable life. People that have deseases that there is no cure other then to control the pain. Like my desease and people at the end of their lives with pain and cancer patients. You see when you control the amount of drugs perscribed then you are only controling those that need them not those that abuse them.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 03:48:34 +0000

These people need to be assessed on a monthly basis for diversion, addiction, and if they are actually using their “medication” and not selling it. These drugs are NOT safe and the children should especially be seen on a monthly basis.

The states that do not have PMP’s (prescription monitoring programs) instituted have no preventative measure in place to make sure that these people aren’t visiting multiple doctors to get 90 scripts for these meds. The people abusing the sysmtem are crafty enough and to doctor the prescriptions and go to different pharmacies. They have scripts in their hands for pills that they shouldn’t have unless seen by a medical professional. I can only imagine now how many people are going to be calling their doctor for a so called “lost” prescription and filling at multiple pharmacies.

The DEA instituted the 30 day rule to curb diversion and because many doctors were NOT following orders and doing what they were supposed to do, they recind this law???? They should be enforcing it instead of recinding it.

What about the patient who is clearly abusing his script….what medical intervention is he going to get only seeing his specialist 4 times a year? What about the patient who doesn’t even require these pain meds…because he sells them on the street…he can get away with it much longer only seeing his doctor 4 times a year.

At the Methadone Mortality Conference in July, the pain management specialists talked about increased supervision, assessment, and montioring of patients on these drugs….how is this NEW rule achieving that goal???? Specialists even stood up and said that Methadone in particular was too dangerous and unpredictable for them to prescribe, another said it is a scary drug to prescribe even though she uses it, others couldn’t believe that they weren’t aware of the dangers when they used to prescribe it.

These drugs NEED better monitoring not LESS!!!! If myself or child were on these drugs, I would definelty want a doctor to see us as much as possible to look for adverse reactions, drug interactions, increased symptoms, blood and urine tests etc…. Accutane requires monthly visits and blood work in order to get a prescription and it hasn’t adversly affected as many people as these drugs have!!! We are in the midst of a prescription drug epidemic in this country!!

Melissa
http://www.HARMD.org

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 02:43:18 +0000

Actually, Melissa (and HARMD members), I think you are the one(s) who didn’t do your reading. If you will go and read it carefully, you will see that the patient still receives EXACTLY THE SAME AMOUNT OF MEDICATION under the new regulations as under the old, and it will be dispensed from the pharmacy in EXACTLY THE SAME MANNER that is, in three separate, prescribed supplies of 30 DAY WORTH of medication AT 30 DAY INTERVALS…NO MORE, NO LESS…
NOTHING NEW HERE!!The only difference is that only one Dr. visit is required instead of three for established, stable patients. Even this is nothing new. Most areas already did this. DEA only clarified this in response to questions as to whether or not this was acceptable

I ask you again, how does this put more drugs on the street? I really wish you people would get your facts straight before your hysteria kicks in.

By: Kristan

Kristan — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 19:33:14 +0000

Who are you trying to save here? Pain patients in need of meds, drug addicts who WILL find drugs one way or another (if not prescription than illicits)or is it teenagers who will suck on cans of aerosol to get high (IOW when there is a will there is a way).

Your hurting far more people than your helping by fighting GOOD medical practices like giving LONG TERM COMPLIANT PATIENTS the right to NOT have to see a doctor every month for something they have dealt with and paid for treatment for YEARS.

Your fighting a losing battle if you honestly think your going to save lives by making it harder for people to get the meds they need–your just making drug dealors richer.

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 12:14:55 +0000

You know Melissa, the sad thing is, you will go right on spouting your “my idea of what’s right must be forced on everyone else” rhetoric until the day that you yourself are afflicted with cancer or a similar painful condition, at which point you will say “You were right…this is terrible. I don’t want to go on living like this! Now please help me.” The only problem is, there is a chance that by then your kind may have had some success at whipping the public into a state of hysteria and help will not be available.

By: zenith

zenith — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 22:10:59 +0000

Perhaps you may wish to read this:

http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/E6-14520.htm

Here is an excerpt:

“DEA is hereby proposing to amend its regulations to allow
practitioners to provide individual patients with multiple
prescriptions, to be filled sequentially, for the same schedule II
controlled substance, with such multiple prescriptions having the
combined effect of allowing a patient to receive over time up to a 90-
day supply of that controlled substance.”

By: Paul Salas

Paul Salas — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 20:40:12 +0000

PLEASE!! This does NOT put more drugs on the street!! This policy “change” wasn’t even a change at all. It was only a clarification of something that was already being practiced in most areas of the U.S. already, which was to allow a Doctor to write for an established and stable patient his (her) usual 30 day prescription plus at the same visit give that patient 2 additional prescriptions with orders on them stating “DO NOT FILL UNTIL” the date they would be due. How does this “put more drugs on the street”?
This clarification is primarily meant to benefit those such as cancer patients & other long term management cases who’s medication needs are well established and who do not need to pay for a visit to the Dr’s office every 30 days

TO THE MEDIA:HOW IS THIS A “DEADLY DECISION”? The writer of this headline is an irresponsible liar who uses sensationalistic tactics in a manner not unlike one who would pour gasoline on a raging blaze in the hopes of getting a better news story out of the result.

By: zenith

zenith — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 19:40:23 +0000

As you said, Melissa, this was already being done, but NOT by doctors calling in scripts because it is illegal to call in a script for a schedule II drug unless it is an emergency. Some docs would allow patients to get their scripts in the mail each month–however, this was a “gray area”. The new law simply makes it legal for the doc to give the patient two postdated scripts that they cannot fill until they are due, and this is intended for stable long term patients, not brand new ones, who do not need to be seen each and every month and charged outrageous fees and copays for uneeded monthly monitoring of a stable and unchanging condition.

Where is YOUR concern for these people who must drag themselves in to the doctor each month despite severe pain, and for those who are on a fixed income? This is not putting more drugs into anyones hands, as these people are not getting more drugs than they ordinarily would nor are they getting them earlier than they ordinarily would. All it is doing is cutting out the extra and unneeded visits to the doc. Some patients may need monthly monitoring–but that should be up to the patient and their physician.

By: Chef

Chef — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 04:08:52 +0000

Methadone is a rising problem in suburban areas. If the Drug stores offered a buy back offer on addicts scripts the effect of therapy would quicker to serve it’s purpose. More people are dieing because they are not aware of the dangers.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 02:06:39 +0000

They are allowed to get 90 scripts just like any other med filling
every 30 days. As it is most patients don’t have to see their
doctors every month and the doctor just calls in the scripts….
This is putting more drugs on the street. As it is doctors can’t
tell who is stable and complaint and now were giving them more????

Kerri, you support anything that allows more drugs in the hands of
the addict or on the street.

Do you even care about the countless people who are becoming
addicted every day because doctors are so free with these drugs??
Anything to keep poeple high…try helping the situation instead of
supporting more deaths.

http://www.HARMD.org

By: zenith

zenith — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 04:59:18 +0000

This decision by the DEA does NOT allow the patient to receive one prescription for a 90 day supply of drugs. It allows the physician to give the patient their regular prescription for one month, and two post dated prescriptions for the next two months which cannot be filled until that time. All this does is allow those on long term pain or ADHD therapy to avoid having to pay for monthly doctor visits for the rest of their lives (in many cases). This is intended for stable patients, many of whom have great difficulty due to chronic severe pain and illness making the monthly trip to their doctor’s office, and for those on long term therapy visits of this frequency are unnecessary and costly to the point of being prohibitive.