"Politics of pain" demonized by DEA.

• Position: War on Drugs - Drug Enforcement Administration - Brief article

Millions of Americans live in chronic pain, without access to proper medications, because their doctors are too afraid of being harassed or even arrested by Drug Enforcement Administration agents to prescribe sufficient doses. To help address this situation, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Washington, D.C., has launched its "Politics of Pain" campaign to support reform of DEA rules and procedures,

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"The DEA is attempting to control drug abuse by regulating the practice of medicine, but the DEA consists of bureaucrats, not physicians, and its views on treating chronic pain often amount to malpractice," argues Sam Kazman, CEI general counsel.

The Politics of Pain campaign has collected personal stories from physicians and patients who explain firsthand how difficult it can be either to offer--or find sufficient--treatment for pain conditions. In one video interview, Gulf War veteran James Fernandez and his wife tell their story of how he, once a robustly healthy U.S. Marine...