Pain pills

A few weeks back, the Obama administration announced it would no longer vigorously pursue federal prosecutions of those using medical marijuana in compliance with state law.

For more than a decade, federal agents had ignored the law in more than a dozen states -- including Nevada -- where voters had OK'd the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Insisting that federal prohibitions prevailed, the DEA conducted periodic raids, particularly in California, to keep the drug out of the hands of sick and ailing patients whose doctors had approved its use.

The president's decision to reverse course was wise and compassionate.

In keeping with that approach, the administration should now take a close look at how federal crackdowns on pain medication are harming thousands of sick and elderly patients.

The cause is currently being championed by two Democratic senators, Herb Kohl of Wisconsin and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the two point out how federal restrictions on pain medications such as morphine and Percocet can cause delays in pain relief for thousands of suffering patients -- particularly in nursing homes.

In order to prevent drug theft, the DEA has piled on numerous regulations on pharmacies and others making it more difficult for staff members in hospices and nursing homes to quickly obtain the medication some patients need. This can lead to "adverse health outcomes and unnecessary rehospitalizations, not to mention needless suffering," the two senators wrote.

It seems that the futile war on drugs has trumped the war on pain, leaving sick and ailing patients the primary casualties.

"Prescribing narcotics in a long-term care facility seems to be more of a nuisance than it needs to be," Terence McCormally, a Virginia nursing home doctor told The Associated Press. "For the doctor and the nurse it's a nuisance, but for the patient it is needless suffering."

This is wrong.

The system needs to be changed to put more emphasis on the needs of patients, not the needs of DEA agents. Law enforcement concerns or efforts must not be a higher priority than ensuring that patients who are suffering receive the proper care and medication.

The Obama administration took the right steps on the medical marijuana issue. It should implement a similar common-sense policy when it comes to pain medications.