Pubdate: Thu, 31 Mar 2016 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2016 The New York Times Company Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/lettertoeditor.html Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298 Author: Scott McLain Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n162/a06.html FIGHTING THE SCOURGE OF OPIOID ABUSE To the Editor: Re "A Strong Response to the Opioid Scourge" (editorial, March 17): The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has done a disservice to people living with intractable chronic pain with its latest one-sided recommendations for reducing opiate overuse - recommendations that you praise. I worked in a drug treatment facility and have seen the ravages of addiction, and I know the risks of opiate use. When I suffered multiple severe injuries from a fall, I tried every treatment I could find to reduce my suffering without narcotics. None came close to reducing it to a tolerable level. Grudgingly, I came to the conclusion that pain medicines were going to have to be part of my comprehensive approach to pain management. There is a legitimate use for pain meds for treating chronic pain; it is absolutely wrong to suggest that most chronic pain can be adequately treated without narcotics. It is time the C.D.C. took a more balanced look at both sides of this complicated issue and not let the fear of one group override the legitimate lifesaving use by another. SCOTT McLAIN Olympia, Wash. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom