It was with great sadness and dismay that I read on May 16 about Dr. Merideth Norris’ sentencing on 15 federal felony counts of “unauthorized prescribing of controlled substances.” On the surface, this probably seemed to many readers to be an act of justice and something for the overall good for the people of Maine.

On the other hand, my heart bled for Dr. Norris and the patients she served selflessly and with love and compassion.

The outcome of the trial forced her to close her practice of many years and to endure tremendous loss and humiliation despite her ongoing efforts to treat many people rejected by other doctors. Her patients also lost the only doctor who really seemed to care about them.

I practiced medicine in Maine from 2006 to 2018 and my practice sounded very much like Dr. Norris’ practice. I can testify that it was the hardest work I ever did as a doctor. In many ways it was a thankless job, with utter lack of community and medical community support. My patients were overwhelmingly grateful for my help.

I, too, treated many decent and honest patients who struggled to find compassionate care for their chronic pain and for addiction. I was board certified in hospice and palliative medicine and treated more than 300 people for opioid drug addiction and chronic pain. I treated all these people “on the side” while my “real job” was to be the medical director of the local hospice program.

In 2016, the Maine and U.S. governments, to address the worsening drug addiction epidemic, issued a “practice guideline” for doctors. I am sure that most of the individuals responsible for this were well intentioned. Unfortunately, as many of us know, too many people living in their “ivory towers” are not in touch with realities in the “real world.” The Maine state legislators were also well intentioned, only seeking to enforce rules from the “experts.” The guidelines were very strict and the penalties were very harsh when the guidelines were not followed.

Unfortunately, Dr. Norris and I observed the short-sightedness of these strict rules, which, sadly, failed to capture the reality of chronic pain and addiction.

A YouTube video titled “Maine’s strict opioid law is harming chronic pain patients” features one of my patients who survived 37 surgeries for injuries sustained in a car accident. He tried to contact 57 doctors to find one who would treat his pain, in vain. If you watch the video, you will better understand how completely screwed up Maine (and most of our country) is in its approach to chronic pain patients.

Fortunately, in 2022, the U.S. revised and “eased” its guidelines, but many treating doctors and patients felt this was “too little and too late” to help chronic pain patients abandoned and harmed by overzealous “rules” and threats of punishment.

Dr. Norris is a victim (most likely blameless) of extremely inappropriate actions by the FBI. Instead of public humiliation, she should have been applauded for her courage and dedication to helping people rejected by so many of her peers. She is my hero and I will do all I can to give her my support.

Beyond the issue of proper medical care for a great many people in our country, this issue is part of a disturbing trend in government to hastily and unilaterally make immense changes that affect the lives of all Americans — without any obvious quality research to support its actions and no clear basis for inflicting so much widespread harm.

America needs to stop poorly and harshly punishing individuals for broader social and health problems. It harms us all. Dr. Norris and all of us deserve better than that.

All I can say in the end is that we can do better. Let’s work toward healthier approaches, and God help us.