Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Home
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Print/Digital Subscriptions
    • Gift Subscriptions

You are now logged in.

Forgot your password?

Create new account

Pain treatment

idea 4.1

Opioids

What Drug Warriors Got Wrong About the Opioid Epidemic

The original formulation of OxyContin didn’t create the opioid crisis, argues psychiatrist Sally Satel, and removing it from the market didn’t make the problem go away.

Nick Gillespie | 1.4.2021 2:55 PM

Joe-Biden-12-30-20-Newscom

Opioids

Increases in Opioid-Related Deaths Show That Drug Warriors (Including Biden) Have No Idea What They're Doing

After a slight drop in 2018, fatalities involving opioids jumped last year, setting a new record that is apt to be broken this year.

Jacob Sullum | 12.30.2020 5:40 PM

Jeffrey-Rosen-10-21-20-Newscom

Opioids

Clobbering Purdue Pharma Makes Drug Warriors Feel Good, but It Won't Reduce Opioid-Related Deaths

The $8.3 billion DOJ settlement is part of a crackdown that has perversely pushed drug users toward more dangerous substitutes.

Jacob Sullum | 10.21.2020 5:35 PM

Johnson-Johnson-logo

Free Speech

$465 Million Judgment Against Johnson & Johnson Threatens Freedom of Speech

A brief supporting the company's appeal argues that its discussion of pain treatment was constitutionally protected.

Jacob Sullum | 10.19.2020 3:25 PM

topicsdrugs

Drugs

Is the Crackdown on Pain Pills Finally Working?

Probably not.

Jacob Sullum | 4.9.2020 6:00 AM

Joe-Biden-3-7-20-Newscom

Drug Policy

Trump Attacks Biden on Drug Policy From the Left

It's an interesting strategy for a president who ran in 2016 on a Nixonian "law and order" platform.

Jacob Sullum | 3.9.2020 2:10 PM

OxyContin-bottles-Newscom

Opioids

Massachusetts Study Confirms That People Rarely Die After Using Opioids Prescribed for Them

Illicit fentanyl and heroin accounted for the vast majority of opioid-related deaths, while only 1 percent of cases involved drugs for which people had prescriptions.

Jacob Sullum | 10.23.2019 1:10 PM

democratic-debate-10-15-19-Newscom

Opioids

Democratic Presidential Candidates Promote Dangerous Opioid Myths

The discussion during last night's debate grossly exaggerated the role of prescription pain pills in opioid-related deaths.

Jacob Sullum | 10.16.2019 2:35 PM

pain-pills-k-state-flickr

Opioids

The False Premises of the Ruling Against Johnson & Johnson

Blaming opioid makers for the "opioid crisis" may be emotionally satisfying, but the reality is more complicated.

Jacob Sullum | 8.28.2019 12:01 AM

Johnson-Johnson-logo

Opioids

The Oklahoma Ruling Against Johnson & Johnson Hinges on a Sweeping Definition of 'Public Nuisance'

Can legal sales of prescription opioids constitute a nuisance? Two decisions, based on nearly identical statutes, reach diametrically opposed conclusions.

Jacob Sullum | 8.27.2019 2:55 PM

pain-pills-k-state-flickr

Opioids

New Survey Data Confirm That Opioid Deaths Do Not Correlate With Pain Pill Abuse or Addiction Rates

Nonmedical use of prescription analgesics did not become more common, but it did become more dangerous.

Jacob Sullum | 8.21.2019 1:50 PM

oxycodone-pills-ShebleyCL-Flickr

Opioids

As Opioid Prescriptions Surged in Germany, Opioid Addiction Held Steady, While Opioid-Related Deaths Fell

The data reinforce the point that there is no straightforward relationship between pain pill consumption and overdoses.

Jacob Sullum | 8.2.2019 8:20 AM

oxycodone-tablets-Newscom

Opioids

The Washington Post 's Simplistic Assumption That More Opioid Prescriptions Mean More Drug Overdoses Is Demonstrably Wrong

The causes of opioid-related deaths are more complicated than "too many pain pills."

