PAINFUL CONCLUSION

Vancouver -- Thank you very much for your important article on chronic pain
(How Can Doctors Feel Your Pain? -- April 9). To the question "Why is
non-cancer pain so challenging?" I want to add this answer: "Because of
meddling by legislators and police authorities who don't know anything
about pain but have an obsession with the war on drugs."

There are a number of addicting drugs that are legal, notably tobacco and
alcohol, and a large number that are not, notably opiates. Tobacco causes
cancer, heart disease, pregnancy complications, etc. Alcohol causes
cirrhosis, several brain diseases, pregnancy complications, etc. Opiates
cause none of these.

Nevertheless, medical students are taught the legal consequences of
prescribing opiates -- in other words, they are taught that preventing
addiction to an effective and harmless drug is more important than pain relief.

HERMAN J. VAN NORDEN, MD (retired)