In the rear view mirror: hindsight is 20/20

My blog – this blog – is now in its NINTH YEAR and trying to put things into perspective that is a similar time frame that I spent going thru HIGH SCHOOL and COLLEGE. Going from grade school to becoming a licensed Pharmacist  would suggest is a substantial amount of progress and advancement.

During a similar time frame I opened or expanded several successful businesses.

Generally, the best way for an individual or entity/group to reach/accomplish a goal is to have a dedicated organized plan  along with a adequate number of knowledgeable people who will work toward the goal on a consistent basis, or some will just either pray and figure that someone else will make it happen or just rely on “dumb luck”.

Since 2012 … there has been 5 different Congressional sessions and two different Presidents one from each party. The Republicans have had the majority in both the Senate and the House the majority of the time and only ONE SESSION where both the Senate and the House had the majority of both houses and was the same party as our President – first two years of Trump’s presidency.

In looking at what has happened in/around the chronic pain community during the same time frame.  Advocates have come and gone, the National Pain Report is now gone, one of the national non-profit advocate had some “issues” and the then president was booted out.

How many more FB pages devoted to something going on in/around pain have been created… but it would seem that the numbers have exploded.  I don’t think that any one could come up with a accurate number.  Has to be in the THOUSANDS.

The vast majority of those FB pages are “closed”, “private” or some other visibility restriction placed on them..   Meaning that NOTHING could go viral from a post in one of those FB pages.  Could that be part of the reason that seemingly the vast majority of the community have no idea what is going on in/around the community?

Most everyone recognizes that there is a substantial amount of infighting and disagreement.  This is not something that has happened overnight and it seems to only be getting worse.

There is claimed that there are 100 million chronic pain pts and some 25-35 million within that number are considered dealing with intractable chronic pain – needing some pain mitigating therapy 24/7.  Some want to readily blame President Trump for the current problems.  Yet what political party was in the majority when the decade of pain law expired in 2009 and there was no interest in renewing it ?  What political party was in the majority when the DEA cut opiate pharma production limits by about 50% over several years ?  What political party was in the majority when the CDC published their Opiate dosing guidelines in 2016 ? Has the presumed Democratic Presidential candidate came out and made a statement for or against chronic pain pts getting adequate therapy and/or the DEA continuing to raid prescribers’ offices and shutting them down over mostly fabricated or exaggerated facts ?

Imagine if early in 2019 had come together and got 1% of the community to donate $10/month to a non profit that would be hiring a law firm, PR firm, Lobbyist firm.  That would generate 10 million/month cash flow to a  “war chest”.  At this point in time those professional could be approaching the upper echelon of those two political campaigns with the facts that they represent 100 million chronic painers and that they are looking for a candidate who will support getting the DEA out of prescribers’ offices…

If Trump wanted those 100 million votes the community needs an executive order to put a muzzle on the DEA BEFORE NOV 3rd or those 100 million votes will be given to Biden.  Generally it only takes about 65 million total votes to win the presidency.  In reality, the community could determine who gets elected to just about any office at any level from city/county/state/nationally. Remember, abt 85% of Congress is up for re-election every two years and abt 98% will get re-elected regardless what they do or don’t do or promise to get done and never does or does just the opposite of what they promised.

But because of the on going infighting and disunity within the community … that boat has already sailed for this election year.

Do I believe that anything will change within the community ?  Not really, IMO, all too many are willing to compromise and unify as long as others are willing to compromise to their opinion(s) and unify under their “organizational umbrella “

Let’s hope that as the stronger advocates “thrown in the towel” and just walk away – out of frustration – the last advocate standing has the entire community’s best interest in mind

3 Responses

  1. Yes iamfbch, if we got 100,000 signatures from patients, family, dr’s, pharmacists.. then it has to be addressed by Congress.. if not Oversight Committee, which is where it needs to go.

    The other option is to get the President to write an Executive Order.. longshot. But I actually have heard he’s clearing or cleaning up the 3-letter organizations, such as DEA, FBI, CIA, CDC.. but I have no evidence yet.. just supposed insider info.

