Pubdate: Wed, 28 Aug 2013
Source: Burlington County Times (NJ)
Copyright: 2013 Calkins Newspapers. Inc.
Contact: https://phillyburbs-dot-com.bloxcms-ny1.com/contact/
Website: http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/burlington_county_times_news/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2128
Author: Ed Stabler

LET'S TAKE SECOND LOOK AT U.S. DRUG POLICY

I was reading about Dr. Randy Zeid, a Virtua family physician, being 
investigated by the State Commission of Investigation and the fact 
that he has been suspended.

It occurred to me that for the commission to investigate a physician, 
then the commission should be composed of doctors.

It was established to investigate organized crime, not doctors. Any 
physician who works in a pain management clinic is going to write a 
lot of prescriptions for painkillers.

It is just logical. Painkillers are one of the most prescribed 
medications due to the large number of baby boomers reaching their 60s and 70s.

The morphine prescribed in America in 2012 is mind-boggling. That 
does not mean we have an inordinate number of drug addicts. A person 
taking narcotic painkillers as prescribed by his physician is not a 
drug addict, even if he takes it for the rest of his life. I will be 
taking blood-pressure medications for the rest of my life, and it is 
dangerous to stop taking them. Does that mean I am addicted? If it 
does, so what? It does not interfere with my life or job.

There are millions of people who take narcotics, and they do not 
interfere with their lives. Without years of training in narcotics 
and their side effects, tolerance development and in the fact that 
everyone responds differently, no lawmaker is qualified to make 
decisions on narcotic prescriptions.

This nation spends billions funding whatever it is the federal Drug 
Enforcement Agency does with no results. According to the DEA, heroin 
is better today than it has ever been. Marijuana use is the same as 
it was years ago.

Maybe it's time to take a different approach to America's drug issue. 
Many countries treat the drug problem as a public health issue, and 
several have decriminalized all drugs, with the result of less drug 
use and less incidence of HIV. They have saved a lot of money, 
something our leaders are trying to do.

A physician prescribing narcotics to support a drug habit is much 
better for the drug addict and for the community. Dosage is known, 
and the prescribed drugs are not made in Afghanistan. The physician 
can monitor the patient properly and, if possible, slowly wean the 
patient off narcotics. The addict would not need to resort to 
dishonesty to pay for drugs. That would be far cheaper than sending 
the addict to prison, and far better for the person himself and far 
better for the community. I don't remember who said it: Doing the 
same thing over and over and expecting different results is the 
definition of insanity. Are we totally insane?

Ed Stabler

Medford
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