Opioid drugs have been used by clinicians as a first-line treatment approach for severe acute pain and moderate to severe chronic cancer pain since the 1980s. However, opioid drugs like Oxycontin have been increasingly regulated and controlled, and doctors have become more and more reluctant to prescribe such drugs for fear they might be abused. Drug Policy Alliance supports the use of opioid drugs to help treat the more than 50 million Americans who suffer from chronic pain.

The Office of Legal Affairs submitted a friend-of-the court brief on behalf of the American Pain Foundation, National Foundation for the Treatment of Pain and the Ohio Pain Initiative in the case Howland vs. Purdue Pharma, which was filed in the 12th Appellate district in Ohio. In this case, a group of patients are suing Purdue Pharma for allegedly misrepresenting the effects of the drug Oxy-Contin. In their brief, the American Pain Foundation et al argue that the regulation and control of pain medications like Oxy-Contin could serve to exacerbate the problem of the undertreatment of pain in Ohio.

More information on pain medication