By Stephen Ziegler, PhD, Guest Columnist

Millions of men, women and children in the United States and around the world are dying of cancer, and some die in severe pain because they have limited or no access to essential palliative medicines. Much of that suffering is avoidable.

Opioids and other palliative medicines are powerful drugs that are deemed essential by the World Health Organization. They provide comfort and relieve suffering at the end of life and for those who face serious medical conditions. Unfortunately, these very same drugs also have the potential for abuse, misuse, overdose and exploitation by the illicit market.

According to the 2017 Lancet Commission Report, governments around the world adopted “overly restrictive legislation” that focused more on preventing abuse than ensuring safe access to essential medicines. The problem is not limited to developing countries. Well-intentioned government policies to reduce opioid prescriptions across the United States have resulted in unintended harms for those who are recovering from painful surgeries or who were functioning well on opioid therapy.

Unfortunately, governments rarely investigate whether the drug control policies they create actually work and whether their policies are effective in preventing abuse while providing access to the drugs for those who need them.

But with your help we can change that.

I am proud to announce the creation of the Center for Effective Regulatory Policy and Safe Access (CERPSA), a new nonprofit think and do tank sponsored by the Colorado Nonprofit Development Center.  

CERPSA is a non-partisan, science-based research organization that focuses on the reduction of human pain and suffering by improving the regulation of - and safe access to - palliative medicines and treatments.  

Our mission is to eliminate unnecessary physical pain and suffering, and to help governments and communities create and maintain effective drug control policies that improve people's lives. We believe that there are good public health reasons for controlling drugs, whether in the form of prescription opioids, antibiotics, or even medical cannabis. We do not seek the elimination of regulation, only its dramatic improvement so that drug control policies can ensure access while at the same time prevent abuse.  

CERPSA represents a bold new effort to help reduce pain and improve people’s lives through research, education and outreach. Now more than ever, we need science-based initiatives that can fundamentally help change the way drugs are controlled.  

You can become part of the movement. Please join us by visiting our website and donating to CERPSA and help us reduce human pain and suffering in the nation and around the world. 

Dr. Ziegler has been trained as both a social scientist and attorney, has been involved in pain treatment and drug policy for almost two decades, and was both a Mayday Pain Scholar and Fellow.