Posts by Lynn Webster, M.D.
Center for Effective Regulatory Policy & Safe Access (CERPSA)
People in pain deserve humane and compassionate treatment. However, in this anti-opioid climate, they haven’t always been able to receive it. Stephen Ziegler, Ph.D. founded the Center For Effective Regulatory Policy & Safe Access (CERPSA) to evaluate new, and existing, drug control policies through science-based research, and to communicate its findings to policymakers. CERPSA’s goal…
Read MoreLiving With Pain During the Holiday Season
The holiday season has officially begun, but that doesn’t mean everyone is healthy enough to celebrate. Pain does not take a vacation or even ease up in honor of Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanza, or any other holiday.
Read MoreOpioids Are Not the Only Pain Medications That Can Be Abused
This article, in a slightly edited form, first appeared on Pain News Network on December 7, 2019. Contrary to popular opinion, opioids don’t cause substance abuse. Opioids certainly may be abused, but it is human biology itself that drives drug abuse. We often get the message that any pain treatment would be better than…
Read MoreIs At-Home DNA Testing a Scam?
DNA tests were first pitched to consumers as a way in which they could learn about their ancestry.
Read MorePunishment for Opioid Abuse Linked to Increase in Newborn Opioid Withdrawal
About half the states in the United States are willing to punish pregnant women in order to spare their babies the agony of being born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). Ironically, their efforts are having the opposite effect.
Read MoreReplacing Opioids Has Just Been Made Harder
People in pain rely on scientific advances to find safer, more effective alternatives to opioids, and animal research is key to all early drug development. A recent announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) threatens to change that, inhibiting science’s ability to replace opioids and create new life-saving pain interventions.
Read MoreCanadian Survey Repudiates Government Policies Harming People in Pain
It is understandable that politicians want to reduce the harm from inappropriate use of opioids, but it should not be at the expense of people in pain. This is a human rights issue that must not be ignored.
Read MoreColor Hurts
This article, in a slightly edited form, first appeared on Pain News Network on October 26, 2019. It is a myth that the matador’s red muleta incites rage in the bull and causes him to charge; the truth is, all cattle are colorblind. The bull does not charge because of the color, but because of…
Read MoreThe Annual Silver Pen Essay Contest
I’ve often said that writing can be therapeutic for people of all ages. The Annual Silver Pen Essay contest is a national program that invites seniors to contribute original essays and poetry. Entries are received at a central location in North Carolina, and then they are sent to their communities for judging.
Read MoreStephen F. von Till Shares an Original Poem Called “PAIN”
It is my privilege to share with you Stephen von Till’s poem, “Pain,” with his permission.
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