Hey Annie! I hope you are staying healthy and doing good! I thought your forum post was very interesting. I also talked about the abuse of prescription drugs as being a negative way to cope with chronic pain. I think using prescription drugs can be a good way if you are not abusing them, but in the US today opioid addictions that are caused by prescription drugs are going through the roof. I didn't mention the use of lidocain patches, but I have heard a lot of really good things from people who use them. i have never tried one myself but it would definitely be something I am open to. I agree that the use of illegal drugs is a negative way of coping with Chronic Pain, and that is happening in the US quite frequently as well (especially states that do not allow medical marijuana).