In the past, I thought it was funny when a group of my friends sat talking about how people used alcohol as a crutch, meanwhile passing around the bong for the seventh time. Now, I think it's sad and inhumane when my friends bitch about "pill mills," and the "degenerates" that frequent them, between beers and shots.
Folks are hating on ethically lenient pain management clinics as if they were street-corner crack dealers. They do it, however, without considering the possibility that these businesses are providing a necessary and beneficial service to their customers.
This article appears in Jun 3-9, 2010.