Physical Disability
Access to pain medication often denied
FACT-- Arkansas has the highest per capita number of people with disabilities of working age (16 to 64) of any state in the nation.
FACT-- Arkansas ranks in the top five of per capita unemployed people with disabilities. One in four Arkansas families living in poverty has a person with disabilities living in the immediate family.
FACT-- The majority of Arkansas people who experience agricultural or industrial accidents resulting in disability are minority, primarily African American, although Arkansas hosts one of the most rapidly expanding Hispanic populations in the nation.
FACT-- Persons with disabilities are uniquely disadvantaged by the nation's drug policies.
For example, a man with a back injury often experiences chronic pain. Prescription medications may be too expensive or may cause the man to become too groggy to work. Marijuana may relieve the man's pain enough to allow him to function, while not making him too groggy.
Long term use of prescription pain medications damages the liver and other vital organs. Marijuana is a less harmful alternative. But so far, Arkansans with disabilities can obtain morphine or Percodan, but have no legal access to marijuana for medical purposes.
Persons with disabilities may endure unnecessary pain because doctors fear professional sanctions if the U. S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) decides they are over-prescribing pain medications. Recent studies have shown that more than half Americans in pain fail to receive appropriate pain control. DEA policies have become progressively more harsh as the nation's drug war has escalated.
Drug Policy Education Group, Inc. hosted a conference in 2001 entitled: "Drug War Effects on People with Disabilities." The conference featured speakers to address the issue of inadequate pain treatment, the issue of medical marijuana, pro and con, and included interactive sessions broken out under topic areas including pain, muscle spasm, appetite and digestive disorder, seizures, and others.
Links:
The American Pain Foundation, founded in 1997, is an independent nonprofit organization serving people with pain through information, education and advocacy. Their mission is to improve the quality of life for people with pain by raising public awareness, providing practical information, promoting research, and advocating to remove barriers and increase access to effective pain management. www.painfoundation.org
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. Providing resources to physicians targeted by the DEA for pain treatment. Frequently files amicus briefs on behalf of prosecuted physicians. 1 800-635-1196 http://www.aapsonline.org/pmnew.htm
The American Pain Society is a multidisciplinary community that brings together a diverse group of scientists, clinicians and other professionals to increase the knowledge of pain and transform public policy and clinical practice to reduce pain-related suffering. American Pain Society
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