DRUG REGISTRY ONLY WOULD FURTHER TIE DOCTORS' HANDS

I read the Feb. 20 letter "Drug registry only way to fight effects of
abuse" and realized that we have entered the realm of Big Brother. There
are people out there who are in real pain, and their doctors might now be
afraid to write prescriptions for fear of being seen as drug dealers.

Whether one likes Rush Limbaugh's politics or not, we have not walked in
his shoes or felt his pain. Doctors are hampered already by managed-care
organizations; now, some would take away their right to decide for their
patients, which, of course, insurers are doing anyhow. It is up to the
doctor, not government and not society, to decide whether a patient
requires pain pills, tranquilizers or sugar pills. After studying for so
many years, they should have the freedom to deal with their own patients.

Ann Probst, Boynton Beach