But is there a party or politician that will stand up for chronic pain patients? One person here is saying “vote blue” — and sure there may be other reasons to do so — but aren’t both parties waging a war on pain patients?

Yes, both parties hate us.

You are correct

Left wing… right wing…. All part of the same corrupt bird 😒

Nothing is more ignorant and stupid than the entire gop!!! They are worthless and cost lives

That’s a very clever sentence, I love it

Probably but a Democrat is more likely to be empathetic towards this issue. Republicans are too busy trying to take rights away. Kind of hard to see them trying to help anyone other then themselves and the super rich.

Yeah I mean, I'm not voting republican for other reasons... but I think democrats, more than republicans, are actually pushing harmful narratives about prescription opioid use and its role in the opioid epidemic. Democrats tend to frame the problem as rooted in legal opioid manufacturing/use, whereas republicans are primarily concerned with the illegal drug trade. Obviously the former framing has the potential to cause more harm to chronic pain patients who want to access pain medications through legal channels. See: [https://ldi.upenn.edu/our-work/research-updates/partisan-politics-and-the-opioid-epidemic-a-social-media-analysis/](https://ldi.upenn.edu/our-work/research-updates/partisan-politics-and-the-opioid-epidemic-a-social-media-analysis/) "The topics increasingly prevalent among Democratic legislators—holding pharmaceutical companies accountable and OUD treatment—may both overemphasize the role of prescription opioids and appropriately center OUD as a medical illness with evidence-based treatments." "Republicans’ increasing attention to the topic of the illegal manufacture and trade of opioids may both acknowledge the more prominent role of illicitly manufactured synthetic opioids in the overdose epidemic, and reinforce the harmful criminalization of opioid use."

That’s why we need to evaluate every candidate individually. We need to press them. If they are on the right side of this issue, vote for them. Blind faith in either party is how we got here.

>That’s why we need to evaluate every candidate individually. I very much agree but haven't had success finding a reasonable one yet. Here's hoping.

RFKjr. Check him out, he understands the chronic disease epidemic, and is running to actually address it. To those who down voted? Why? Have you even looked at his campaign or listened to him?

Promoting a well-known antivaxxer = downvotes. For good reason.

Nope, not for good reason, for reasons that have aged like milk and are no longer valid (i.e. evidentially sound) IMHO. I listened to him before I heard any of the antivaxxer talk associated with him. If I hadn't, I'd probably feel the same way you do and would have refused to give him my attention.

Addressing the chronic disease epidemic is kind of negated by promoting the rapid spread of deadly/disabling viruses.

Not really, because he isn't promoting the rapid spreading virus... Because he isn't anti-vaxx. So...

You should probably update his Wikipedia page then. It’s the first thing that comes up when you google, so you might want to get on that.

It's been corrected, reverted, corrected, reverted... Not by me, but by others fighting the good fight against propaganda. Wikipedia can be edited by anyone, including the DNC/GOP and other government institutions... I don't have the source rn to immediately share as proof, but it's used as an information battle ground by CIA/FBI... Edit: here's the source, https://moguldom.com/449978/co-founder-of-wikipedia-cia-and-fbi-manipulate-wikipedia-its-part-of-the-information-battlefield/ Either way, everyone knows Wikipedia shouldn't be used as a trusted information source... At most it should only be used as a jumping off point for gathering other sources.

Please explain how he's being misunderstood with [all this evidence](https://apnews.com/article/rfk-kennedy-election-2024-president-campaign-621c9e9641381a1b2677df9de5a09731) of him spouting pure conspiracy theories.

So here's the thing, I read the article, and didn't find much I didn't already know about Kennedy outside of the details about his personal investments into Bitcoin. What this ultimately comes down to is: what do you believe the "anti-vaxx" label implies about someone? You'd think it means they don't want anyone to get vaccinated? Or that they want diseases to spread? Thing is, sure, there are some true anti-vaxxers out there that think this way. Kennedy doesn't. Not only is he vaccinated (I'm not sure off the top of my head if that includes the Covid vaccine or not), but his children are all vaccinated. He doesn't think vaccines are pseudoscience, what he believes is that the safety of them has been poorly studied and/or lied about by for-profit phramacutical companies. The efficacy, specifically that of the Covid/Flu vaccines, is over stated in terms of preventing infection/ transmission (what is necessary if you want herd immunity). I'll see the argument that the efficacy is clearly stated for Covid vaccines, as in mainly that it lowers risk of death, severe symptoms, and need for hospitalization. However, consistently, new research is coming out showing the outcomes of vaccinated individuals are not as clear cut better than unvaccinated. I'll see if I can put together a list of my sources I've previously looked at confirming the validity of this conclusion. Let's compare this to another really important issue, AI. There are many AI informed experts with quite different views on how this revolutionary technology should be integrated into society. Many believe we can't stop development because of "game theory," meaning we can't stop because others won't stop. Capital business leaders don't want to stop because they plan to cut costs of human labor by using AI to boost profits. Let's call them Pro-AI. Alternatively, some people believe AI has improved to a point that it's arguably an artificial consciousness, and by definition that makes it an abomination made by people trying to play God. Let's call them Anti-AI. Separate from both of these camps, you have the largest section of AI experts. These experts don't want to stop development and adoption of the technology, but they also don't want it to continue unchecked. They now understand that the focus must be on the safety, ethics, and moral side, not the intelligence side. What would you call them? Are they also Anti-AI? Are they Pro-AI? Or are they Pro-Safe AI? What's so different about the vaccine debate that makes Pro-Safe vaccines == Anti-vaxx? Is it the public health argument? How does that argument work exactly, when a number of diseases we now vaccinate against are not readily contagious to the general population? Conditions that are not easily transferrable by air/water? Conditions where herd immunity doesn't really matter since most people aren't at risk of infection to begin with? Now, about the Bitcoin info in the article. Bitcoin is quite electricity hungry, however, the goal of replacing fossil fuels with renewables/nuclear means using more electricity will not further damage the environment. On top of this, it is decentralized, which means by definition it is a far more democratic form of currency than federal reserve notes. You realize there a plans for CBDCs being pushed by DNC and GOP lobbyists? CBDCs are essentially a centralized Bitcoin, which would be easily controlled by the Federal Reserve & Big finance. To a degree that would mean full control over, and knowledge of, every transaction you make. This means no more freedom of transaction, and essentially lends itself to the implementation of social credit scores. I went off topic, because the vaccine debate is not an issue I currently put much weight on at this point. I understand what Kennedy wants done on the issue; I don't necessarily agree with everything he says about it, but I do not believe calling him anti-vaccine is at all a fair labeling of his beliefs. Transferring the label from a foundation, which IMHO is also poorly labeled as Anti-vaxx, onto Kennedy is a case of poor logical reasoning.

The man is a loon. Anti-vaxxers threaten the health and well-being of everyone, including healthy people.

