Big change to make it harder for patients to get pain killers like Vicodin

[Stonepounder]

42. Great! So, because some people abuse a drug, people who don't have to suffer?

This is nuts. Crack down on the pill merchants, not the users. It is just like any other drug, law enforcement seems to go after the users and never bother with the suppliers.

About 5 years ago I broke my ankle. It was a nasty break, requiring surgery, a pin, and a plate. Then a cast. PUtting a cast over surgical incisions is not a whole lot of fun. I could get through the day OK, but I absolutely could not sleep in a bed - there was no position that didn't put pressure on one or the other of the incisions. So, for six weeks I slept in my recliner because I could hook the heel of the cast on the foot rest and let the bottom of my foot take the weight of my leg. Even then, I needed my pain meds if I expected to get any sleep at all.

The day the cast came off was the last time I took a pain pill. So now, if I need pain pills it is a whole lot harder to get them, simply because some doctors over-prescribe them and some people abuse them.

For that matter, my wife takes Clonidine for her hypertension. Clonidine is the new pill of choice for drug addicts because (theoretically) it increases the 'high' when used with other drugs (like hydrocodone). Should we make Clonidine a Schedule 2 drug as well since some people abuse it?