I just want to mention two websites I've come across in my travels recently that may be useful to you.

Helpguide is an excellent, tightly written and easy-to-navigate primer on mental illnesses and addiction. I'd recommend to to anyone who's asking "what's wrong with me?" or "why is so-and-so acting that way?"

Managing Chronic Pain does a good job of covering some issues that arise in our discussions from time to time. There are many links to stories about pain management in journals and other sites. It's part of the Common Sense for Drug Policy network. Among other positions regarding currently illicit drugs, CSDP "advocates clear federal guidelines for the practice of pain management so that physicians need not fear unwarranted law enforcement scrutiny of medical practices."

I'm 100% in favor of that — until I think of the doctors who, for example, apparently have written scripts for Oxycontin that get in the hands of teenagers — even though there is another side to the story.

Like most issues, this one's not as black and white as it appears to advocates on either side of the issue, but two things are for sure as far as I'm concerned. People who need pain medication ought to be getting it, and people with addictions should not be "treated" in a jail cell.