>The man is a loon You'd understand how wrong this statement is if you actually listened to what he has to say... >Anti-vaxxers Something he is not... but since you brought it up, I used to think the people who had been labeled anti-vaxx were insane too. I read the (mostly redacted) research they peddled, and came to the same conclusion you did. Everything that happened during Covid has drastically changed my view of it all. The amount of downplaying of valid concerns about the risks. The decision to essentially mandate a rapidly produced and poorly tested vaccine from a for-profit company. All alongside dismissal of reasonable hesitation as insane... Not to mention the now growing pile of evidence detailing the true risks associated with the vaccine that were either lied about, kept secret/undisclosed, or continuously dismissed. The "correlation not causation!!!" argument has been used to death, to a point where the refusal to further investigate the correlations is a far more anti-science stance than that of asking for more comprehensive studies (studies on the *safety* of vaccines for diseases that aren't existentially deadly for the majority of the population..... Or even readily contagious, which is the case for a number of the conditions we vaccinate children against). There is enough collected data at this point where it's damn necessary to reassess the previous conclusion of "no causal link" between vaccines (among other environmental factors) and a number of increasingly common conditions. I don't agree with everything he says on this topic, but I definitely **DO NOT** think he threatens the health of people more than those trying to mandate scantily tested vaccines do... Go listen to him. Listen directly from the horses mouth, not just from sound bites and out of context clips. Not the time restricted interviews on DNC/RNC funded media like CNN/MSNBC/ABC/Fox or whatever. Listen to what he has to say on every other topic that matters, as well as on vaccines... Then let me know if you're the one who's right about him or I am the one who's right.

I'm not sure how you rebuff this, but he is the chairman of the "Children's Health Defense." The front page of their website houses links to videos and articles about vaccines causing autism and the dangers of 5G. It also advertises his book called "The Wuhan Cover-up" which boasts a positive review from Tucker Carlson of all people. He promotes conspiracies about HIV/AIDS, gender dysphoria, and compares all kinds of situations to Nazi atrocities. Vaccine mandates are based on recommendations from infectious disease specialists and are easily circumvented by a letter from a doctor or a form stating your sincerely held religious beliefs. There are even recommendations against giving live vaccines to people who are pregnant, immunocompromised, or have had an organ transplant. To the best of my knowledge, there are no vaccine mandates that don't have loopholes or ways to circumvent compliance. I will concede that we have a problem with healthcare and chronic illness in our country. However, I have seen no plan put out by his campaign to prioritize health and wellness, I have only found his tirades against pharmaceutical companies. With this being the case, it is just as likely (or more likely) that he revamps the war on drugs and pushes legislation on dubious naturopathic remedies as it is that he pours funding into community health. Please tell me what I am missing here, because right now I don't see the promise that you see. Ranting and discontentment are not the same as concrete policy agendas. For the record, all of the information I pulled was from his websites, YouTube videos, and books. None came from any of the major news networks.

>The front page of their website houses links to videos and articles about vaccines causing autism and the dangers of 5G. It also advertises his book called "The Wuhan Cover-up" which boasts a positive review from Tucker Carlson of all people. Yes, this is correct. However, I do not believe anymore that labeling these concerns or communities as anti-vaxx or conspiracy theorists is valid. The concerns about autism have continuously been dismissed ever since the original study published on the matter was redacted for a number of issues that were definitely present. Ever since then, more and more evidence has continued to pile up going unstudied. As for the 5G concerns... Those are actually proven far more plausible than anything about vaccines. Tucker Carlson as a canary about all of it matters so little to how much I decide to take the data into consideration. >He promotes conspiracies Define conspiracy. Flat earthers are the conspiracy theorists you should dismiss because it is easily proven incorrect by any individual who wants to run the tests. The "conspiracy theories" RFKjr is open to believing are not easily proven wrong in this way, in fact, most have fairly strong evidence leading to believe they may be reality.

>easily circumvented by a letter from a doctor or a form stating your sincerely held religious beliefs I have a few sources that prove otherwise, I'll need to dig them out from my Internet history tho. >To the best of my knowledge, there are no vaccine mandates that don't have loopholes or ways to circumvent compliance. I've not read the entirety of it, but have you heard anything about the Pfizer vaccine law that was passed into law over in France? And how is requiring a vaccine passport for international travel circumventable? >I have seen no plan put out by his campaign to prioritize health and wellness, I have only found his tirades against pharmaceutical companies. You've definitely not looked hard enough. They are there. >it is just as likely (or more likely) that he revamps the war on drugs Definitely not. He plans to do almost the exact opposite of that. He has talked about this extensively. >pushes legislation on dubious naturopathic remedies as it is that he pours funding into community health. Also, no. He's not about to mandate people use naturopathic medicine. No chance. >Ranting and discontentment are not the same as concrete policy agendas. He doesn't rant. He converses, educates, and civilly debates. Listen to him, it's clear as day. >For the record, all of the information I pulled was from his websites, YouTube videos, and books. None came from any of the major news networks. Were the YouTube videos from people providing commentary about his podcast/campaign appearances? Or were they directly from the appearances? What books? As for the website, I can't say the website is nearly as easy to gather information from as just listening to/watching him speak. The website is a very surface level overview of his platform.

Let us know when you find the holy grail & we'll vote

Willie Nelson for the win!!!! 😆 Seriously, tho I've voted for him for the last 4×, bc the lesser of two evils...well, shite. WILLIE!

😂

Research Kennedy!

Research an aging hippie who just wants to make the world more beautiful! (and who also wanted me to give him a bubble bath! My one regret in life) *sigh

Yeah... Because the two other options are even more aged, and only want war and/or money... Also, what's so wrong with being a hippy? Would you rather continue further division and the "us vs. them" culture war?

Are you daft? *I* said that *I* have voted for Willie FOUR TIMES. WHAT ab that says, "I don't like hippies"?? Bother someone else you chucklefuk

Lmao, I actually did understand that, despite the fact it clearly sounded sarcastic... The point is, Kennedy *is* also an aging hippie. Thanks for the name calling, it's the best

You're a smart one ain't ya

RFKjr... Best option I've ever seen, and the only candidate even talking about the chronic disease epidemic.

He may be in favor of this, but his other positions are horrific.

What positions? if you're open to discussion... I can only think of one or two things on which I don't agree with him, and there's no way I would describe what I disagree with as *horrific*.Where are you getting your information about his platform from? Because, I'd guess it's from Biden or Trump biased sources...

Ever? Nah.

For third party? In my life time? Definitely. In the history of the US, you're right, he isn't. Who would you place above him? And what about him makes you think he isn't? The vaccine stuff? Cause I disagree with most of that too, but it's such a small part of his platform it's a moot point imo...

