“Historic” Opiate Bill?

News media is raging about Trump’s opiate control bill, calling it “historic in it’s breadth”. Interesting how media that attack him on a daily basis support him on something like this. From what information has been released on this bill, I will agree. It is historic. Not in the way they describe, though.

What this bill is designed to do will expand the number of providers who can prescribe opiates. Yet at the same time place additional restrictions and monitoring of those prescriptions. It increases penalties for infractions at the provider level and for offenders.

Of course, it does not include investigation or penalty for pharmaceutical companies for blatant offenses which have made the opiate crisis so much worse than it is.

This bill will spend additional money and resources by many hundreds of millions a year for law enforcement. Meaning more arrests, more convictions, longer sentences. Paid for by you and I.

What this bill does not do or encourage is legalization of non-addictive pain medication alternatives, such as cannabis or Kratom. Both of which are low risk, low cost alternatives to opiate use for acute and chronic pain. Of course, that is the point, isn’t it?

This bill does not offer a single penny toward addiction treatment programs, which could prevent legal charges and long term complications of addiction. Of course, that is the point, isn’t it?

This bill has chilling potential. The potential to intimidate doctors treating…