Australians are increasingly using prescription or over-the-counter painkillers to ease emotional, rather than physical, pain. Our cultural understanding of pain is changing, and as a result it’s becoming more difficult to distinguish intoxication from relief. In my recently published book A Fine Line: Painkillers and Pleasure in the Age of Anxiety,…
Racial disparities in prescribing opioids for chronic pain
Yale researchers have identified racial disparities in the treatment of patients who are prescribed opioids for chronic pain. Black patients who receive opioids long-term are more likely than whites to be tested for illicit drug use. Of those who test positive, blacks are more likely to have their opioid prescriptions…
Scientists Developing New Painkillers With Fewer Side Effects
Scientists are working with three compounds that show promise in treating pain, without the side effects of opioids, CNBC reports. One experimental drug, oliceridine, is in the final stages of human trials. It is administered intravenously. Studies show the drug relieves pain like morphine, without causing respiratory depression or constipation.…
Senate Bill Would Require Doctors to Use Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs
Three U.S. senators have introduced a bill that would require doctors to use prescription drug monitoring programs before they prescribe painkillers. The Prescription Drug Monitoring Act is co-sponsored by Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Angus King of Maine. Minnesota is one of the states…
Some Doctors and Medical Groups Oppose State Limits on Opioid Prescribing
Some doctors are voicing their opposition to new state laws that limit opioid prescribing. The American Medical Association (AMA) and other medical groups say doctors and patients should be able to balance the need to treat pain against the risk of addiction, Stateline reports. Dozens of states have enacted measures designed…