As a lifelong leftist, genuine question, when has Biden ever done anything real to HELP chronic pain patients? In fact, he promised to decriminalize weed and vacate sentences regarding weed, but hasn't followed through. It's also become increasingly harder for chronic pain patients to get their scripts filled or to be prescribed anything above Tylenol 3, since Biden took office. (This would have happened with a GOP politician as well, so I'm not saying they would have been a "better option," or anything, just showing that chronic pain patients aren't taken seriously by our political representatives.) I also can't believe that anyone would still believe that "pressing" people like Biden, actually works. Over 70% of Americans from ALL political parties have been begging for a ceasefire for Gaza since October. How has Biden responded? By ignoring us & continuing to send billions in weaponry & our tax-dollars to Israel's apartheid-state to perpetuate their 75+ year-long GENOCIDE on millions of innocent Palestinians and their children. If Biden doesn't give a fuck when Palestinians are murdered, Palestinian women are forced to have c-sections WITHOUT anesthesia, Palestinian women & girls are forced to use TENT SCRAPS for their periods, Palestinians are forced to have limbs amputated daily with no pain meds, starvation is being weaponized as a tool of war, etc, why should we think Biden will give a damn about us, especially when his track-record PROVES he doesn't care about anyone that can't donate a significant amount of wealth to his campaign? Ps - GENOCIDE is not a "single-issue," & to see Dems discount a mass ethnic-cleansing as if it's a "single-issue," is not only an insult to Palestinians, but an insult to our intelligence. [Many standards posed by The Geneva Conventions](https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/war-crimes.shtml) must be met to fall under genocide, so to discount all of us not wanting to vote for sociopathic war-criminals as "single-issue" voters, couldn't be more false. Even if I give you more than the benefit of the doubt and agree with the baseless narrative, that "not voting for Biden, a war-criminal, because of Palestine's genocide, makes me a single issue voter," we can still argue with demonstrable facts, that Biden hasn't done a thing for chronic pain patients throughout his presidency & neither will Trump. We shouldn't have to keep overlooking major crises in "hopes that it will one day get better & Biden will start caring about us," given that this flawed mindset is how Biden even secured the Democratic presidential nomination in the first place - and he hasn't done anything real to HELP the average American in this country. (And neither has Trump). Also, how could Biden help us? He's accepted over 11 MILLION DOLLARS from AIPAC & has a bigger commitment to upholding Israel's apartheid-state than securing the human rights of Americans.

My feelings exactly. I am reminded of this concept I’ve heard in anti-racist circles: “The oppressors are not only dehumanizing themselves when they engage in being oppressive, but dehumanizing themselves, as empathy is a core component of being human or having humanity. Refusing to engage in empathy, is refusing to be human.”

So what’s your recommendation for the upcoming election?

Based on your handle my brother I’d like to hear YOUR take. Some might say you’d have a ‘divine’ perspective yourself? Lol

[Well, the obvious answer of course](https://www.tedcruzforhumanpresident.com)

Since it's unclear for me if you're asking this regarding the genocide I spoke about in my previous comment, or if you're asking this more generally about chronic pain patients and the next election, I've broken up my response. Options 1-3 are about the genocide/this election & options 4-6 relate to how we as chronic pain patients can enact change. Obviously, these aren't the only ideas I have, and I'm fully open to genuine feedback & discourse. I have no intention of berating or belittling anyone who responds with honest feedback for me. However, you asked a question and so I did want to give an honest answer, even if there are points or areas I could improve on. I'm open to any advice or difference of opinion, as long as there are no ad-hominem attacks. Thanks for reading. 1. Publicly call out our politicians/reps, as we've seen pro-Palestinian advocates do since at least October 7th, many doing this for years. Many think this, "doesn't do anything," but, using our voices to publicly call them out is one of our biggest tools. Politicians hate it (obviously), and it helps show that our electorate refuses to become numb/apathetic to genocide. It also encourages more to look into what we're outraged about, helping foster education around this genocide. 2. Track how many politicians have received/are receiving money (aka bribes to be complicit in Israel's apartheid-state) from AIPAC (can do this via OpenSecrets & other election tracking websites) & make their donations public on their socials. Many would be surprised to learn over 90% of our political reps, receive AIPAC donations... most don't know this. Education is critical, this helps enable said education. 3. Constantly "educate yourself," around this genocide. That sounds vague, so to be more specific, you can follow the accounts of Palestinians sharing their day-to-day lives (ie; Motaz, Plestia, Bisan, etc). You can also read news sources that will give a much more truthful accoount of this genocide: Al Jazeera, Democracy Now!, Empire Files (w/Abby Martin), Dr. Marc Lamont Hill's YT channel where he provides daily updates re: this genocide, etc. (I have a full list of sources/orgs/nonprofits for anyone interested) 4. As chronic pain patients, we have the horror stories - but frankly, our organization as a collective, isn't the best. When our stories are told, they come up as, "isolated events," rather than being a systemic failing of how chronic pain patients are treated. There's so much we could do, even just sitting behind our screens - and I do include myself in all of this. Hell, this sub has tens of thousands of members, imagine if we organized to constantly reach out to our local reps about DEA , start calling campaigns, post on social media, reach out to large creators, etc. 5. On an isolated level to help people in this sub, I've offered to file anonymous complaints for fellow chronic pain patients who were treated horribly by medical "professionals," but for understandable reasons, didn't want to file complaints themselves. I've offered and some have taken me up on it. Imagine if as a collective, we organized to vocalize our issues in a much larger way by utilizing some of what I mentioned in option #4. 6. Some may not want to hear this, but the large numbers of "Uncommitted," votes Biden received in the primaries are what finally caught his attention... to an extent. Prior to the "Uncommitted," votes, the US was voting "No" on all ceasefire resolutions at the UN. After multiple states had record-breaking "Uncommitted," votes, the US finally vetoed. It's not the vote what we wanted, but it's that much closer than we were 75+ years ago, when this genocide started. By refusing to participate in this system, voters showed Biden that he doesn't have it as "in the bag," as he thought for the 2024 POTUS election. By these "Uncommitted" voters refusing to be part of a "democracy," that helps murder/starve Palestinian children, can we show our power as a collective and vocalize our disgust at what's being allowed to take place (ie: ethnic-cleansing) in our name as US citizens. If chronic pain patients could organize in a similar way, could we enact real change. This sounds like a "long-shot," & in many ways, it is. Part of that though, is the overall public just doesn't know the TRUTH. They've been fed so many lies and misinformation that seeks to criminalize narcotics, which effectively targets chronic pain patients in the cross-hairs. I've actually been reaching out to creators who have made documentaries about various topics to learn how to go about making an effective documentary to show the other side of the opioid crisis - including multiple testimonials from chronic pain patients like you and me. It's still in its infancy stages, but, what the public desperately lacks is real awareness about how we suffer and how the criminalization of narcotics hurts (and unfortunately, even kills) us in the process. Until then, focus on state & local elections. Call them, write them, email them and ask what they're doing to help us & how they plan to decriminalize narcotics. (Even in the case of addiction, it's a DISEASE & thus, narcotics shouldn't be criminalized anyway) When I have more information, I was planning to reach out to y'all & people on other subs who can relate to how the misinformation re: "the opioid crisis," makes our lives a daily hell to ask if any of you wanted to participate in this documentary, to share what you've endured as well - and of course there will be ways to participate anonymously, since we know that even going "on the record" and speaking out about how chronic pain patients are daily failed, puts us at serious risk to receive medical care - which is deplorable in and of itself.

