The Prescription Narcotic "Problem"

Why re-examining its roots requires re-examining the "problem" itself:

(Key Search Terms: opiate, opioid, epidemic, overdose death, addiction, prescription drug abuse, supply, demand, pill mill, doctors, florida, pain patient, narcotic, prohibition, DEA, law enforcement)


"The constraints on the power of the federal government, as laid down in the Constitution, have been eroded by a monopolistic medical profession administering a system of prescription laws that have, in effect, removed most of the drugs people want from the free market." (Thomas Szaz)

When examining the factors underlying the so-called "opiate epidemic", we must reconsider the real source of the problem, and indeed, the so-called problem itself. The current trend of prescription opioid "abuse" is not a result of rogue clinics or "aggressive" treatment of pain - The assumption is backwards. The entire "pill mill" phenomenon - exemplified by the current state of affairs throughout florida - is but a symptom of a deeper underlying issue, one which thus far has gone largely unexamined, with catastrophic consequences.

These phenomena (i.e. the corruption of the medical profession) are reactions to an insatiable appetite  which we can no longer afford to ignore. It is intellectually dishonest to believe that the pain profession and pharmaceutical industry has "created" addicts out of naive patients seeking meaningful treatment; while resisting the uncomfortable reality that there is, and always will be, a hedonistic demand for pleasure producing narcotics which exceeds the supply we currently offer.

The 98 year prohibition of nonmedical drug use has had many unintended consequences. One of which has been turning doctors into monopolists of the opioid trade. 

Currently, we have an enormous demand for narcotics not only from the suffering patient, but from millions of habitual or recreational drug users as well (many of whom, due to drug control laws, have few other sources than a clinic). The inevitable result; a flooding of doctors offices with patients whom practitioners should not even have to be dealing with, along with the unnecessary liability that accompanies mass prescribing. Meanwhile, law enforcement is breathing down the necks of practitioners, who are now tasked with policing their patients - even though compassionately treating pain and effectively policing patients are two irreconcilable practices; impossible to achieve without either letting a number of seekers slip through the cracks, or compromising patient care. 

Narcotic addiction is not a matter to be trivialized, and my deepest regards goes to all those who have experienced a loved one or friend with a self-destructive habit. However in response to the problem of prescription drug addiction - particularly in the state of florida - by allowing raw emotions and moral panic to dictate our understanding of, and respone to, a complex social issue, the response will never be rational - and in the case of clinical practice and drug use,  brings unintended consequences which affect many individuals - including patients and well-intentioned physicians. 

Simply put, drug addiction and drug related deaths are a shame, but this remains one of many inevitable occurences in a free society. All efforts should be put into educating individuals regarding drugs and drug use - learning to respect drugs and use them competently - rather than irrationally & hopelessly pursuing a puritan "drug-free" utopia, while trampling individual freedom and ruining lives in the process.

The "abuse" of prescription drugs is not the problem; and the easy availability of these drugs through unethical doctors is not the problem; the fact that the drug user is unable to "medicate" without the approval of a doctor is the problem.