On February 1, 2002, Cecil Knox was seeing patients in his Roanoke, Virginia, clinic when more than a dozen federal agents burst through the doors with guns drawn. Helmeted, shielded, and wearing bullet-proof vests, they terrified waiting patients and employees. One worker later told the Pain Relief Network, a patient advocacy group, she thought she and her husband, who was helping her in the office that day, would be shot. She looked on in horror as an agent put a gun to his head and ordered, "Get off the phone! Now!"
Knox, a pain management specialist who had been practicing medicine in Roanoke for seven years, was dragged out in handcuffs and leg irons.
It's not an isolated incident, and as the Feds try to intimidate doctors, it becomes harder and harder for patients to get the most effective pain medications. This affects everyone.
There's a very real chance that during your lifetime you or someone close to you will have a severe illness, and require strong pain medication. It's in your best interest to get our drug warriors out of doctors' offices, and quickly.
Here's another Reason article on the subject from April of '03.
Posted by Walter at August 21, 2004 08:25 AM