The third “Don’t Punish Pain Nationwide Rally” will be held nationwide, on January 29, 2019.
While attempting to rein in the abuse and misuse of illegal/illicit drugs, the federal government has
implemented policy that has caused great harm to Americans in genuine need of legitimately
prescribed FDA-approved pain medications.
“The CDC Guidelines for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain were released in 2016. These guidelines
were intended ONLY to provide recommendations for primary care clinicians who prescribe opioids for
chronic pain outside of active cancer treatment, palliative care, and end-of-life care.”
After the release of the CDC Guidelines for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, millions of chronic pain
patients went to follow-up appointments and discovered their provider would no longer treat chronic
pain due to the CDC Guidelines.
These patients were compliant patients, who were not abusing these FDA-approved prescription
medications, and always used these medications exactly as prescribed. Their health care providers had
been prescribing FDA-approved opioids as just one part of an overall integrated treatment plan.
The vast majority of chronically ill and chronic pain patients have developed good patient/provider
relationships with their doctors, but the government has “critically fractured” these patient/provider
relationships.
Patients who have been treated appropriately and professionally by the same health care provider for
years, are now finding it difficult to obtain the pain relief they need and were receiving from these
same health care providers. Why? Because the Federal government now says that responsible and
legitimate health care providers are the cause of the illicit opioid epidemic. This is just one of the many
myths that has been promoted over and over in the media by the CDC, FDA and DEA.
These same health care providers continue to feel forced by the government to remove legitimate
patients off of these much-needed medications out of fear of losing their medical licenses and/or fear
of jail time from the DEA. Millions of chronic illness patients found that they were simply dropped from
their medications; without a safe and controlled weaning, and the medications were abruptly stopped.

This has left millions who suffer from chronic illnesses such as Crohn’s Disease, Colitis, Sickle Cell,
Fibromyalgia, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Chiari Malformation, Arachnoiditis, Rheumatoid Arthritis,
Degenerative Disc Disease, Degenerative Joint Disease, Cancer, and thousands of other painful
illnesses, “homeless” in the medical community.
On July 29, 2011, the Institute of Medicine submitted to Congress the first comprehensive report on the
“state of pain” in the United States titled “Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming
Prevention, Treatment, and Research.” This report sent a clear message to policy makers and the
American public “that pain is a major public health problem that needs to be addressed.” According to
the report, more than 100 million Americans suffer with chronic pain, costing at least $560-$635 billion
annually.
Many in the chronically ill community are disabled from the pain they endure every second, every
minute, every hour and every day of their lives. The chronically ill have been expunged from medical
care.
Veterans, who have fought for our country, were told and continue to be told that they would no longer
receive opioid pain medications for traumatic battlefield injuries, and are simply left to suffer.
Media hype and false information has the public confused about the difference between legitimately
prescribed opioid pain medications, and illicit illegal street drugs, such as imported fentanyl. This
distinction needs to be made and must be made — STOP the fake news stories that legitimate
healthcare providers and legitimate chronically ill patients are responsible for the illegal and illicit
opioid epidemic!
Please join us in at our “Don’t Punish Pain Rally” for the chronically ill community.
About the Don’t Punish Pain Rally:
Our Mission is to energize the diverse community of people affected by pain by providing a rally for
their voices to be heard. We want to help the public understand the difference between legally
prescribed opioid medications and illegal illicit street drugs.
We need our elected officials to stand up for the 100 million Americans who live with a chronic illness.
The Don’t Punish Pain Organization does not participate in fundraising. Various speakers will attend.
Media Contacts
Website: DontPunishPainRally.com
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/DontPunishPainRally
Email: Claudia@DontPunishPainRally.com