PATIENTS NEED PAIN RELIEF

The Unites States' "war on drugs," besides being unsuccessful and costly,
has blinded otherwise reasonable people to the fact that all drugs can be
used for good or bad.

Our government's extreme fear of drugs continues to thwart efforts by
physicians to relieve the pain and suffering of patients. Besides the
recent Supreme Court decision to block the sale of medicinal marijuana,
doctors are monitored by the government and required by law to fill out
forms in triplicate for prescriptions of opiates for pain relief. Because
of this monitoring, I have seen a family member writhe in pain because the
physician was fearul of being audited by the government for prescribing too
much pain medication. It is evident that fear of this sort leads to
extreme cruelty.

Disallowing a drug to someone in dire need because someone abuses it is
inhumane. The citizens of California voted to pass Proposition 215 four
years ago in the hope that some human suffering would be alleviated.

It is time to challenge our politicians humanity. Do Clinton and his
administration really feel our pain? Are George W. Bush and the Republican
party really compassionate conservatives? These are the questions we must ask.

Debi Reuter, San Jose