The double standard at the heart of chronic pain treatment
For many years, the medical establishment has argued, and in my view correctly, that addiction is a legitimate neurobiological condition that may often require long-term pharmacologic treatment, including with an opioid such as buprenorphine or methadone. This is not, in itself, a controversial stance. However, when the subject turns to pain, whether acute or chronic, many of the same institutions abruptly change their tone and, more importantly, their mindset. Pharmacologic …
The double standard at the heart of chronic pain treatment
