Sheriff's want list of patients using painkillers

reply to post by westcoast

It sounds as if you are talking about receiving medical care from a government facility.

No, I'm not. That negates the rest of your argument. I'm not talking about government hospitals or even government employees. What I mean by the government controlling doctors, is that every medical doctor that is allowed to practice here in the US, has to be licensed. Furthermore, each doctor who prescribes medications has to go through another process with the government. With that, there are six (I believe) levels of prescription drugs, with each level requiring more and more hoopla with the government.

Class I drugs are drugs like cocain, heroin and marijuana. Class II drugs are hard analgesic painkillers like Fentanyl and Morphine (liquid not pill). Class III drugs are more mild analgesic painkillers such as Vicodin and Oxycontin. Class IV drugs are even more mild painkillers such as darvocet, codeine and then other drugs like Klonopin and Valum. Class V medications are non-controlled prescription medications such as antibiotics. Class VI (I believe there is a class VI) is over the counter medications like tylenol.

You have to be a licensed MD (PA for Class V and above) to prescribe all medications, though to prescribe Class II (and maybe Class III) medications, the doctors have to register with the DEA and they are closely watched. So close in fact that they are far too scared to medicate patients that really need it. That is a shame. A doctor should not have to worry about treating a pateint how s/he sees fit. Furthermore, a pateint should not have to worry about getting the treatments they need. We should be allowed to do whatever we feel is necessary for our own well being, so long as it doesn't affect anyone else and taking medications doesn't affect anyone else, regardless of whether you take them to relieve to pain or get high.

If someone is abusinf pain medications, it isn't my fault. That's their problem and we are fooling ourselves to think that we are going to stop drug abusers by outlawing drugs or making them harder to get for the people who need them. If there is one thing that this silly war on drugs has taught us, it's that it is completely inneffective.

If you don't want your kids to do drugs, then raise them right. Raise them in a manner to where they either don't need to turn to drugs or that they understand the consequences. It isn't my problem if someone is too lazy to raise their children right. Parenting is hard work and you make that committment when you decide to have children or unprotected sex. I shouldn't be held liable for those that can't raise their own children, just as I don't expect others to catch the slack from my own children.

Again, when someone abuses drugs, it is their choice. We are all born into this world as equals, with not one person designated by god to be the authority over any other. Therefore we can't pretend to know better than anyone else. Along this line, a pain sufferer is usually not suffering from pain due to their own choice. Why help the people to ignorant to make the percieved right choice, while leaving those who don't have the choice to rot? It is much better to create 100 addicts, than to allow 1 legitimate patient to suffer.


--airspoon

Originally posted by Unit541
Doesn't a persons prescriptions fall under the category of doctor patient confidentiality?

It does unless the police get the info. from the Pharmacists which I don't think have the confidentiality thing. That's how they may get around that.

There has to be an actual law enforcement reason for them to get your health care information. Rape, abuse&neglect, etc. They can't just willy-nilly look at everyones info.

reply to post by Unit541


Yes you got it, it will have to be a state wide law that will enforce what the Sheriff wants in the states where he is voted in, this will never be a local law enforcement it has to be statewide, for that taking into consideration how many politicians live on prescribe drugs and antidepressants I don't think this going any far.

Just wishful thinking as for the Sheriff he has to remember that he was elected

Originally posted by rakkasansct
There has to be an actual law enforcement reason for them to get your health care information. Rape, abuse&neglect, etc. They can't just willy-nilly look at everyones info.

Do not confuse the cop haters with facts it just upsets them.

My first thought on hearing this ( as I am on a high dosage of Morphine Sulfate while I slowly die from cancer) Is I think about everyone in government already has access to this information. At least it seems like it as everyone I go to has the info.
Then I wondered how long it would be before the rich and famous chimed in with how it would be unfair to them. But I guess ones like Micheal Jackson, Marlyn Monroe, the other blond bimbo I can not recall her name right now and most of the others who have died because they were getting multiple scrips from multiple doctors and using them...

reply to post by Dragonsbreaths


I'm so sorry for your pain.

It sickens me that the abuse of these medications make it harder for those that truly need it.

I don't know if there is a good answer to this, I just know it is a real problem that will not just go away by ignoring it and leaving it up to everyones good judgement.

