So no one knows?

The US government does not restrict the numbers of tablets that may be prescribed for a patient as long as the prescription of a scheduled drug occurs in the usual course of business and is for a legitimate medical purpose

Yes the US governement should NOT interfere in patient care at ALL! Funny that its called a BUSINESS too.

Yes the US governement should NOT interfere in patient care at ALL! Funny that its called a BUSINESS too.

The US government does not interfere with the legitimate prescribing of medications for pain patients. The unscrupulous doctors that get kickbacks from those who sell prescription narcotics on the street, the doctors that are trafficing in drugs themselves, etc are those pursued by the government. Drug DIVERSION is the only area of interest the US government has in the prescribing of narcotics and as long as there is no diversion, the doctors and patients are safe. The amount of pills prescribed has nothing to do with diversion, therefore the government does not limit the amount. The usual course of business means the prescriptions are written in a legitimate medical office during usual office hours with appropriate documentation of the diagnosis and therapy, and are not being prescribed in the back of a parking lot infested with narcs.
Medicine is a business, just as is law, the church, education, or any other profession.

The US government does not interfere with the legitimate prescribing of medications for pain patients. The unscrupulous doctors that get kickbacks from those who sell prescription narcotics on the street, the doctors that are trafficing in drugs themselves, etc are those pursued by the government. Drug DIVERSION is the only area of interest the US government has in the prescribing of narcotics and as long as there is no diversion, the doctors and patients are safe. The amount of pills prescribed has nothing to do with diversion, therefore the government does not limit the amount. The usual course of business means the prescriptions are written in a legitimate medical office during usual office hours with appropriate documentation of the diagnosis and therapy, and are not being prescribed in the back of a parking lot infested with narcs.
Medicine is a business, just as is law, the church, education, or any other profession.

You keep saying US US US. What about the state in all of this? The state has the most say in the conduct of Doctors than anyone. Patient doctor privilage is false. For example, the state requests information, the doctor cites privilage, the state revokes or suspends a doctors license to practice. Catch 22 if you ask me. So then who does the doctor work for in that case?? The corner stone of medicine: the patient? or the regulatory industry just recently enacted: the state?

Correct, the state has more influence than the US government in determining practice parameters. However, while many physicians will use the state as an excuse for not prescribing narcotic medications in significant amounts, the truth is the state itself rarely takes action against physicians for overprescribing unless there are a series of deaths associated with the practice, and only if the physician is prescribing significantly more than other physicians of the same specialty. Most of the time, physicians don't want to prescribe significant amounts of narcotic medications due to multiple studies that demonstrate substance abuse rates of 25-35% in patients receiving prescription narcotics. The practice causes an influx of druggies from the street trying to scam the doctor for drugs, causes massive increases in telephone calls for lost or stolen scripts, causes the local medical community to treat the physician as a pariah since they have developed the reputation as a drug mill, and causes endless headaches for the physician. If only pain patients were receiving narcotics and could be responsible in their use of the drugs then it would be no different than prescribing Motrin for patients. But that is not the case, and therefore physicians must take steps to protect themselves and their ability to practice medicine by limiting access to narcotic prescription medications for what is clearly a solely subjective and unmeasurable complaint, pain.

Ok. Thank you for that information. I agree with you that there are scam artists out there who try to gain a doctors trust and confidence and turn around and stab them in the back with diversion. It is sickening that doctors come to the table with an open mind then get slapped in the face by some however, not all. I have had an experience with a doctor who has treated me like this and I can tell you it is not nice. What can a patient do besides be completely honest?

P.S. I have never used illegal drugs.

Most pain physicians are indeed cautious when prescribing narcotics to new patients. Most are justifiably ruthless in cutting off those that abuse the trust of their medical practice by using illicit drugs, double dipping without the prescribing physician's knowledge (frequently going to more than one doctor simultaneously to get narcotics), changing the date or amount on a prescription (felony), selling the drug, overdosing on the drug when taking in vast excess of what was prescribed, etc.
Most patients, if they can play fair, are treated fairly by their pain physicians.