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'Don't Punish Pain': Boise rally highlights other side of opioid crisis

The people behind the rallies say they suffer from chronic pain and that they need their medications.

BOISE — Across the nation and at Idaho's Capitol Tuesday, rallies were held to highlight what people suffering from chronic pain call the other side of the opioid crisis.

Those rallies are called "Don't Punish Pain" rallies and they're organized by a grassroots group on Facebook.

The people behind the rallies say they suffer from chronic pain and that they need their medications, but government regulations on prescription painkillers are making getting those prescriptions hard to get, and it's hurting them.

In Boise, about 20 people gathered at the Statehouse for a rally.

Signs and two empty chairs stood tall on the steps of the Capitol.

The chairs represented people with chronic pain who were not able to attend because of the pain or because they had passed away.

Sam Fleenor is a chronic pain advocate, as well as someone who suffers from chronic pain herself.

She tells us much of the public believes the opioid crisis is driven by prescription pain pills, but in reality she says, when you look at the statistics, the opioid crisis, or overdose crisis, is actually from heroin and fentanyl.

“The chronic pain patients that are on prescription pain meds that have been on steady doses for years under a doctor's advice have not been the ones that have been overdosing,” said Fleenor, “and these people are people that need these medications to be able to function, to be able to work, to be able to interact in their lives.

Fleenor wants the Legislature to be aware of what is happening, and for lawmakers to protect pain patients so they're not fearful of having their lives taken away.

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