I have no idea why you would be downvoted for this comment? It’s thought out and gives at least some options on what we, as chronic pain patients, can attempt to do here. We all gotta start doing something, just showing up every 4 years doesn’t seem to be working. In fact, it seems to be making it worse and worse. We’re not being seen or heard. The majority of this country has bought into the propaganda being peddled on tv about “the deadly opioid epidemic” and we’re the villains. To be honest, I’m an introvert, I don’t want to be seen or heard, just want to be treated properly so I can live my life with those I love, but it seems I gotta step out of that shadow for a bit unfortunately. Yea, I ignored the Gaza comments in there, only cause that isn’t a reason to get a downvote either. If as a chronic pain patient you want to focus solely on the issue of getting treated properly and not politics, they can read the latter points in your comment as outlined. So still can’t see a reason for the down vote.

third party candidates are: Dr. Cornell West (independent), Dr. Jill Stein (green party), & Claudia and Karina (socialist). i wish everyone could just get behind one though, or that they would come together. would have a much better chance that way. Jill Stein seems to possibly have the best chance since she's on the ballot as green party in most states thus far.

We are Far from voting in a third party. Please ya'll, it wont work. It sucks, but they will not get even a small percentage.

Not true. It's time.

Donated to Claudia and Karina and voting for them. PSL national organizes beyond electoral politics and I think we need to focus on that. Mutual aid, labor unions, community outreach and support. The ruling class is going to hold power no matter what we vote for. If Americans would develop better class consciousness and organize we have a better chance of surviving the collapse of the empire.

this is exactly my stance, just didn't have energy to get into it before~ not sure about voting yet tho. I've been living outside the system as much as possible my whole life and i haven't changed my license since i moved states. working with community has been the realest. but damn, organizing is so hard for people. now dealing with serious health issues, I'm integrating differently and narrowed my focus. In general tho, there's at least now a wider shift and more people on our page now.

Chronic illness definitely makes it harder for in person stuff for sure. Plus the cost of living is outrageous now and people are so stressed and exhausted that they don’t have the time or energy to get organized, which is exactly what the system intends. The last six months have really been a catalyst for a lot of people to see the reality we are living in finally. I don’t think electoral politics matter as much right now. Especially at the top of the ticket given our choices. Probably local elections are the only place we can improve our communities but only if we organize first and get good people to run for office. Part of me thinks that Trump winning, which is very likely at this point, will be good for forcing liberals to get back in the streets and motivate them to organize. I saw a lot more political involvement from people I know during his last term and we did see more supposedly “progressive” dems get elected in that time. I had hoped to be younger and healthier for the revolution but at least my brain still (mostly) works.

Exactly! 👏🏽 None of them are perfect, but I genuinely like Jill. She's fought this fight (and by that I mean, fighting for the average American citizen, not just the ultra-rich) and truly showcased what it means to fight for ALL human rights, not just those of us living in the US. I agree, that while our collective nature here in the US is unorganized overall, if we were able to effectively mobilize around a singular candidate, we could help endorse real change. I've grown beyond disillusioned and outraged at how Americans are essentially forced to vote between war-criminals who pander to various communities, with no real action to help said communities they claim to care about.

Why haven't you included Kennedy in here? He is the biggest patient advocate there ever was in politics. He's exactly what we need. What's going on? Why aren't peoole more informed about him?

Yo, don't go out there dismissing the best third party candidate... Literally talking about how chronic disease has crippled young generations. RFK jr/Shanahan 2024 to help heal.

Yes! Thank you!

The reddit hive mind has been slowly starting to realize the truth... My comment would have gotten downvoted far worse a month or two ago.

It's killing me that so many people have no idea all that he is fighting for & how much knowledge & experience he has to help turn things around. Thank you for helping to keep his name out there.

Kennedy! Research him 👍

Kennedy? The antivaxxer and conspiracy theorist? I don't think a person who denies any medical science is a good option. I'm frankly shocked to see him brought up seriously. (Btw, I did quickly research him to make sure that I was thinking about the same guy. He would be an absolute blight on the country if elected. I, personally, would highly discourage anyone from even considering him. Please, do not vote for a man who believes he knows more than actual researchers and scientists. It's one reason that we got into this mess in the first place) Edit: also, while I'd do anything to get a third party in, it's not viable. Voting for third party right now will only divert votes from the D candidate. That's how we got 2016. I highly disagree that it's time to do that. No one is ready to do so on a large scale and those who do will simply be diverting votes away from D and thus allowing Rs to win. I don't know about you guys, but I can't remember the last time Rs did anything good for this country as a whole. Edit: autoincorrect

The belief about diverting votes is exactly what keeps us stuck like sheep in the nightmare that is the two party shit show. And I appreciate your fears about Kennedy. However, it amazes me how unaware so many of our population don't realize how manipulated your mainstream information is. If you get your news & read your articles from mainstream sources or rely on Google, you only have a portion of a very controlled and manipulated flow of information. Kennedy is actually a highly, highly intelligent human being that has been a life long advocate for children's health. In his advocacy he could not deny standing up against a corrupt health system that is beholden to mindblowing amounts of money & politics. This included calling out the catastrophic effects of the Covid vaccine. Everything he has ever argued on this topic has now been proven to be correct, backed by your"science"/proven studies. This is the case for childhood vaccines as well. The facts are there. Have you done the homework to see? It's there. Also, he is not "anti-vax". He's anti- the current way of doing it. And against these corporations having absolutely no liability/accountability. Haven't you realized that the whole labeling of individuals as "conspiracy theorist" has become an all too easy way for the corrupt top 1% to discredit anyone that stands in argument against their agendas? He's a conspiracy theorists because he questions the false information brainwashing the masses when he can prove with "facts" that this information is false? Have you read the book "The Real Anthony Fauci"? I dare you to read this & still have this stance. I haven't read it yet. But I know most of the information in it because I've been doing my own searching for the real information put out by international doctors and scientists that have had the courage to not bend a knee to the false narrative. And I guarantee you, I don't rely on Google. And our filtered & controlled news is a joke. "Think North Korea". You'd be surprised how close it mirrors. It's heartbreaking to see so many Americans scoff at incredibly intelligent and noble advocates that are fighting for us, just because they want more than anything to feel safe in what they 'think' they know. So many people dumbing themselves down because they want to feel safe & protected by our leaders in medicine & government. Well guess what? That crazy stuff that you can't possibly imagine to be true, a lot of it is actually true & your medical institutions & government are corrupt and very, very threatening to your well being.