Jacob Sullum | 7.18.2019 2:45 PM

oxycodone-pills-ShebleyCL-Flickr

Pain treatment

Two Senators With Business Degrees Want the FDA to Tell Doctors They Should Not Treat Chronic Pain With Opioids

The FDA Opioid Labeling Accuracy Act would aggravate the widespread problem of involuntary dose reductions and patient abandonment.

Jacob Sullum | 7.15.2019 12:15 PM

OxyContin-Benzo-Pharmacy

Pain treatment

State Regulators Punish Doctor for Cutting a Pain Patient's Opioid Dose and Dropping Him After He Became Suicidal

The decision by the New Hampshire Board of Medicine suggests state officials are beginning to recognize the harm caused by the crackdown on pain pills.

Jacob Sullum | 7.10.2019 12:45 PM

hydrocodone-pills-Newscom

Pain treatment

Can the Damage Done by the CDC's Opioid Guidelines Be Reversed?

The agency’s acknowledgment of the suffering caused by its prescribing advice may be too little, too late.

Jacob Sullum | 5.1.2019 12:01 AM

Deborah-Dowell-CDC

Pain treatment

The Authors of the CDC's Opioid Prescribing Advice Say It Has Been 'Misimplemented' in a Way That Hurts Patients

The CDC decries abrupt, involuntary dose reductions and patient abandonment without acknowledging its responsibility for those unintended but foreseeable consequences.

Jacob Sullum | 4.24.2019 5:00 PM

Large image on homepages

FDA

Seeking to Clarify Its Opioid Prescribing Guidelines, CDC Joins FDA in Decrying 'Mandated or Abrupt Dose Reduction'

The CDC's advice has been widely interpreted as requiring involuntary tapering of medication so it does not exceed an arbitrary threshold.

Jacob Sullum | 4.11.2019 1:15 PM

Large image on homepages

Pain treatment

Kirsten Gillibrand Says Her Limit on Opioid Prescriptions 'Is Not Intended to Interfere With These Decisions'

If the senator really believed "all health care should be between doctors and patients," she would not be proposing a one-size-fits-all rule for pain treatment.

Jacob Sullum | 3.22.2019 3:20 PM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

Experts Urge CDC to Clarify Prescribing Guidelines That Are Hurting Pain Patients

The agency's opioid advice has led to arbitrary dose reductions, denial of care, senseless suffering, and suicide.

Jacob Sullum | 3.7.2019 3:00 PM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

Are You More Likely to Be Killed by Opioids Than a Car Crash?

Only if you are using heroin, fentanyl, or dangerous drug mixtures

Jacob Sullum | 1.17.2019 9:01 AM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

Punishing Patients Won't Reduce Opioid Deaths

A new Medicare prescription rule will aggravate undertreatment of pain.

Jacob Sullum | 12.19.2018 12:01 AM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

Opioid-Related Deaths Keep Rising As Pain Pill Prescriptions Fall

The crackdown on analgesics continues to push nonmedical users toward deadlier alternatives.

Jacob Sullum | 11.29.2018 2:15 PM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

AMA Decries the Impact of the CDC's Opioid Guidelines on Pain Treatment

The physician group says widespread "misapplication" of the guidelines is hurting patients.

Jacob Sullum | 11.19.2018 12:30 PM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

Trump Says Pain Pills Are 'So Highly Addictive.' He's Wrong.

The president wants to sue pharmaceutical companies for telling the truth about the addictive potential of their products.

Jacob Sullum | 8.17.2018 12:50 PM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

Nan Goldin's Misleading OxyContin Story Feeds the Myth of 'Highly Addictive' Pain Pills

Like most people who become addicted to prescription opioids, the famous photographer had a history of substance abuse.

Jacob Sullum | 6.11.2018 2:15 PM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

This Is Your Hand on Opioids: Trump's 'Very Bad Commercials' Rely on Dishonest and Pernicious Scare Tactics

The anti-drug ads exaggerate the risk of addiction and falsely portray pain treatment as a highway to hell.

