Pain Management Centers – Finding a Local Facility

• By Cali Shaye
• Medical Marijuana
• 14 years ago
• 0

Before the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act became law in 1914, the federal government basically left Americans alone to medicate with alcohol, opium, and cocaine as they saw fit.Years ago when South Korea had Peace Corps Volunteers wandering around (me among them), you could get any legal drug without a prescription.

Had a cough you could not extinguish?  Codeine was available at the corner pharmacy for less than a dollar.  Amphetamines were obtainable from roughly 6 cents a pill.  I never tried them, although they were nearby if I wanted them.

Members of the U.S. Army stationed in Korea were prohibited from going inside a Korean drugstore.  Strictly off-limits.  (As if that ever prevented even one soldier from getting any drug they needed – legal or prohibited.)

No where in the U.S. Constitution do I find a right for the federal government to interfere in doctor-patient relationships.  Yet they do.  Like the licensing of physicians, this right – if it exists at all – should be exercised at the state level.

The Act provides:

“Chap 1. – An Act To provide for the registration of, with collectors of internal revenue, and to impose a special tax on all persons who produce, import, manufacture, compound, deal in, dispense, sell, distribute, or give away opium or coca leaves, their salts, derivatives, or preparations, and for other purposes.”

Even though technically lawful for personal use at that time, some physicians who prescribed opiates to addicts ended up being arrested and imprisoned because addiction was not considered a “disease” a medical professional could treat in “the course of his professional practice.”

For fear of losing their licenses to prescribe drugs – the foundation of most modern medical practices – many doctors will not prescribe the best pain killers, even when they know it’s the best option for the patient.

Terminal cancer patients are routinely treated with liquid opiates in England and can live their last days free of excruciating pain.  Not so for their U.S. cousins, unless they want liquified black tar heroin on the back streets of Houston.

As a result of a nanny state and a failed war on drugs, the best pain medications are routinely denied or completely prohibited to patients in the U.S.

In my mind, pain management is more medical art than medical science.  Any time you believe you are a citizen instead of a subject, remember that the government has determined you cannot use the best pain killers because you are weak and might become addicted.

Pain treatment centers come in various forms:

– individual pain clinics staffed by MDs- departments in hospitals and universities

– chiropractors

– acupuncturists

– physical therapists

– psychiatrists/psychologists

Alternatives:

– clinics that readily prescribe pain killers

– “pill mills”

– yoga

– hypnosis

– medical marijuana

Pain focused in one part of the body might be addressed more successfully through one type of chronic pain clinic than another.  Chiropractors, for instance, are a customary stop for people with constant back pain.  But back pain is complicated, and may well involve your family doctor, physical therapy, or even acupuncture..

Key categories of pain consist of:

– cancer

– arthritis

– sciatica

– back

– neck

– leg

– foot

– headache

Pain management is further complicated by insurance companies.  Health insurance restricts most pain relief to pharmaceuticals prescribed by their plan physicians.

Nearly all alternative pain centers will expect the patient to pay out of pocket.  If your regular physician cannot or will not prescribe a correct treatment plan, it may well be well worth it.

“No More Pain” Clinics is a new site set up to explore alternative treatment options available for unrelieved pain.

Tags:  pain treatment clinics,pain clinics,pain management clinics