The doctor is not a criminal: a painful drug-war case in Virginia

National Review, May 23, 2005 by Jacob Sullum

Dozens of Hurwitz's former patients described the consequences of such nervousness in pre-sentencing letters to U.S. district judge Leonard Wexler. They recounted how, after other doctors had repeatedly turned them away, Hurwitz saved them from the constant agony caused by migraines, back injuries, and other painful conditions that left them disabled, homebound, despondent, and in some cases suicidal. "It is to Dr. Hurwitz's credit," wrote one, "that he chose to trust that his patients were genuinely seeking relief from pain that cannot be objectively measured. This trust is, in my experience, all too rare." Threatening doctors with prison for believing their patients will make it even rarer.

Mr. Sullum, a senior editor at Reasonand a syndicated columnist, is the author of Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use.