Bring back the opium dens!

Pain has become one of the more studied phenomenon of human existence. And why shouldn't it be? It's certainly one of the more pressing matters in many people's lives. That's what the opium dens were all about. At the turn of the century, you could go and ease your pain for a small price. For an hour, for a day, for the rest of your life. The dens were literally dens of iniquity, sure, but they didn't spill out into decent and reasonable society often. So what would be the problem with giving everyone who needs it the relief they think they need and leave them off out of the way - with each other?

We are, after all, talking about people who clog our health care system. Including our emergency care system. Who clog the systems without reason. People seeking relief from pain move through the hospitals like salmon in season. They get countless MRIs, CT scans, XRays, lumbar punctures and assessments. Most often, the reports of the latest tests state "no change from previous".

Pain is considered the fifth vital sign by health care workers. As closely measured as blood pressure, pulse and temperature. It's a subjective standard and health care workers are taught to believe the patient and not to question. Yet, most states are also enacting legislation that manages the way that people procure pain management medications if the laws were not already in place. Legislators and health professionals alike want to stop the people taking up space, time and money for pain they don't truly feel nor want to resolve.

People in constant, or chronic, pain state that the way health care workers make them feel about their pain is one of the worst things they have to face. However, some of them certainly go to great lengths to get around the system working to manage and regulate the use of narcotics.

What can be done for the people who state they are in constant pain as well as the people who are charged with verifying the pain and the need for medication? How can both be safe in a system made for middle of the road?

Let's take the first problem. The people who clog the hospital system. Who, the government states have the right to health care (at least an assessment and referral to where they need to be). The same reasons they find themselves in constant pain are often the same reasons they remain that way. Sometimes it even appears that they have no actual physical pain but complain of it in order to access

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