Jacob Sullum | 6.7.2018 4:45 PM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

AMA Castigated for Rightly Opposing a National 3-Day Limit on Opioid Prescriptions

The doctors' lobby is right that the arbitrary rule is medically unsound and misconstrues the CDC's guidelines.

Jacob Sullum | 5.30.2018 2:45 PM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

Nevada Records Show 'Opioid-Related' Deaths Usually Involve Illicit Drugs or Mixtures

Deaths attributed solely to pain pills are rare in Clark County.

Jacob Sullum | 5.16.2018 3:15 PM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

FDA Head Acknowledges Suffering Caused by Opioid Crackdown

Scott Gottlieb announces a public meeting focused on the concerns of chronic pain patients.

Jacob Sullum | 5.15.2018 4:15 PM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

Opioid Death Rates Are Not Correlated With Prescription Rates Across States

More reason to doubt that pain pill restrictions will save lives

Jacob Sullum | 5.14.2018 1:30 PM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

Walmart's 7-Day Opioid Prescription Limit Is Medically Unsound and Could Backfire

Like state legislators, the chain is taking its cue from the CDC's guidelines.

Jacob Sullum | 5.10.2018 12:30 PM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

The Lethal Success of Pain Pill Restrictions

A new study provides more evidence that the opioid crackdown is driving people toward deadlier drugs.

Jacob Sullum | 5.9.2018 12:01 AM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

The New York Times Suggests Opioids Should Be Reserved for Terminal Patients

An editorial calling for further restrictions on pain pills grossly exaggerates their dangers.

Jacob Sullum | 4.23.2018 2:00 PM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

As Opioid Prescriptions Fall, Opioid Deaths Rise

The latest data underline the folly of tackling the "opioid crisis" by restricting access to pain pills.

Jacob Sullum | 4.19.2018 1:50 PM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

Medicare Agency Retreats From Arbitrary Limit on Pain Medication

Under the final rule, pharmacists may fill high-dose opioid prescriptions as long as they verify them.

Jacob Sullum | 4.9.2018 1:45 PM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

New Medicare Rule Promises Needless Suffering for Pain Patients

Taking a cue from the CDC, the proposed regulation imposes an arbitrary cap on opioid prescriptions.

Jacob Sullum | 3.28.2018 2:20 PM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

Nan Goldin's Back Story Complicates Her Anti-Opioid Narrative of Accidental Addiction

The photographer's long history of substance abuse predates her OxyContin prescription by more than four decades.

Jacob Sullum | 3.12.2018 12:45 PM

Large image on homepages

Pain treatment

Does That JAMA Study Really Show That Advil Is Just As Effective As Opioids?

Since responses to pain treatment vary widely, it is hazardous to draw broad conclusions from a single study.

Jacob Sullum | 3.9.2018 2:45 PM

Large image for longform feature pages.

Opioids

America's War on Pain Pills Is Killing Addicts and Leaving Patients in Agony

The government's efforts to get between people and the drugs they want have not prevented drug use, but they have made it more dangerous.

Jacob Sullum | 3.8.2018 7:00 AM

Large image on homepages

Pain treatment

Jeff Sessions' Cruel Prescription for Pain

The attorney general does not seem to understand how the drive to minimize opioid use hurts innocent people.

Jacob Sullum | 2.14.2018 12:01 AM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

Jeff Sessions' Advice to Pain Patients: 'Take Some Aspirin' and 'Tough It Out'

The attorney general thinks people should suffer needlessly, just like John Kelly.

Jacob Sullum | 2.8.2018 6:14 PM

Large image on homepages

Drugs

Don't Blame Pain Pills for the Opioid Crisis

Jacob Sullum | 2.1.2018 12:00 PM

Large image on homepages

Opioids

Study of Postsurgical Patients Shows Addiction to Pain Pills Is Rare

While the risk of "opioid misuse" increased with the duration of the prescription, the overall rate was low.

Jacob Sullum | 1.22.2018 1:15 PM

  • About
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon

© 2020 Reason Foundation | Privacy Policy | Accessibility | Terms Of Use