The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The state has a right and duty to control the illegal use of opiate drugs.
(b) Inadequate treatment of acute and chronic pain originating from cancer or noncancerous conditions is a significant health problem.
(c) For some patients, pain management is the single most important treatment a physician can provide.
(d) A patient suffering from severe chronic intractable pain should have access to proper treatment of his or her pain.
(e) Due to the complexity of their problems, many patients suffering from severe chronic intractable pain may require referral to a physician with expertise in the treatment of severe chronic intractable pain. In some cases, severe chronic intractable pain is best treated by a team of clinicians in order to address the associated physical, psychological, social, and vocational issues.
(f) In the hands of knowledgeable, ethical, and experienced pain management practitioners, opiates administered for severe acute pain and severe chronic intractable pain can be safe.
(g) Opiates can be an accepted treatment for patients in severe chronic intractable pain who have not obtained relief from any other means of treatment.
(h) A patient suffering from severe chronic intractable pain has the option to request or reject the use of any or all modalities to relieve his or her pain.
(i) A physician treating a patient who suffers from severe chronic intractable pain may prescribe a dosage deemed medically necessary to relieve pain as long as the prescribing is in conformance with Section 2241.5 of the Business and Professions Code.
(j) A patient who suffers from severe chronic intractable pain has the option to choose opiate medication for the treatment of the severe chronic intractable pain as long as the prescribing is in conformance with Section 2241.5 of the Business and Professions Code.
(k) The patient’s physician may refuse to prescribe opiate medication for a patient who requests the treatment for severe chronic intractable pain. However, that physician shall inform the patient that there are physicians who treat severe chronic intractable pain with methods that include the use of opiates.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 396, Sec. 2. (AB 507) Effective January 1, 2012.)