I was a patient at Dr. Zaidi's pain clinic. He compassionately, comprehensively, and responsibly treated acute injuries of mine when other doctors insisted surgery was my only option. Contrary to the DEA's assertions, Dr. Zaidi insists that his patients pursue physical therapy and other treatment options in addition to painkillers ONLY when appropriate. He went out of his way to negotiate lower rates for MRIs at local providers to ensure his patients could afford the diagnostic tests necessary to properly treat their conditions.

Dr. Zaidi worked tirelessly his entire life saving up to start his own practice. For a man who has spent his adult life as a physician in the US, $5 million is not an especially large retirement account. But the DEA parades that number as if they seized some cartel's safe house. Rather, it is the modest savings of a family man and entrepreneur who hopes to send his daughters to good colleges while providing them with a comfortable living.

I have serious issues with the DEA's handling of this case. The DEA is a historically corrupt and self-interested group which targets minority (often immigrant) owned medical practices and depends on seizures to fund its ongoing operations.

Further, by providing no objective standards for acceptable medical intervention, the DEA can justify prosecuting literally any pain clinic, resulting in a severely lowered standard of care for all patients. For the life of me, I can't figure out what they mean by a "dosage unit". I have done considerable research and cannot find those guidelines anywhere. They do not exist. I do know, however, that an effective dose of oxycodone for me is about 1/20th or 1/30th what the dose would be for a chronic pain patient (the majority of his patients, to my understanding). Again, where is the objective standard? Why is the DEA intentionally vague in describing how much medicine is being prescribed? Criminalizing legitimate medicine leaves chronic pain patients in the lurch to pursue the medicine they need through other, often illegal means. All told, the DEA is exacerbating the illegal drug problem through its actions.

Addiction is a medical condition that largely results from untreated mental health problems, and takes the lives of too many Americans. I have lost close friends to heroin and opiate addiction. In one case, that person suffered from an untreated psychiatric condition. In another case, that person's doctor stopped prescribing him the pain medicine he needed due to pressure from the DEA, and he turned to heroin as a result. The common thread is that doctors are not causing the vast majority of addictions. They should be allowed to treat patients per their extensive training, with oversight, but not labeled as drug dealers and "pill pushers".

I understand the desire to look for singular causes, boogeymen to blame for society's problems. But prosecuting doctors will not end the problem of addiction. This policy needs serious rethinking.

Let's all contact the public officials with a direct or indirect stake in this investigation and see what we can do to get some oversight into this crooked case against a good man. Good luck to all of you former patients, and I desperately hope you find the medical care you need and deserve.

JDL