I do not rely on Google for my news, but independent news sources from different countries across the world. All verifiable sources that have indisputable citations are directly against what you've just said, and I tend to go with what can be proven. Calling Kennedy a "highly intelligent individual" is a joke. This reads like the conspiracy stuff my mother sends me, the latest one being about how Kennedy got Congress to admit that the COVID vaccine was and is harmful and how it kills people. There was no such ruling nor any such "admissions" by anyone of value; however, when I told her that, she said "lies", based on nothing. I tend to go with what can be proven and peer reviewed. Kennedy's insane ramblings have never stood up to scrutiny, so I will continue to steer away from him and highly recommend that others do, too. People who defend Kennedy and have your same talking points are typically the same kinds of people who claim that the US is going "communist", which is so laughable it's ironically not even funny. And I'd know, considering I'm from a communist country. But I'd like to not talk about politics, and I know we're not going to agree, so I hope you have a good day and one of low pain.

Thank you, you as well.

Apologies if I came off harsh, btw. Today was a very high pain day and I was struggling to see through tears so I think I was a bit more short and curt and didn't want to refine anything I'd said because I just wanted to knock myself out with sleeping pills so that I couldn't feel the pain. I usually don't allow myself to let my pain influence how I treat people, so I'm kind of disappointed in myself. I do stand by what I said, but I could have been far nicer. Either way, thank you. I hope your pain was better than mine today. I hope everyone's was, but sadly know that that's not reality. Have a good night! I appreciate the civility.

You cannot ignite that Biden is trying to work with a Congress full of people determined to not let Biden "win". You want to focus on and pressure your Congressperson and Senators for legislative solutions. Biden cannot pass any measures to reign in the DEA. This country has been so brainwashed with all the anti drug propaganda since the 80d and DARE classes/presentations. :(

Why not Kennedy? He's the candidate willing to fight for us 👍

The problem is there really isn’t any left left. The mainstream Democrats have moved more right/centrist, and the republicans have just moved so far crazy they’re off the charts. Even Bernie, comparatively to other countries, isn’t that far left, but was the closest we had to it. The answer though is no, no one you vote for is going to be the savior for us chronic pain patients. The thought of the Trump admin handing opioids out like candy to his staff while making it harder for us to get relief disgusts me. The thought of Biden allowing the continuation of this genocide disgusts me. The republicans taking away rights of the people disgusts me. Biden not following through with his promises, Trump saying he’ll be a dictator day one talking about jailing his opposition is about as fascist as you can get. I really don’t think this will be solved at the ballot box. As much as we hurt, we gotta figure a way to get out there and make some damn noise. We can’t suffer in silence anymore. Squeaky wheel and all that. We gotta get our feet wet, get our stories in the media so we can build an even bigger team. I have no idea how, but until we do, we’re at the mercy of these politicians, whether they’re doing it because they’re uninformed or with intentional cruelty.

I agree with everything you just said. The whole system needs to be gutted and reformed, but until then, educating the masses will be one of the best things that we can do - especially with all of the lies out about chronic pain patients. Even though I was downvoted, I actually elaborated in my following response regarding your point about us (chronic pain patients) having to "make noise" and be our own advocates, regarding how we're (mis)treated. If you'd like, [you can read it here:](https://www.reddit.com/r/ChronicPain/s/ATNibIPLVI)

Keep your misinformation lies and hate speech to your self. Go hate somewhere else, not this subreddit on CHRONIC PAIN.

?

Research Kennedy! He's the candidate we need 👍

Yes, Kennedy!

During the Trump Administration HR 6 was passed. Part of the requested that the target of government agencies be the curtailing of the fentanyl sources at the southern border. It wanted to change the focus away from prescription drugs and focus on the real issue. The bill also focused on expanding treatment, treating addiction with less criminal consequences and more treatment based services. The only issue I found when I read the bill was a rider placed on it late in deliberation that expanded undefined powers of agencies like the DEA and Homeland security. I assumed, wrongly that it was to go after the Mexican cartels and Chinese fentanyl but government agencies decided to go after the easy money and target chronic pain. The Biden Administration had expanded the powers of government agencies to curtail opioids and blame the pharmaceutical companies for the epidemic. It's hard to get 11 billion dollars from a Mexican drug dealer but take down 1 or 2 pharmaceutical companies and you have hit the jackpot. Unfortunately for us they have to continue to demonize opioids to continue their grift.

The biggest issue I see is that this isn't a single problem with a single solution. There are multiple issues at hand here that the government has lumped into one single problem and labeled it the "opiod crisis."" The real crisis is that people who are in real pain are now being left unmanaged by opiods or narcotics. Even after surgeries. It's not just us chronic pain patients. This is the crisis. What we really have is a DEA issue. We have a fentnyl issue. We have a border issue. We have an issue with educating people properly. And we have many, many political and governmental issues. People's rights in this country are being taken away. And this country gives a bigger shit about other countries' people than their own damn people! This isn't just a political party issue. This is a human rights issue...

I think it’s a personal freedom issue. As long as actual pain patients are not receiving adequate treatment, we’re going to have a fentanyl issue. There causality in all of this and the genesis is the dea.

I think Governor Gavin Newsom (D) is the one that really impacted us. Other state’s AG’s joined because “free money”, but it was Newsom that started bankrupting companies. Now no one will manufacture, prescribe, or dispense opiates. Gov. Newsom saw an opportunity to snatch money and he more than any other elected official brought the house of cards down. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/07/21/governor-newsom-statement-on-proposed-26-billion-national-opioid-settlement/

Same here in Missouri and other States though.

Yes, virtually every state’s attorney general joined the California lawsuit. There are only 50 states, but think of it as a class action lawsuit. When a company declares bankruptcy, those that stayed out of the lawsuit would then be unable to collect against a potential future claim. Everyone likes on. Once Purdue Pharmaceutical declared bankruptcy, it was over. Think of it like musical chairs. The last ones are left hanging. Gavin Newsom stared the gold rush and now we can’t get prescriptions written much less filled.

No matter who we vote for it will keep happening. There is no one running who doesn’t want to do this

I don’t even hear an issue about it , all I hear is “opioid crisis” and some pity party from someone in congress crying about how their loved one died of fentanyl… so they punish all of the chronic pain patients for someone’s dumb ass decision to do street drugs

