Florida Pain Victims Trapped by Prescription Crackdown: Health
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Meredith Diaz’s battle against chronic pain has fallen foul of America’s new war on drugs.
The 35-year-old mother of three from Florida suffers with lupus, an inflammatory disease that causes bone loss and joint problems. She has a ruined knee that will soon need replacing, and herniated discs in her back. Until last year, Diaz, a nurse living on disability benefits, had no trouble getting the painkillers and anti-anxiety medicines -- OxyContin, roxycodone and Xanax -- her doctors regularly prescribe.