Thank you OP, for the info and good debate. S & F

reply to post by Dragonsbreaths


Please. You can't just write this off as being questioned by "cop haters".
There are legitimate questions of privacy and of potential abuse by law enforcement.
After all, the police are supposed to follow and uphold the law.......aren't they?

what about people that are on narcotics for a short time, to recover from surgery and such, they get put on this list and never come off,
First its the drugs, then next it will be your records, then they will dictate how much drug you can get
its total BS

Why not people with a history of depression?
General mental illness?
Marital problems?
Poor people?
It COULD be argued that these groups are more likely to commit crimes.
All in the name of public safety.

I just wanted to say if you are suffering from severe pain and can't get a prescription from the doc, there are plants out there that you can easily obtain on the internet that work just as well as the prescriptions. It is taboo for me to mention them, but with a little research I'm sure you will find them.

reply to post by HomerinNC


You are absolutely correct homer. There is no reason for them to have this information. If I was on scrip painkillers, lived in that area and this passed. I would sue that police dept and my doctor for a hippaa violation. For someone to think this draconian list to be a good thing, has to be very ignorant.

painkillers are a huge epidemic, and extremely addictive, yet they remain legal somehow when you have something far less harmful (marijuana) illegal still and as a class I substance somehow.


the sheriff wont get his list though, thats a huge violation and another step into the increasing nanny state. If the country continues on this sissy path I might just be finding a new place to live soon, because I cant find many reasons to stay anymore.

I want to see how much luck this sheriff has getting the info on veterans getting pain meds from the VA.

A lot of veteran will be out to nail this sheriffs hide to the wall.

The veterans service organizations around the country will back veteran and not the sheriff.

Even employers can not get medical information on veterans from the VA unless the veteran signs a waver.

I am not quite sure what, if anything, this Sherriff hopes to do OTHER than invade privacy. As it stands now, if you are out and about for the day and you may need to bring one painkiller with you it has to be in a fully marked bottle appropriate for that pill. I was actually detained for 4 hours at a local detention sub-station for having a tramadol in one of those bottles. But because it was only one in a bottle that was supposed to have 100, "something is amiss". I suffer from degenerative disk disease as well as late stage stenosis and nerve damage. In essence, on my way to becoming a veggie. There is NOTHING this power would do to stem he illegal use of PK's, as ANYONE caught with pills is automatically detained anyways until the prescription can be verified. Just Big Brother at it again.

This is an invasion of privacy issue . Everyone has good ideas why it isn't, but it is.

This database for sheriffs leads to more. It will become all prescriptions. Then the information can be shared with Homeland Security and every agency will then have access. At some point, this database will be used as an example of why we need a national database for all prescriptions written.

This national database is needed to weed out bad doctors and addicts, of course. They will even tell us that it will stop waste and fraud for medicare and insurance. The reasons will sound too good why we shouldn't have this.

This is about power over the people. Information provides power.

Outrageous.

Disgusting, Invasive behavior by the pigs.

Let's all hold hands as we skip down Police State BLVD, we have nothing to hide!!

reply to post by OldDragger


Yet, they are driving past drug dealers every single day.

I am a chronic pain sufferer. Things like this burn me up, and make it hard for people who have legitimate pain problems get the medications they need.

And sheriffs like this, are only increasing the drug problem. Why? Because if you can't get prescription painkillers, you buy drugs off the street. when you feel bad enough, you will do anything you can to relieve the pain.

This guy wants to break medical violations over something contrite.

He needs to get get his rear after some real problems, not people with disabilities.

reply to post by westcoast


If you have "nothing to hide” ? really? If I remember correctly you are one of the posters who think Obama has no obligation to provide proof of his eligibility to be president. Further more people laugh at us “birthers” who say the same thing to him and his reasoning, “if he has nothing to hide” then prove it. Well when govt. lives by the same rules as everyone else then come talk to me.

Originally posted by hinky


This database for sheriffs leads to more. It will become all prescriptions. Then the information can be shared with Homeland Security and every agency will then have access. At some point, this database will be used as an example of why we need a national database for all prescriptions written.

Anti Depressants are used to treat some types of chronic or neuropathic pain.
www.spineuniverse.com...
www.biopsychiatry.com...
www.webmd.com...

What happens when a sheriff get a list of people taking anti depressants for chronic or neuropathic pain.
Will they then be kicking down doors and confiscating guns from people because they think these people are depressed.
Or will they use these records to prohibit these people from buying guns because they think these people are depressed.

reply to post by ANNED


You know I didn't even put that together. Star for you ANNED. It fits right in with a thread I saw on here not to long ago about a computer program to be able to detect depressed bloggers.