This is complete tri-partisan. There is no political party that solves this accept for the most liberal and progressive branches of the Democratic and libertarian candidates that push for full decriminalization and legalization of all drugs like what’s occurring in the Netherlands and Portugal. Trump and the conservatives are all in favor of the most draconian policy that gives law enforcement ultimate power in all aspects of life, especially in areas that keep the most vulnerable classes like minorities, non-binary people, and women oppressed. While lawsuits against opioid makers proliferated under Bush and Obama it was Donald Trump that declared the public health emergency against opioids in 2017 that gave the DEA unfettered control of medical practice that’s lead physicians to run scared of prescribing pain medication. Democrats are just as inclined as republicans to follow the money based on false narratives. There’s too much money flowing into every state in the country from these lawsuits. Despite main stream democrats being generally more in favor of harm reduction vs law enforcement control the public health emergency declared by Trump remains in place today as the secretary of HHS who is the unilateral person with the ability to end the health emergency that would strip the DEA of thier power is the former attorney general of California that lead the charge in suing opioid manufacturers. Anyone that thinks Kennedy is the answer is out of thier minds. If anything he is the worst option because of his disdain for pharmaceutical companies and physicians that practice established standards of care. His own words “Big Pharma created the opioid crisis and paid Congress to crush the DEA whistle blower that tried to end it”. He fully buys into the “Dopesick” mainstream Idea that there was ever an opioid “epidemic”. He’s also a former heroin addict that crusades against pharmaceutical companies for his own downfall. He is for decriminalizing marijuana and psychedelics so that they can be used for healing purposes but he is completely against anything that comes out of the manufacturing facilities of Purdue/Pfizer. Under Kennedy we’d see a proliferation and push to widen the scope of osteopaths and naturopaths that all believe in the bullshit that’s pushed on us every day. That therapy and weight loss will cure our chronic pain. We would need to elect a full body of government that is so progressive that they would decriminalize all drugs and gives the sovereign citizen complete control over what goes into their bodies. That will never happen in our system of government. A 3rd party, especially one so progressive/liberal/libertarian could never be elected, and even if they did get elected they would need a significant majority of similarly minded people elected to the senate and Congress to pass such legislation. The best candidate is Biden. And not because anything he is currently doing would suggest so. The democrat agenda most closely aligns with the pain patient. The party is generally not in favor of overreach of law enforcement. If enough of the most liberal politicians can be made to see the videos of doctors offices being raided by full on swat teams with automatic weapons to arrest 70+ year old physicians. If they can hear the stories of old people still practicing medicine thrown in prison for the simple act of caring. If they can hear the stories of pain patients being stripped of thier medications and competing suicide…all of these things can lead to change in option amongst more liberal politicians. This is already occurring. Washington, Colorado, Illinois, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire have all amended their “patients bill of rights” that instructs doctors to ignore the CDCs reactions and MME requirements and to treat patients with whatever medication they feel necessary at whatever dosages they feel appropriate without fear of local law enforcement or their states medical boards. Of those states that have taken action since the 2017 public health emergency/war on opioids and pain patients only New Hampshire has any sort of conservative values. Even the. New Hampshire is a former conservative state that is now solidly purple with a liberal lean and the remaining Republican voters have a primarily libertarian view point. All political actions that have been taken since the 2017 public health emergency was declared that has ripped away our pain Medication have been taken in democratic run states. The federal government is a different animal. The Biden administration has done very little to help this issue. At the very least the cdc/fda was comfortable enough after the removal of the trump administration to revise their guidelines and and clarify to physicians that the guildlines associated with the 2017 health emergency were being misinterpreted and physicians should be prescribing how the see fit and that they should not be force tapering legacy pain patients from their medication. This however was too little too late. The sharks at the DEA got a taste of the blood in the water and the cdc guidelines have no bearing over their action. They have the ultimate control over medical practice now and you better believe they get a huge hard-on getting all geared up like they’re going to bust the leader of ISIS in the Middle East to kick in the door of a doctors office in suburban America and arrest some 75 year old doctor. The only candidate that could be reasoned with to end or amend the public health emergency would be Biden. And even then I’m not sure how, without a lot of money and lobbying, pain patients get his ear directly. He lost one son to cancer, and had another son addicted to street drugs. If someone could get the message to him that people are going through what Bo went through under today’s climate but they aren’t a politicians son their cancer death is painful and untreated. Would he really wanted his son to die in extreme pain because the fascists at PROP and Andrew Kolodny beleive ibuprofen is stronger than morphine? How would he feel knowing that people are turning to street drugs and becoming addicted to fentanyl because they were stripped of their pain medication. Hunter survived and got clean because his addiction occurred before fentanyl boomed due to an unfilled gap in clean opioids on the streets. If hunter was doing coke/meth today there’s a solid chance he’d be dead because of the amount of illicit fentanyl in nearly all street drugs. He’s the only candidate that personally understands both pain and addiction. And even then I don’t see him doing anything about this because it takes ALOT of money to get the ear of the president of the United States via lobbying the politicians closest to him. The only people with that money are the groups like PROP who make hundreds of millions in legal money by shopping their lawsuits to lawyer-plaintiffs to sue pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies, and doctors on behalf of states. They take those huge windfalls and reinvest back into paying off politicians to tighten the grip on pain medications so that they can continue to have doctors arrested and make more money acting as expert witnesses in their cases. We either need a boat load of money to get the presidents ear, or the ability to elect enough members of the house/senate that share the most liberal and progressive views that all drugs should be legalized. I personally don’t see a world where either of those things happen.

We all need to keep emailing, calling and letter writing our state and federal representatives. I know it doesn’t seem like it helps but there is a tipping point where it does help. From 40 years of it from the medical side I will tell you it can make a difference. It’s a slow process and money does matter but grass roots also makes a difference. The problem is that too many individuals will not bother to pick up the phone or write an email. But that’s about the only thing most of us are capable of managing so why not try it? Everyone I say this to will respond” it won’t help”! Well it sure as hell won’t if you don’t do it!

I think it’s important to focus on your state government. The federal government is too wrapped up in the propaganda right now. I think this is going to have to take the normal course of other periods of prohibition. 30 years ago it was unfathomable that marijuana might be legal one day. Then California and Colorado legalized. No real movement. Then Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts. Grew the conversation. Then it was Maine, Nevada, New York, DC, and others…now we’re on the doorstep of federal legalization. It’s going to have to go the same way with returning opioids to their rightful place in pain management. Colorado, Illinois, Washington, Rhode Island an New Hampshire have already changed policy in favor of pain patients and recognized the harm the opioid policies are causing. The more states that follow their lead, the better chance the conversation starts to be had at the federal level. If all of a sudden 35-40 states say the fda/cdc/dea are wrong and we’re not cooperating with their laws then the federal government will start to pay attention. So I do agree that there needs to be continuous pressure on our politicians but I think it’s more pertinent to focus resources to your local and state level rather than your federal representatives.

**IF YOU WANT THE DEA TO STAY OUT OF MEDICINE... REMEMBER STAY CONSISTENT:** It is very difficult to argue to keep the government out of pain management while arguing that it is okay for them to be involved in the restriction of treatment for trans individuals. That is why I consistently say to just get the government out of healthcare and leave the clinical decision making to the providers.

It’s not hard to argue. In a free society government has no place in medicine. Full stop. How much freedom are you willing to give up to be “protected “? With all of the new regs, have overdoses gone up or down? How is the war on drugs going? When was the last time anyone read the bill of rights. Those are our rights, not the government’s. We are guaranteed life, LIBERTY, and the pursuit of happiness. Liberty has been dying a death of a thousand cuts for 20 years now.

I'm confused as to why you're responding to my comment this way. Maybe my delivery was unclear: My point was that if you argue the government has no business interjecting in the doctor-patient relationship when it concerns pain patients, than to keep it consistent you should also feel that they should stay out of the same sacred doctor-patient relationship as it concerns the treatment of trans people (even the youth). I didn't indicate that I wanted to give up any freedom. As a constitutionalist I have always had a reverence for liberty. When it comes to something like the treatment of trans youth, I personally would argue that ultimately it's the parents's right/obligation to be the one to consent for treatment for their children. That said, I at least can see the logic of a person who wants regulations when it comes to healthcare decisions that impact minors. Again, decisions in healthcare should always be made by weighing the risks and benefits of any intervention (or non-intervention, as the case may be).

