Fifty million Americans suffer from chronic pain. Most of us know what happened when pharmaceutical opioids were over-marketed and overprescribed in the United States but few people appreciate how far the pendulum has now swung in the opposite direction, with many doctors now refusing to prescribe opioids even to patients who have clearly benefited from them. 

Kate Nicholson served as a civil rights attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice for 18 years, during which time she developed intractable pain that left her unable to sit or stand and barely able to walk for nearly two decades. She recently started an organization, the National Pain Advocacy Center (NPAC), to advance the health and human rights of people in pain. This is an issue I’m passionate about, which is why I recently joined NPAC’s advisory board.

I'll talk to Kate today about her own experience with this topic, the various ways states and doctors have restricted the prescribing of opioids, and what makes this a particularly American problem.

Listen to this episode and let me know what you think. Our number is 1-833-779-2460. Our email is [email protected]. Or tweet at me, @ethannadelmann.

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