Political Quotes

“I come to the floor today to talk about a drug abuse problem that is literally hurting millions of Americans. There has been a dramatic rise in the use and misuse of prescription painkillers. These prescription painkillers--and I tell you this as a doctor--are known as opioids. Between 1999 and 2013, sales of prescription painkillers in the United States have quadrupled. It is no coincidence that over that same number of years overdose deaths from these drugs have also quadrupled. This is how we know there has been a huge shift from the appropriate use to abuse of these medications. People in rural areas like my own are almost twice as likely to overdose on prescription painkillers as people in large cities. Some people think these problems are only a problem in the big cities. That is not the case with these opioids. I can tell you as a doctor who practiced medicine in Casper, WY, for 25 years, treating pain in our patients is one of the most difficult things we do. When we have a patient who is in pain, we want to help relieve that pain. Opioids are a very effective way to help patients with pain, and doctors use these medications through prescriptions to help manage the pain. It is important that we have the capacity to do that as long as it is done appropriately. This can be a very good option for someone suffering from chronic pain, such as pain from cancer.…”