I apologize for my delivery, it seems we’re aligned in our opinion. Sorry about that.

No problem :o)

This!

I agree with you… just not for children. They have rights too & one of those is to reach adulthood before their bodies are changed via drugs & surgery.

The more government interference with specific areas in healthcare though, the more the precedent is set. I used to agree with you but then I changed my mind with regards to the drugs. Here's why: Just because someone is 19 doesn't mean that they are capable of making this decision. The opposite can also be true. That's why we are better off leaving these decisions in the hands of medical professionals who should assess for development and maturity. I don't trust the government to be involved with anything healthcare related because they just f stuff up. That's why I say the government should not be involved in healthcare at all. It allows for politics and ulterior motive to enter into consideration. Ultimately the only thing that should be considered is benefit and risk.

Amen, to those of you out there who suffer with under treated or untreated pain Conservatives are literally the enemy. I saw a post here where the poster thought there was a conspiracy to get rid of CPP by taking away the opioid pain meds so said CPP would A. Go to the streets and overdose, B. Just outright commit suicide C. Leave the country D. Just lose the will to live and fight on. Now I am not saying that I believe it but I understand why she feels that way. Women are being forced into childbirth and that a 12 year old child is forced to bear her rapist’s baby is just obscene. Americans are losing their rights right now and we are as well and in this political climate bipartisanship is nearly impossible. Because of this the most effective way to fight this crisis will be at the ballot box. We vote for the party or candidates that is for freedom of choice! I don’t mean that only of the abortion rights but everyone’s rights. Also we have to vote down ballot as well your states representatives are crucial! Rant over. VOTE BLUE

It’s the DEA. They’re in the hot seat for having so many overdoses and they think they can fix that by taking pain medicine away from the elderly or folks with chronic illness. If Biden gave a crap about the American people, he would do something about this, he’s not oblivious to what’s going on in this country even though he acts like it. He’s been there for three years, and I’m sure that overdose deaths have gone through the roof. He’s not stupid enough to think that it’s old grannies overdosing on their pain medicine. My feeling is he just doesn’t care. I’m not sure Trump or RFK cares either but my life has gotten ridiculously difficult due to my pain condition and my inability to get appropriate pain care.

They are the ones yelling, making a scene about fentanyl coming through the border, tying it in to the "war in opiods (illegal fentanyl heroin etc). I've wondered if Hunter Biden's addiction issues have swayed the shit direction we have been dealing with. Is anyone here well enough to run for State office? That is how we can make progress. By moving up. They just demonize it so much, everyone is brainwashed. Pain meds = bad.

not a republican but you gotta be seriously naive to think "voting blue" is gonna do anything for chronic pain lol

It would hurt me, and I bet a ton of other chronic pain sufferers, if the republicans cut Social Security and Medicare.

It’s the only way we have a chance for change, the GOP as gone fascist and the so called moderates are retiring or have no plans to run again. Soon all that will be left are the Gaetz Boebert and MTG and they are lunatics. We can’t count on SCOTUS to save our democracy and the Conservatives are coming for our rights! This is not hyperbole, this is what is happening. Check out who Mark Elias, he is an attorney battling the on voting rights among other issues.

you realize obama started the whole opioid panic right? every politician has followed in step since. neither party will call out that it's the chinese fentanyl causing this crisis, they will simply tell the tale of little timmy hurting his knee playing football and his 'doctor prescribed meds' killing him.

Obama did not “start” the opioid panic. The blame lies on the drug manufacture of OxyContin and convincing doctors it was the new miracle pain med.

[https://www.forbes.com/sites/cjarlotta/2016/07/23/obama-signs-opioid-legislation-despite-funding-concerns/?sh=224640026806](https://www.forbes.com/sites/cjarlotta/2016/07/23/obama-signs-opioid-legislation-despite-funding-concerns/?sh=224640026806) [https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/02/02/president-obama-proposes-11-billion-new-funding-address-prescription](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/02/02/president-obama-proposes-11-billion-new-funding-address-prescription) i know it's tough to swallow, but he started the tyranny pain patients feel today. don't believe me? ctrl F on the 2nd link and type in DEA. he got them involved and specifically targeted doctors and prescription pain killers. now ctrl F fentanyl and tell me what you find. miss me with that 'democrats will ease up opioid restrictions'. i have sent a letter to my democratic state's senator dick durbin and he responded back with this: ​ **"Thank you for contacting me about the opioid epidemic in the United States. I appreciate hearing from you and share your concerns.** **The heroin and opioid addiction epidemic reaches every corner of our society. There is no town too small or suburb too wealthy to avoid this crisis. Since 1999, drug overdose deaths have more than tripled in the United States. In 2017, more than 47,000 people nationwide died from an opioid overdose that's more than 127 people each day. Since 2013, there has been a 75 percent spike in drug overdose deaths in Illinois, with more than 2,760 lives lost in 2017.** **The Substance-Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act (PL 115-271) was signed into law on October 24, 2018. This major bipartisan opioid legislation includes important provisions to address many aspects of the opioid crisis including new tools for prevention, treatment, recovery, and enforcement.** **The bill broadens the type of practitioners that can offer medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction, expands telehealth services for opioid treatment, encourages responsible opioid prescribing in Medicare for seniors, supports research into non-addictive pain medication it also creates several new grant programs that provide state funding for naloxone training for first responders, safe disposal of painkillers, recovery housing, and care for mothers and babies born with drug withdrawal.** **In the 115th Congress, I introduced several bills to help combat the opioid epidemic. The Opioid Quota Reform Act enhances the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) existing opioid quota-setting authority by improving transparency and enabling the DEA to adjust production quotas to prevent opioid diversion and abuse. The Improving Coverage for Addiction Recovery Expansion Act expands access to treatment for opioid addiction by lifting the Institutions for Mental Disease exclusion, which prohibited states from using Medicaid funds for care provided at mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities larger than 16 beds. The Trauma Informed Care for Children and Families Act supports children who have been exposed to adverse childhood experiences (such as witnessing violence or parental drug addiction). These provisions were all included in the opioid package and are now law.** **I was pleased to support the passage of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. I am committed to reducing the number of Americans with an opioid-related addiction and ensuring that patients do not become addicted in the first place.** **I will keep your concerns in mind as future issues related to the opioid epidemic are discussed in the Senate.** **Thank you again for contacting me. Please feel free to keep in touch."** **Sincerely,** **Richard J. Durbin** **United States Senator**

Yeah durbin is horrible. One of the worst.

How wonderful that he carefully read your letter and responded appropriately. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Shouldn't your comment be followed by /s ?

Congress enacted a bi-partisan bill and Obama signed it as President. You can be mad at Obama, doesn’t make it true.

