Collateral Damage of the Fight Against the Opiate Epidemic

An article released by LasVegasNow.com takes a different look at the results of the fight against the opioid epidemic. It is common knowledge that the opiate epidemic has and continues to take a massive toll on lives lost and lives affected.

For those struggling with chronic pain, regulations have made getting through everyday life even harder. While opiate-related deaths continue to rise unaffected by the new regulations.

The CDC’s new regulations have been taken up by insurance companies and states across the country affecting many pain patients, making it so they must live without their pain medications which in many cases greatly decreases their quality of life. In fact, the CDC has been reported saying their new guidelines were never meant to be put into law. One Doctor who was in pain management himself even wrote to the CDC about the problems he was running into. This is what he had to say after receiving their response.

“Many insurance companies have misinterpreted, misread, misunderstood, and outright lied as far as I’m concerned about what the CDC guidelines are intended for. I have quotes from the CDC where they say it’s basically voluntary, it's not a rule, law, or regulation. Involuntary tapers are not what they intended,” Martin said.

Click here to read the letter from the CDC to Dr. Martin.

The indication from all this is while the opiate epidemic and its toll are mostly unaffected, pain patients are left without any replacement. For some, it, in fact, opens the door to street drugs as they are unable to live with the pain. With all the opiate casualties, it is difficult to see the effects on innocent bystanders who legitimately have a need for pain medication.