Safe Harbor from Criminal Prosecution
Legislation to give safe harbor from criminal prosecution for physicians prescribing in good faith, and having an operational DAPD program incorporating quantitative urine drug testing and electronic prescription monitoring, would facilitate prescribing by reducing the chilling effect of fear of prosecution. Decriminalization of physician overprescribing as determined solely by the DEA (without the recommendation of state medical boards' pain management experts) must occur. Guy Faguet, a former hematology/oncology professor, has even called for the repeal of the CSA and disbanding of the DEA because of the deleterious effects on the war on pain. The Cato Institute has also called for the repeal of the CSA and the disbanding of the DEA in the 2005 Cato Handbook for Congress. While the rush to disband the DEA may be overzealous, decriminalizing good faith prescribing of opioids as determined by state medical board and pain society guidelines would go far towards reducing the chilling effect on current opioid prescribing practices.