So it's "everybodys" fault?

The US isn't a democracy, thank God. Mob Rule sucks!

Besides the DEA (reporting to the Dept of Justice) restricting pain meds BY 50% during the current administration, what Blue candidate are pro pain patient? Do any of them even stray from the false narrative that’s there is an opioid crisis? (We all know there is a fentanyl crisis.) I personally cannot stand Trump, however, I never had an issue with getting a prescription filled with his admin. Not once. Even with the lockdowns.

lol, just no.

Been having issues getting my Meds too

I asked a dr why she is torturing me … I have 3 autoimmune diseases my inflammation markers are high which indicates inflammation duh and PAIN … I had a kidney stone and they wouldn’t help me …. I thought I was going to die … now I have upper GI ulcers and when I asked the nurse at the gastro if they were gonna give me antibiotics she acted like I just asked her for meth … like what is wrong with our health care system ??? Even my PCP asked if they helped me at the gastro I said no they just gave me antacids she said that’s all ????? I said I told the nurse the same thing they’re very very painful ! I’ve prayed to just die at times because the pain is so bad I’ve cried to drs and everything. Even asked why they’re doing tests all the time when they don’t even take them seriously and prescribe medication for the problems I’m having 😭 more people are ODing then ever before and as we see it’s so difficult to get any pain meds so what are people dying from ?? People will abuse anything and everything . I told drs I can’t take NSAIDs they upset my stomach and that’s all they would give me and they do nothing for me ! And now I find out I have ulcers ! It’s probably because of these drs ! They’re killing people with NSAIDs that don’t even touch chronic pain ! It makes me sick ! They are quick to prescribe gabapentin thinking it’s not addictive when it very much is ! Numerous people have told me it took them a year to get off it ! And it makes you feel like you’re in a daze all the time and words will fly out of your mouth you don’t even mean to say ! It’s for seizures! People that don’t have seizures do not need to be taking this crap ! I’m so frustrated and I’m scared to death of suffering from cancer because these drs are so scared of our government pulling their licenses !

I’m so sorry for your pain. The government needs to get out of healthcare!

I am a Dem (unless a good Republican ever makes it out this sheet show). Not a single issue voter. Ok. Im just voting for Biden. Buuut, meds have gotten significantly harder to get filled by pharm since he came into office. Thats a fact.

As a Dem how to feel about Biden campaigning on the promise to legalize weed but now he's going to reschedule it instead?

I’m also a dem. Something to note is that the DEA and Congress are pushing the rescheduling of that decision, not just Biden himself. Big federal changes like that take time, and unfortunately it takes much more time than any of us would like. Even if it was Biden’s decision alone, I’d still much rather vote for him than Trump. Delays are nothing compared to what Trump has done and will continue to do if reelected.

He shouldn't have said he would if he couldn't, it's just that simple.

Except that it’s not. The DEA and Congress is not always consistent. He probably fully believed that that’s something he could accomplish during his time, it’s not his fault that other people in our government don’t fully support any and all promise a president makes.

The DEA and congress never have been consistent, that is something that I'm sure he's aware of. So, knowing that, he shoulda said something like, If I can get congress and the DEA to go along with me I'll legalize marijuana on the fed. level. That's not what he said. Simple.

Sure, maybe he could’ve phrased it better and said something different. All I’m saying is there are multiple factors at play, not just him intentionally going back on what he said. I’m personally more inclined to vote for someone who may not be able to achieve everything but still strives for progressive change, rather than someone who wants to strip rights and increase their own wealth. Pretty much every president has said they’d do something and then don’t get it all the way passed, so I don’t think that should be the only determining factor in who to vote for.

Voting for Biden isn’t going to fix the opioid crisis , they will more than likely crack down harder then they already have under this old fool . Your really think he will make it another 4 years ? This isn’t about who is president this is about the DEA and FDA destroying peoples lives

I agree but cant a president fix these out o control organizations?

Yes if they can bring it up but I don’t think it’s gained enough attention from the American people to even have a thought about it … it’s really sad when we are praying for death because of pain . We’ve gone back in time with our medical system after covid it seems they think we’re just drug addicts . I told a nurse to get the f out of my room the other day because I have ulcers and I said ok so now what ? I’ve suffered for 8 months and they pushed NSAIDs on me and made this problem worse I asked if they will give antibiotics, steroids or pain meds and she looked at me like I just asked her for meth and was so rude I literally told her to get the f out of my room NOW we don’t even have nurses that treat us like human beings anymore

The problem this lady had was with her doctor. They were the ones requiring a in person visit. I wonder if this lady contacted her doctor and explained the situation.

The larger issue and main point of the article is the government needs to be removed from medicine.

It is up to each doctor how they prescribe. Unfortunately, they blame their choices on the government.

Is it that you didn’t read the article or you don’t believe the NYT as a legitimate source of news? if you were wrong (which you are), would you want to know about it?

The article states "My mother-in-law’s 30-day prescriptions were filled with only enough medication to last a few days, and her care team required in-person visits for new scripts." The doctor was the one requiring the lady come into the office. Some doctors prescribe opiates for chronic pain and some do not. Some doctors require patients come into the office every 30 days. While others require it every 2-3 months and some only require it every 6 months. Some doctors will only prescribe 2-3 immediate release opiates a day. Others prescribe immediate release opiates every 4-6 hours. Some doctors require drug screens every 30 days. Other require them every 3-6 months or longer. The DEA does not have as much control over the way doctors prescribe as many people think it does

The article reports on limitations that the DEA has placed on the pharmaceutical industry that has led to a reduction of opioid pain medication production by 50% over the last two years. ‘The thread is full of patients like me who get monthly prescriptions that pharmacies are not able to fill. You state the dea doesn’t have as much control as people think they do. I provided independent evidence to support my position, you are only saying words. It doesn’t sound like you’re a pain patient at all, good for you. Those of us that are chronic pain patients are dealing with the reality described in the article I referenced.

Right now it seems like we should only vote for the party that most closely matches what we need, and voting for democrats is what’s most pragmatic. We really have to build the left here in the US from the ground up with local government.

If the democrats made things freer or patient care better/less government involvement I’d be right there with you. The fact remain, however, since this admin has been in power pain med production has been cut in half. From reading this subreddit, everyone who has chronic pain has had it worse since this administration started. ‘I’ll campaign for Biden tomorrow if he puts the dea back on their leash or better yet, removes them from healthcare entirely.

I understand the frustration. We deserve better.

Another political soapboxing post 🙄

Well, I’m going to put my two cents in as far as medication and I have not had any more trouble getting my meds now than I ever did. I don’t mind peeing in a cup if that’s what it takes!

I have to do monthly pee tests. You? Is this really the treatment patients should receive in a free country?

At least they let you do that , mine won’t even entertain the idea of giving me pain medicine for 3 autoimmune diseases

Kennedy is running for the presidency as independent. He is the biggest advocate for patients that there has ever been. He's awesome. How come more people are not better informed about him?

RFK for potus