    I don’t feel too assured that raising that much money & handing it over to a lobbyist would be safe, given greed & finding one who would truly represent our best interests. The former head of USPF embezzled their funds. They get money from pharmaceutical companies & as far as I know they have not obtained a lobbyist.

    Though we could set up a fund if someone responsible could start & manage it. The funds could be used for legal representation, especially given the outrage of the public when they were forbidden to presribe the anti-malaria drug for covid patients. I heard & saw numerous people (not even pain patients) say/yell. “Get the gov’t out of our dr office!”.

    Most of these people have no idea the atrocities done to innocent pain patients, dr’s, & pharmacists. And getting the message out to the public would assist. Especislly clarifying the false narrative spread that one pain pill will make on an addict & anyone taking pain meds for chronic pain are just “drug seekers”, & their pain would supposedly go away if they just stopped pain meds.

    With the CDC having been found to be corrupt, falsifying deaths of the virus.. & also that they could not even do testing without tainting them, we have more evidence that CDC falsified the deaths to be from Rx opioids, as well as spreading completely false info while pushing the “guidelines” to make everyone have to tske Suboxone. This has been out of their greed & to avenge loved ones who died or almost died from illegal drugs.

    I have horrific intractable pain & others like this are monitored with the abuse to allow our meds, prescribing dr’s, & pharmacies to be available for the law to see & target “drug seekers” & “drug dealers”, wrongfully. We have also been treated like criminals on parole while money is made from our urine screens & from experimenting on us with forced dangerous procedures (even when warned of damages by the FDA).

    And then like you mentioned Steve, the FDA has been found not “not be in a position to regulate the practice of medicine”. If that’s so, not only would the DEA not be in a position to do so, nor would the CDC when they are meant to focus on disease rather than pain. IF they consider chronic pain a disease, then we qualify for appropriate, helpful treatment just as anyone with any other disease.. rather than cruel & unusual punishment.

    Despite my severe pain, I am willing to be a part of a group that would work on these angles as well as finding appropriate legal representation. But I personally cannot start an appropriate funding campaign. We could join with those committed to action, whether in Doctors of Courage, Doctor Patient Forum, &/or any others.

    In the meantime, I working to approach alternative news sources who have large numbers of views/followers so we can get the message out to the general public, at least to begin with.

    Please let me know if anyone is interested in anything like this.. such as a group of representatives from each pain group, advocates, family/loved ones, pharmacists, dr’s..  & heckeven pharmaceutical companies getting their butts sued.. & anyone else who could help. Plan our attack & flood the media & White House, etc.

    Just thinking out loud. I have to do this & not spend time commenting on fb in order to save my life & hopefully other’s. Or else I will die trying.

    Thank you so much Steve, for all your work, & especially for the laughs like your recent post that literally had me ROFL.

    (Sorry so long)

  2. I shared this on my FB along with my own words…..
    I have posted before, this could go there! I don’t want it to. I still think it won’t.
    BUT! IF ONE SIDE OF THE AISLE , supports Chronic Pain Patients in rolling back the 2016 CDC guidelines in getting doctors back in the loop and returning the patients dignity, how huge would that be!?
    Affecting 50 to 100 million people in the US, and their families who live and know their pain and suffering they have gone through.
    Those people are going to vote for that party! It will not matter what agenda they are running on. Immigration, taxes, climate control, jobs, China, nothing will matter to those people but WHO is going to help them to escape their pain!

  3. Great points Steve I have tried for yrs to get something in the way of donations to do exactly what you said I didnt go as high as you did in asking for the donation I had said $5.00 a month x 50,000 CPP could generate enough money that “BIG LAW FIRMS” Would be calling us asking to defend us.There would be enough money to help these Doctors who have had there lifes ruined by the mob DEA I found that when push came to shove you couldnt get 5000 signatures for a petition! It seemed like everyone got well overnight.
    I still believe that is the only way the CPP community will be heard is with donations to do what was mentioned
    Im to old and not as sharp as I used to be to organize something like that..I no with what is in place now with “groups” nothing or no one will notice the CPP community

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