OH, THE PAIN OF IT ALL

As a person that uses the pain-killing drug Tramadol for severe arthritis, I object to the idea that opioid drugs are bad if used at prescription strength.  I can testify that Tramadol is not habit forming in that I don't crave it.  All I know is that taking Tramadol lessens my pain in the lumbar region.  In fact, I probably miss taking one of my three daily doses once or twice a week.  But it is recommended that you don't stop it "cold turkey" but taper off.  I have had problems at times getting my prescription filled, and I do go into a withdrawal in which I get unsteady on my feet.

But opioids aren’t only a problem. They can also be highly effective medications that make the difference between a functional and dysfunctional life.
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 In a new article in Reason magazine, Jacob Sullum makes this case. The federal crackdown on opioids has failed to solve the overdose problem — indeed, it has made it worse — while also saddling many people with chronic pain, Sullum writes. Among his points:

 “Contrary to the impression left by most press coverage of the issue, opioid-related deaths do not usually involve drug-naive patients who accidentally get hooked while being treated for pain,” he writes. “Instead, they usually involve people with histories of substance abuse and psychological problems who use multiple drugs, not just opioids.”

So making it harder for people with chronic pain to get opioid prescriptions is a mistake, Sullum argues. “The truth is,” he writes, “that patients who take opioids for pain rarely become addicted.” A large majority of opioid deaths don’t come from prescribed medicine; they come from illegally produced substances like heroin.

Cuts in school funding are back for student's health and make one want to take opioids:
Not O.K. A reader pointed out that Kansas and Louisiana — the subject of my newsletter yesterday — aren’t the only states to have enacted self-defeating tax cuts. Oklahoma has too, leading to deep spending cuts that include a four-day school week in many communities, Emma Brown explained in a Washington Post piece. It’s hard to fathom that some communities in the 21st century United States can’t afford, or won’t pay for, a full school week.**

* https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/09/opinion/opioids-benefits.html
** https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/08/opinion/louisiana-tax-cuts.html?emc=edit_ty_20180309&nl=opinion-today&nlid=83449966&te=1
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/with-state-budget-in-crisis-many-
oklahoma-schools-hold-classes-four-days-a-week/2017/05/27/24f73288-3cb8-11e7-8854-21f359183e8c_story.html?utm_term=.365378cd44e8