Are people with mental and physical pain second-class?

                           Doctors For Equal Rights For Physical And Mental Pain

        8409 Carlynn Dr. Bethesda, MD 20817               alensalerian@gmail.com

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Are People With Physical

Or Mental Pain Second-class?

Alen J Salerian MD

January 11, 2015

   Reality check:   4  observations suggest people with physical or mental pain are second-class in America.

1. Archaic regulations:

1.Artificial restrictions for buprenorphine and methadone.

2. Methadone clinics  mandate patients to medically unjustified daily attendance .

3. Archaic classification of controlled substances.

4.Dissemination of unscientific false alarm by CDC: an

epidemic of deaths from prescription pain medications.

5. Scientifically invalid data collection of US deaths from controlled substances.

6. Archaic rules  in employment. I.e. not working for high-security jobs. Can't fly a plane etc.

7. Barbaric  rules for pretrial mental patients(slave labor , strip searches, mandatory confinement and punitive treatment during evaluation) .

2.Adverse Effects Of Archaic Rules :

1.Man-made shortage of treatment.

2. Heightened illicit activity of controlled substances due to man-made shortage promoting more crime, punishment,  further restrictions to  punish people with mental and physical pain.

3.Unscientific Public Perceptions:

1 .  Misperception:The predominant threat to public health is from substance overuse. 

      Reality:Studies show 99% of the time substance overuse problems are complications of psychiatric dysfunction.

2. Misperception: All controlled substances are harmful.  If it's narcotic it's bad.

    Reality: methadone and other long-acting pain medications are relatively low risk for overuse potential.

 3. Gross underestimation of the  magnitude of suffering.

   Reality: 120 million  pain victims according to Institute of medicine .

4.Slurs And Name-calling By the Media, Medical And Legal Community.

  Junkie, alcoholic, addict, borderline, Dr. pill-mill are pejorative terms  for  people with substance overuse , mood disorders and their physicians.

What can we do to help people with chronic mental and physical pain?

Education, education, education.