U.S. COMPARES VA. PAIN DOCTOR TO 'CRACK DEALER'

Federal prosecutors yesterday likened a Northern Virginia pain doctor who
was indicted on drug trafficking charges to a "street-corner crack dealer"
as they tried to keep him jailed until his trial.

William E. Hurwitz, a prominent advocate of using potent narcotics to treat
intractable pain, was charged with distributing drugs that ended up on the
black market. Prosecutors allege that Hurwitz's prescribing practices led
to the deaths of three patients and fueled the abuse of painkillers such as
OxyContin. Hurwitz's attorney has argued that the doctor was practicing
good medicine.

Hurwitz's arrest is part of a nationwide effort by the Justice Department
to stem prescription drug abuse, and authorities recently have focused on
doctors. Hurwitz, 57, of McLean is one of the first doctors nationwide to
be accused of widespread illegal distribution.

Hours after Hurwitz's court appearance, a group of advocates for doctors
and pain patients decried the government crackdown, saying it is keeping
pain sufferers from getting the help they need.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Lytle said in court that Hurwitz should not be
treated any better than a crack dealer simply because he has a medical
degree. Lytle said there is evidence that Hurwitz was providing dealers
with drugs to sell. "This is a case of a defendant who wears a white coat
and with the power of a pen" distributes drugs, Lytle said. "This is not a
case about malpractice or whether a doctor exercised bad judgment."

Lytle said Hurwitz should be held without bond until his trial on charges
that could yield a life sentence. U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry R. Poretz
deferred a ruling on bond until a hearing this afternoon.

Wearing black-and-white-striped prison garb to court, Hurwitz blew kisses
to family members. He later shook his head as prosecutors said they had
taped conversations between him and his patients. On one of the tapes,
Lytle said, Hurwitz talked about a co-conspirator's drug dealing in
Tennessee and then issued him more prescriptions.

Lytle also alleged that Hurwitz might have tried to hide the assets of his
pain practice, saying authorities have not been able to find almost $2
million of his reported earnings for the past five years.

James Hundley, Hurwitz's attorney, said Hurwitz has done nothing wrong,
arguing that the doctor followed accepted medical guidelines for the use of
opioid therapy.

"There's a world of difference between him and a crack dealer," Hundley
said. "He is a licensed doctor. The illegality happened down the road from
him. If patients choose to misbehave, he can't control that."

Yesterday, advocacy groups for patients with chronic pain attacked the
prosecution of Hurwitz and what they said was a trend by federal officials
to target doctors who specialize in pain management.

Speaking at the National Press Club, group representatives said millions of
Americans are finding it increasingly difficult to find doctors who will
treat chronic pain because doctors don't want to risk their licenses by
prescribing controlled drugs. They said the trend is especially disturbing
because, in recent years, medical research has supported the long-term use
of opioids as the best treatment for many patients with chronic pain.

"We are here to say we support Dr. Hurwitz and others targeted like him,"
said Kathryn Serkes, spokeswoman for the Association of American Physicians
and Surgeons, a nonprofit group that represents doctors. "These
prosecutions should not be occurring, and we will help Dr. Hurwitz become a
doctor again when this is over. . . . These doctors who treat chronic pain
patients are heroes, not criminals."

Siobhan Reynolds of the Pain Relief Network, whose husband has been a
patient of Hurwitz's, said the "Justice Department is misidentifying pain
doctors all over the country as drug dealers. What they are enforcing is a
national public health catastrophe in pain."