In a significant victory for pain doctors and patients around the country, this Tuesday the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a new trial for Dr. William Hurwitz, a pain physician who was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison for 50 counts of criminal "drug distribution."

The federal appeals court found that the trail court had inappropriately instructed the jury not to consider Dr. Hurwitz’s defense of acting in good faith. This decision has significance beyond just Dr. Hurwitz’ case--if his appeal had failed, the precedent would have negatively impacted the care chronic pain patients receive nationwide, and encouraged federal prosecutors to usurp the traditional roles of state medical boards in determining and enforcing standards of medical practice. 

The Drug Policy Alliance contributed to this important decision by filing an amicus (friend-of-the-court) brief in September 2005 on behalf of leading pain specialists across the country. The brief sought to educate the court about the difficulties faced by pain patients seeking adequate treatment, to correct common misunderstandings about pain therapy, and to explain how the federal government misconstrued both federal law and accepted standards of medical practice in prosecuting Dr. Hurwitz.

The brief urged the appellate court to overturn Dr. Hurwitz’s conviction in order to preserve the traditional regulation of medicine by the states, not the federal government. Review of physician practices and conduct is normally a function reserved for state level regulatory boards, which generally are better equipped than lay jurors to assess the technical clinical and scientific issues raised by such inquiries.

Dr. Hurwitz and his patients are among the mounting casualties of the federal government’s war against pain patients in need of opioid analgesics and the physicians who provide these medications. As the Drug Enforcement Administration expands prosecution of pain doctors, growing numbers of doctors are dissuaded from providing effective treatment to patients suffering severe pain. They fear a criminal investigation into their prescription practices that could take place despite their beneficent medical intentions.

DPA will continue its work to counter public misperceptions about the nature of chronic pain treatment and protect the rights of pain doctors and their patients.