In the Feb. 3, 2004, edition of the Medical Post ("Your bias may be keeping pot from pain patients"), the matter of bias was raised by Dr. Romayne Gallagher, a professor at the University of British Columbia, who said, "A lot of chronic patients feel subconsciously bad about taking pain medication . . . reinforced by physician bias."

A good example of such bias might be found in your Feb. 10 issue ("Narcotics still given to heavy drinkers for pain"), in which Dr. Andrew Haig, a professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Michigan, claimed doctors who prescribe narcotics for patients who consume alcohol are not following their own rules, i.e. "prescribing fewer narcotics to heavy drinkers."

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