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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Some Montanans Find the “War on Drugs” is Painful

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Tuesday, February 26, 2008   

Missoula, MT – The nation's "war on drugs" is painful, especially for those with chronic pain. Montana doctors and civil liberties experts are meeting this week to talk about how the federal policy is keeping many health professionals from prescribing proven pain medications.

Tom Daubert in Helena has worked on patients' rights issues. He says most people think the Drug Enforcement Agency just goes after illegal drug dealers, but he says the D.E.A. spends a lot of resources targeting doctors who prescribe pain medicine.

"They're unilaterally deciding, without even knowing the specifics of the case, that a particular doctor is prescribing too many pain pills."

Daubert adds that the other "painful" aspect is the incredible amount of money that is spent on the "war on drugs," and the only result is that more people are in prison. He says money could be better spent in treating drug addiction as a medical issue.

"We waste, literally, billions of dollars on the drug war, and the percentage of Americans who have an actual problem with drugs hasn't changed at all."

The D.E.A. says investigating doctors is necessary because of the abuse of prescription drugs. A workshop about how the "drug war" affects doctors and patients is part of the A.C.L.U. of Montana annual meeting this weekend.


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