DISPENSE MORE DRUGS: COLLEGE

HALIFAX. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia wants
doctors to prescribe narcotics and other controlled drugs more
liberally when treating patients with extreme or chronic pain.

"There has been a fear that prescribing narcotics will result in
patient addiction or regulatory sanctions," outgoing council President
Bill Acker told the college's annual meeting yesterday. "This has led
to patients being undertreated for pain."

Added college registrar Cameron Little: "patients should be given
as much medication as needed to kill pain."

About 150,000 Maritimers suffer from chronic pain, says a study by the
pain management unit of the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre.

"Constant pain at moderate to severe levels, especially associated
with depression, can lead to suicide...and more disability than the
injury or illness that caused it in the first place," the study says.