• Peggy Compton and Michael F Weaver.
• J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother. 2015 Jun 1; 29 (2): 166-8.

AbstractEditor's Note The journal is delighted to introduce a new feature in this issue that focuses on the complex and multifaceted issue of managing pain and related symptoms while responsibly attending to minimizing substance abuse. How should the seemingly disparate disciplines of drug abuse and symptom control interact? Should these be two separate fields or should practitioners/investigators in one also be qualified in the other? Is that even feasible? We are honored to have two leading, academically based clinician scientists coordinating this new feature. Peggy Compton is Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the School of Nursing & Health Studies, Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Many readers know of Peggy's work from her years on the faculty of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Peggy brings both clinical and scientific addictionology expertise as well as the invaluable perspective of nursing to this arena. Her collaborator is Michael F. Weaver. Mike is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Medical Director of the Center for Neurobehavioral Research on Addictions, at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston. Prior to moving to Texas, Dr. Weaver became internationally known for his work in addiction medicine at the Medical College of Virginia. We look forward to detailed explorations of many interacting issues in symptom control and substance abuse in the articles featured in this new journal feature in coming issues. The commentary below, the article by Kanouse and Compton, the Issue Brief issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and my editorial, all of which appear in this journal issue, introduce the new feature, which I am confident will make valuable contributions to the pain management and substance abuse literature. Arthur G. Lipman, Editor ABSTRACT Abusers of prescription opioids represent two distinct populations: those who develop addiction via opioids prescribed for pain, and those for whom prescription opioids represent a primary drug of abuse. Regardless of the pathway to abuse, outcomes for patients with untreated opioid addiction are poor, and consideration of the contextual factors surrounding their problematic use is critical to effective treatment. Reviewed are patterns of prescription opioid abuse among particularly vulnerable populations in underserved rural communities, and in an effort to prevent problematic use, principles of responsible opioid prescription for chronic pain are outlined so as to decrease the risk for developing addiction.

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