Debunking the Lie: “The U.S. is 5% of the world’s population but consumes 80% of the world’s opioids and 99% of its hydrocodone.”
FACT: That claim is outdated, misleading, and based on decade-old data from before opioid prescribing sharply declined in the U.S.
Debunking The Lie: “MME Limits Are a Scientific Concept”
FACT: Morphine Milligram Equivalent (MME) limits were never based on science. They were created as rough conversion estimates to help doctors rotate between opioids, not as tools to set laws, caps, or risk thresholds.
Debunking The Lie: “Opioid-Induced Hyperalgesia (OIH) is a proven, common condition where opioids make pain worse.”
FACT: OIH is theoretical, rare, and often misused to justify forced tapers or denial of care. Most evidence comes from animal studies, not real-world patients, and there is no reliable test or diagnostic standard for identifying OIH in humans.
Debunking The Lie: “The CDC didn’t know their opioid guidelines would cause harm.”
FACT: The CDC was warned repeatedly, by medical societies, federal panels, and even Congress, that its 2016 opioid prescribing guidelines would harm patients. They chose to ignore those warnings.
Debunking the Lie: “80% of Heroin Users Started with a Prescription from Their Doctor”
FACT: That statistic is false and it’s done enormous harm. The “80%” stat was never about doctors or legitimate pain care. It was a misused soundbite that blurred the line between medical use and misuse, and justified policies that punished patients to push the litigation narrative and expand addiction medicine.
Debunking the Lie: “Studies Show Opioids Don’t Work for Chronic Non-Cancer Pain”
FACT: This claim is based almost entirely on the 2018 SPACE Trial, a small VA study of 240 patients that has been widely misrepresented by the media, policymakers, and expert witnesses.
Debunking The Lie: “Cancer Pain and Non-Cancer Pain Should Be Treated Differently”
FACT: There is no scientific, physiological, or pharmacological difference in how opioids treat cancer versus non-cancer pain. The body’s pain pathways and opioid receptors work the same in both cases.
Debunking The Lie: “New Study Shows Opioids Never Work for Low Back Pain and Should Never Be Used”
FACT: A June 2023 Australian study known as the OPAL Trial claimed opioids don’t work for acute low back or neck pain and should never be prescribed, even as a last resort. The full pdf of the study is here.