I am so proud of my friend and colleague, Dr. Richard “Red” Lawhern, the co-founder, and Director of Research of The Alliance for Treatment of Intractable Pain (ATIP.) No pun intended, but ATIP is truly at the tip of the spear in advocating for the voiceless masses of chronic pain patients who are currently sufferingContinue reading Dr. Red Lawhern Speaks for Pain Patients at the Inter Agency Task Force on Best Practices for Pain Management
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It’s not just opioids that are getting a bad rap from the federal government and the media. There’s another remedy for chronic pain which is in peril of being banned by the FDA and classified, along with heroin, as a Schedule I drug: kratom. What Is Kratom? Kratom is a substance derived from the tropical plantContinue reading Government Ban on Kratom Still Looms Large on the Horizon
What Was Said or Missed in the FDA Opioid Policy Steering Committee Hearings? by Richard A Lawhern, Ph.D., as published in National Pain Report. Many years ago, a stand-up comic named Shelly Berman helped to immortalize a riddle told by Zen masters. “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” can have many answers. OneContinue reading What Is the Sound of One Hand Clapping?
by Richard A. Lawhern, Ph.D., as published in The Crime Report According to the best evidence we have, prescribing opioid painkillers for chronic pain patients has played only a minor role (if any) in yearly increases of overdose-related deaths. As I wrote recently in The Crime Report, “The US is now chasing the wrong epidemicContinue reading Criminalizing the Opioid Epidemic is No Way to Help Chronic Pain Sufferers
As published in The Crime Report Every first responder is familiar with the scenario. You are called to the scene of yet another drug overdose. Naloxone is administered. The comatose “victim” rouses and groggily stands up. Many refuse to be taken to hospitals and drift away. You are tempted to call out “see you againContinue reading Opioids: Chasing the Wrong “Epidemic”
If you read the news, you know that the presiding narrative on the opioid crisis is that it is being driven by prescriptions for opioid medication. While that premise would certainly make fighting the crisis a simple proposition, the only thing simple about it is that it is false. Sadly, it isn’t only the usualContinue reading Call To Action: Take This New York Times Survey!
By Richard A. Lawhern, Ph.D. as published in iPain Living, the magazine of the International Pain Foundation. We hear and read the glaring headlines every morning and evening from National media: America is in an opioid overdose crisis and prescription drugs are the supposed cause. The same messages are being shouted in Canada with equally direContinue reading A Message to Legislators: Stop Your Phony War On Pain Patients!
