Pubdate: Tue, 25 Aug 2015
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2015 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Nancy Goodman
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v15/n475/a06.html

OPTIONS FOR KIDS IN PAIN

Regarding the Aug. 21 editorial "The heroin emergency":

Seriously ill children who are in significant pain should have access 
to all possibly effective prescription painkillers, and their doctors 
should have information about dosage, scheduling and toxicities of 
those painkillers. The recent Food and Drug Administration decision 
to approve Oxy Contin for children as young as 11 does just that - it 
gives their doctors better information on how to treat their pain.

Drug abuse prevention is critically important. However, suggesting 
that seriously ill children for whom Oxy Contin is an appropriate 
treatment should instead suffer so that potential drug abusers are 
not harmed is not a fair or reasonable policy solution.

Nancy Goodman, Washington The writer is executive director of Kids v. Cancer.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom