Dr. John J. Bonica (far right in 1979) – who moonlighted for 14 years as a professional wrestler known as Johnny ''Bull'' Walker (center) – was one of the first doctors to take pain seriously as a medical problem in its own right. In recent years, some pain specialists who prescribe high doses of opioid pain killers have ended up in court. Dr. William E. Hurwitz (far left, at a 1995 hearing) was recently sentenced to 25 years in federal prison on charges stemming from his prescription practices.

The politics of pain

Law enforcement is clamping down on doctors who prescribe high doses of the most powerful and dangerous pain killers. Is this protecting patients - or hurting them?

By Drake Bennett

April 24, 2005

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UNTIL HE CLOSED his northern Virginia practice in 2002, Dr. William E. Hurwitz was a nationally known pain specialist whose willingness to treat chronic pain with high doses of powerful narcotic pain killers like Oxycontin and Dilaudid had attracted patients from around the country. Many of them saw Hurwitz as a savior offering deliverance from years of agony that other ... (Full article: 1592 words)