A recent New York Times Health article recently appeared entitled “Tightening the Lid on Pain Prescriptions“. Here’s a paragraph which ought to grab just about everyone’s attention:

“High-strength painkillers known as opioids represent the most widely prescribed class of medications in the United States. And over the last decade, the number of prescriptions for the strongest opioids has increased nearly fourfold, with only limited evidence of their long-term effectiveness or risks, federal data shows.”

Did we get that? A fourfold increase in the strongest opioids over the last decade. What does that mean for the next ten years?

More importantly, what does that mean for all of us who live with, work with, interact with people who have been taking this class of medication for years? Whether they know it or not, many are addicted to these powerful pharmaceutical medications. And the consequences of their long term use has not been adequately monitored or studied.

For one thing they represent such a lucrative revenue stream for Big Pharma that research money is kept from ever funding the necessary studies. These vital studies would be quite revealing in that the many unintended consequences, toxic side effects and collateral damage, that often occur with the overuse of prescription drugs, would come to light.  Continue reading →