FELON FIGHTING DRUG WAR

TAMPA - Chronic pain from a spine injury forced Richard Paey to take
potent narcotics just to get through the day.

Prosecutors viewed the Hudson man's dependence on Percocet and Lortab
as criminal trafficking, unlawful possession and prescription fraud.

In 2004, a Pasco County jury agreed, finding Paey guilty of all three
offenses and sending him to prison for 25 years. Paey appealed;
Tuesday, the burgeoning battle between chronic pain sufferers and the
criminal justice system came before the 2nd District Court of Appeal.

During arguments Tuesday, attorney John Flannery, of Virginia, who
represents Paey, said his client's sentence violates the U.S.
Constitution's prohibition against "cruel and unusual punishment."

In response, Assistant Attorney General John Klawikofsky said any
change to the statute should be made by the Florida Legislature, not
the courts.

Judges E.J. Salcines, Douglas Wallace and James Seals, who heard
Tuesday's arguments, will decide whether to uphold Paey's sentence or
grant him a new trial.

Paey, 47, made national news recently in his battle against a
criminal justice system that pain advocates say is fighting a
sometimes misguided war on drugs.

Paey's story began in 1985 when he was in a car accident while living
in Philadelphia.

He has endured several failed surgeries and an enduring pain he says
makes his legs "feel like they're on fire" if he doesn't have
adequate pain medication.

He and his wife, Linda, moved to Florida from New Jersey in 1994.
Three years later, Pasco County sheriff's deputies searched his home
on Cypress Knee Drive and found several hundred pills and equipment
they said he used to forge prescriptions.

Paey's 25-year sentence was not unusual, Klawikofsky said.

"He had 800 pills of oxycodone in a month and a half," Klawikofsky said.