slowpedal

And without enough access to treatment, people who are addicted to pain pill are going to turn to street drugs

This blanket statement is just not true. A large number of us just suffer with the pain, because we are sick and frustrated with a system that treats us like crackheads.

This is absolutely a problem. I have been on prescription opioids for 30 years. For the past 6 years or so, I have had to submit to regular urinalysis, signed "contracts" and jumped through other hoops to get my pain meds.

My doctor has decided to leave town (5th in six years) and my new doctor has (in addition to the contract) required me to do the urinalysis every 28 days, at my own cost (insurance won't cover it).

So, because I am sick of being treated like a crackhead, I have chosen to stop taking opioids. Will it suck? Yes. Are there other methods of pain management that are as effective? NO.

Here is the thing they don't tell you. All of the alternatives that are non-addictive have serious side effects like liver and/or kidney damage. Opioids only serious side effect is the risk of addiction. If you are not an addict, opioids provide a level of pain relief that nothing else can.

So, yes. Because a certain segment of our society chooses to abuse drugs, patients are losing the most effective treatment for pain.

Do you abuse your prescriptions monthly and sit in pain until they are refilled?

No, I do not. I don't believe the majority of patients that use opioids for chronic pain do either.

But, even though we have shown no signs of abusing our meds, we are arbitrarily cut off, reduced or treated like crackheads. It's patently unfair, just because a certain percentage of the population chooses to abuse opioids.

How about an alcohol analogy? A certain percentage of people choose to drink and drive, killing over 10,000 people last year in the US.

Would it be okay to require everyone who drives to take a breathalyzer test to start a car?

Great point. I'm a disabled vet with chronic pain. I've used opioids for literally decades for effective pain relief. Last week, I told my doctor I was fed up with peeing in a bottle every 28 days (at my expense) and sick of being treated like a crackhead. I won't be taking opioids any longer. In thirty years I have never lost a prescription, tried to get one renewed early or any other the other things they point out in the "contract" that they all require now (like an addict would have a problem lying on it).

The thing that pisses me off is that there is never any responsibility put on the addict. He/she must make a choice to take drugs in the first place. No one is becoming an addict by taking their medicine as their doctor has prescribed.

I'm not OP, but I live in his District. The incumbent was elected in 2014, beating out a fairly popular freshman congressman who thought he could just coast to re-election. He didn't.

The current incumbent is a Republican from Mesquite, Crescent Hardy. The 4th district includes North Las Vegas and most of rural southern Nevada. Hardy campaigned heavily in the rural areas and won them overwhelmingly. It didn't hurt that he is Mormon and a large part of rural Nevada is Mormon as well.

Whichever Democrat gets to face him in the general election should have a field day with his record. He has made millions off of (what locals call) shady real estate and construction dealings. His construction company went BK a few years ago, leaving a bunch of small businesses broke. Very little digging would bury this guy, IMO.

BTW, I'm registered an Independent. I don't really have a horse in this race.