Terry Murphy is a public policy consultant, well respected among southern Nevada elected officials. She has seen the opioid issue from multiple angles, both personal and professional.
Despite their influence and stature, Nevada physicians are not overtly political, but it looks like doctors are planning to make their presence known at the Nevada Legislature this year.
A year ago this month, 8 News Now aired a multi-part, in-depth project called "#OurPain: The other side of opioids," which explored the mostly untold stories of how a crackdown on prescription medications has affected millions of legitimate patients dealing with chronic pain.
Millions of Americans who rely on opioid medications for pain relief are in anguish because of government pressure to reduce prescriptions across the board.
Pain doctors say they'd like to wean their patients off of opioids when feasible, but many of the alternative treatments are not covered by public or private insurance programs.
The years of service and injuries take their toll and for many, the only relief comes from opioids. But navigating the VA system is far from easy and fewer prescriptions are being written.
A law meant to protect people from opioid addiction could be hurting people instead. On Tuesday, Governor Brian Sandoval's Opioid State Action Accountability Task Force met to talk about how the new state law that went into effect earlier this year is adding additional protocols for doctors before prescribing a controlled substance.
You've probably heard political figures make the claim that at least one Nevadan dies every day from an opioid overdose. That figure of more than 360 opioid deaths per year in our state has been repeated over and over, but is it true?
The National Crusade Against Opioid Pain Medications hit a brick wall in Nevada Wednesday. Nevada's medical community told the State Medical Board that a new state law has gone too far and could cause doctors to retire or even leave the state.
John Lear was born into a notable family with a respectable background. His father, William, invented the Lear Jet in the 1950s and he grew up in a world surrounded by aviation.
"It may not be good for everybody, but if it saves one veteran's life, I don't see why they have these restrictions," says U.S. military veteran, Bosko Katic.
The crackdown on prescribing pain medication is intended to help the addiction crisis but it's leaving chronic pain patients in the lurch -- and their doctors in the cross hairs.
