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Justice for all? Richard Paey, 45-year-old father of three, is wheelchair bound, a subdermal pump delivering a steady flow of morphine to kill the back pain from a 1985 car crash. A legitimate pain patient, he was arrested because he was forced to use questionable pain prescriptions to take care of his condition. He was sentenced to years in prison because he refused to be forced into drug treatment. Rush Limbaugh was arrested for buying large quantities of Oxy and other narcotics on the black market. Though he started with treating back pain, Mr. Limbaugh's use of narcotics continued long after the pain was gone. After five weeks of rehab, Rush was back on the air. Neither should be put in prison. Pain patients and addicts need medical help, not confinement.
This advertisement appeared in the National Review, the The New Republic, the American Prospect, The Nation, Reason Magazine and The Progressive in the summer of 2004.
This PSA also available as camera-ready PDF (note: this file is nearly half a meg).
This advertisement appeared in the National Review, the The New Republic, the American Prospect, The Nation, Reason Magazine and The Progressive in the summer of 2004.
This PSA also available as camera-ready PDF (note: this file is nearly half a meg).
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JUSTICE FOR ALL?
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Richard Paey
25 YEARS |
Rush Limbaugh
TREATMENT |
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As Richard Paey sits in his cell, wheelchair bound,
a subdermal pump delivers a steady flow of morphine to kill the back pain from a 1985 car crash. The 45-year-old father of three used to handle the pain with prescription narcotics, but when he moved to Florida he couldn't find a doctor willing to prescribe the appropriate amount of medication. They feared a loss of license or even prison. Like so many others, Paey was forced to use questionable prescriptions and got arrested. He refused to be forced into treatment for addiction because he's a legitimate pain patient. Now the state is providing his narcotics, along with room and board, at a cost to the taxpayers of perhaps $80,000 a year.
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When Florida narcotics officers busted talk show host Rush Limbaugh for buying large quantities of OxyContin and other narcotics on the black market, he checked himself into a treatment center. After five weeks of rehab, he is back on the air. Mr. Limbaugh's illegal drug buys, over 90 pills a day at one point, make Richard Paey's pale by comparison. And while Mr. Limbaugh's use of narcotics began with severe back pain, he continued using long after the pain was gone. To catch addicts like Mr. Limbaugh, the government is targeting doctors, and the doctors are becoming so gun-shy they don't want to risk dealing with chronic pain patients at all.
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"Write a prescription, go to jail. Doctors get sued for overtreating pain, for undertreating pain . . . and they can get prosecuted for the overdoses of patients."
- Roanoke Times, 23 May 2004
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NEITHER SHOULD BE PUT IN PRISON.
Pain patients and addicts need medical help, not confinement.
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Common Sense for Drug Policy, Mike Gray, Chair; Robert Field, Co-Chair www.DrugWarFacts.org -- MedicalMJ.org -- AddictInTheFamily.org | |
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