President elect Trump has chosen potentially the next Attorney General
Senator JEFF SESSIONS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Sessions
Of course, all of Trump’s choices for various position will have to be approved by a majority of the 100 Senators…
The current Surgeon General Vivek Murthy announced last week that:
Surgeon General: Addiction Is A Chronic Brain Disease, Not A Moral Failing
So has the Surgeon General claimed that the 1917 court ruling that opiate addiction is a crime and not a disease has started the process that … that ruling should be overturned ?
Since about 98% of the incumbents running for reelection in the House and Senate got reelected… the chronic pain community apparently voted their political beliefs rather than making a political statement of wanting a change. So now we MAY have an additional opportunity to cause change. Apparently it takes a SUPER MAJORITY of the Senate – 60 votes – for any nominee to get approved. Communicating with your Senator about your approval or objection for a particular nominee is the only way to make a impact on the new administration over the next FOUR to EIGHT YEARS.
IF DAMN FEW chronic pain pts contact their Senators… NO ONE is going to believe that there are some 100 + million chronic pain pts….and/or those in the chronic pain community are not having any problems and/or most/all are ADDICTS and don’t want to SPEAK UP.
We are seeing a dramatic increase in SUICIDES… we don’t know how many suicides that we don’t hear about and/or they are being classified as “opiate related death”. It would appear that even when a death is – without a doubt – a suicide.. at best it might get local media coverage. It would seem that the national/local media doesn’t want to address the epidemic of suicides and denial of adequate therapy for all those pts suffering from various subjective diseases ( pain, anxiety, depression, ADD/ADHD, mental health).
IMO… the chronic pain community has come to a CROSS ROAD… it is well documented what has happened to those in the chronic pain community over the last 8+ yrs… Remaining silent, whining, bitching and moaning to each other on closed Face Book pages… will not cause any positive changes.
A fair number of my readers send me links to various new articles about things happening to/with the chronic pain community… and I reposts them… but.. how many of my readers take those articles demonstrating how badly those in the chronic pain community is being treated and/or abused … and share it with the Facebook page of their local TV station, newspaper, Twitter feeds for reporters of local TV and newspaper… and send them to your state and Federal Representatives and Senators… ?
Politicians/bureaucrats/legislators work with NUMBERS… if they are contacted by few constituents… they will presume that there is NO ISSUES…
Feel free to use my blog as a “clearing house” … I never use a chronic painer’s name when they send me stuff that I re-post…use it as a start for a daisy chain to “spread the word” thru other channels…
Continue to whine … bitch… moan… to each other … and do nothing… and the last EIGHT YEARS will just be a PRELUDE to what is going to be coming your way over the next FOUR to EIGHT YEARS.
I am just an OBSERVER…. a MESSENGER….
Filed under: General Problems
The question is, how do we get these people to listen and answer? I’ve sent numerous letters and emails to my congressfolks. They’re either ignored, or I get a bot-generated email that tells me they’re glad I wrote to them about the opioid epidemic and how they’re so proud of doing everything they can to reduce opioid prescribing!!! A group of us even got together and met with a rep of Senator John McCain’s in his office, to ask for help with arachnoiditis awareness AND with the difficulty of being a pain patient in a country where the government is standing between us and our doctors/treatment. So far, no one has returned any calls from that meeting.
I started writing my newspapers and my govt reps and senators, governor, etc about issues long before I was a chronic pain patient and decades before the internet. People must realize we have to speak out to get things done. One of the reasons groups like TAM get things done is they call reporters, and their reps from police on up and they actually speak with Michael Botticelli (Director of National Drug Control Policy) every month. Until we unify, stop this crappy fighting over politics in the groups, and get ourselves united over the real issue, get united, we will not be taken seriously. There is real strength in numbers. They will listen when there is a group of thousands of us unified and strong. That is how CAN and TAM were listened to by the WH and their state legislatures. This is NOT about Democrats or Republicans it is about people in PAIN. We need politicians on both sides of the aisle to hear us. Until we realize that and start stating our case as a unified entity, we will be a hodge-podge band of hurting people no one will help.
I have a Petition thru MoveOn.org called Chronic Pain Patients vs. the DEA. Please look it up, & sign it! I started this for
ALL pain patients who are not getting their pain meds due to the actions of the DEA, & FDA. I still receive mine, but feel that is going to come to an end also in the near future since Iowa has changed their medical bill of rights.
ditto….mary
You are exactly right. Just complaining on Facebook is not going to change things. It is up to us to be the educators to are elected officials. It is up.to us to make those phone call and write those letter. Another thing that is important is to talk to everyday people who do not know what is going on and how it could effect their future and what problem it is ca using right now. I belong to several meet up groups and oNE is where we go to museum and historical sites. People will sometimes ask me if I will be at such and such 3 months from now. My answer is alway’s I hope so but it will depend if I will still be able to get my pain medication and thus out of bed. They usually will ask why that is a problem. I teach them about my use of the medication (most have no clue and are very surprised because they expect to see someone all doped up) and what going on with Chronic patients losing there medication. Every person I have talked to are surprised that the opiate medications are almost impossible to get, since so many doctor’s have stopped prescribing them. Instead because the media they think doctors are prescribing opiate like candy. But for me to inform other with what is going on I need to open my mouth and have a little courage. If someone want’s to view me negatively after they find out I am on pain pills, my life goes on. But not once has anyone said anything to me that I am a addict or anything else in those lines. Hiding never solves a problem, it just let’s get worse or allows it to happen
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Exactly.