Politics and fear have replaced science in U.S. pain management [PODCAST]

Summary: For decades, the way the U.S. handles pain medicine has been driven by politics and fear, not science. Patient advocate Richard A. Lawhern explains that government agencies like the DEA and CDC have cracked down so hard on opioids that doctors are terrified. To avoid going to prison or losing their medical licenses in unfair trials, doctors are forced to prescribe weaker drugs like buprenorphine or gabapentin. These drugs might keep doctors out of legal trouble, but they barely help patients who are suffering from severe, "level 12" pain.

The truth is, studies show that less than 1 in 1,000 patients treated for pain actually become addicted. Yet, because of political pressure and greedy insurance companies that save money when patients give up on getting care, millions of people are left doing the "pharmacy shuffle"—begging for medicine that pharmacists are too scared to hand out. Lawhern and other experts are fighting back to put real science back into pain management and protect doctors who just want to help their patients.

For more details, see kevinmd.com at kevinmd.com/2026/03/politics-and-fear-have-replaced-science-in-u-s-pain-management-podcast.html (opens in new tab)