PHARMACIST STEVE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Friends and Family,

I am writing you to invite you to an event in Arizona.  Many of you know that I am an advocate on behalf of the chronic pain community.  This year, on Saturday April 7, one of our advocacy groups is planning a nationwide rally called Don’t Punish Pain.  The false information we are being fed by the media is fueling the rapid rise of overdose deaths from illegal drugs, primarily imported fentanyl (not rx fentanyl) and heroin.

In its misguided and ignorant attempt to counter what it calls the Opioid Epidemic (which it isn’t; it’s an illegal drug crisis), the government is continually stripping away the civil rights of pain patients simply because of the type of medication they need.  The result of this is more death; once a patient has been abandoned by his/her physician and cannot get help, they are left with 3 choices:  to suffer a bedridden life to an early death from pain complications, to turn to street drugs, or to commit suicide.  The attached chart will show you the results.

In spite of these useless, punitive, Draconian measures, overdose deaths are going UP all across the country.  Addicts aren’t being “saved,” but these restrictive policies are torturing pain patients who were compliant and stable in their treatment.  No one is immune; these guidelines and restrictions are affecting ANYONE in pain – and that includes cancer victims, post-operative patients, as well as palliative care and hospice patients.  Our veterans are being hit the hardest.

I am inviting you all to the Don’t Punish Pain rally of your choice. I’m attaching a document that shows which states are participating so far (we have 30), and which states still need a spokesperson.  I am the spokesperson for Arizona, so I am also attaching Arizona’s event flier.  I am also adding a form letter you can use for legislators, doctors and medical personnel, and for the media.  Doctors are another target of this opioid crackdown: they are being raided by the DEA, arrested, and attacked without cause, which are among the biggest reasons they stop prescribing life-saving medication to patients.

I am also inviting you to participate in any way you can.  This is not a march or a fund-raiser; this is a rally to bring awareness to what this crackdown on opioid prescribing is really doing to our country.  Each of us, if not already in chronic pain, is just one motor vehicle accident, one illness, one surgery away from a lifetime of chronic pain.  And while there are other therapies for pain, many are dangerous, most are not covered by insurance, and no one has developed a true replacement for opioid medication.  The rug was jerked out from under us without anything in place to catch us when our doctors’ practices are closed down by the DEA, or our doctors kick us to the curb on trumped-up charges, even to the extent of lying about the results of a urine test.

You can help by:

Spreading the word.  You can do this with letters, phone calls, social media like Facebook and Twitter, and personal emails (like this one).  Print and share the flier appropriate to your state (or states, if you like).  Take the fliers with you wherever you go, and ask permission for them to be posted.

Attending a rally of your choice.  Numbers are important, and we are also in need of able-bodied people for support.  Please note that while the nationwide rallies are being held at 12 noon EST, the Arizona rally will be at 10:00am (I forgot to account for daylight savings time).  We need your presence.

From the attached list of states, if you have friends in unrepresented states, please share this with them for encouragement.  Hopefully, someone in each of these states will be willing to step forward to lead as a spokesperson.

Please pray for me, my family, and my health.  I’m fighting chronic illness as well as chronic pain, and would dearly love your prayers for wisdom, clarity, and physical strength to see this through.  I am very blessed to have Pat at my side, helping me.

Thank you for taking the time to read this rather long letter.  If for any reason you do not want to be on this mailing list, please let me know.  I don’t want to clog your inbox with unwanted emails.

Thank you all,

Lauri

 

 

Filed under: General Problems