The Washington Post reported Oct. 16 that the study found that the disparity was evident in both rich and poor black neighborhoods, diluting the argument that the issue has less to do with race than income (rich white communities were more likely to stock the opiate painkillers than those in poor white neighborhoods, however).

"The pharmacies in minority areas generally say they stock limited amounts of pain medication because the demand is not there," said lead researcher Carmen Green. "But the low-demand barrier does not ring true for me. We know that minorities are more at risk of suffering chronic pain, and maybe they don't come to local pharmacies because they've come to expect they won't carry the medicines they need."

Previous studies have found that doctors are less likely to prescribe painkillers to blacks than whites.

"There is no plausible explanation that makes sense," said healthcare expert Ashish Jha of the Harvard School of Public Health. "It's hard to know what gets us there, but if pharmacies are stocking (narcotic painkillers) at substantially lower levels for black people, what is clear is that there's no good clinical reason for it."

A spokesperson for the American Pharmaceutical Association said that heavy-handed drug enforcement by the DEA, which keeps an eye on illegal diversion of prescription drugs, could contribute to a reluctance by pharmacies to stock the drugs in certain neighborhoods.

The study was published in the October 2005 issue of the Journal of Pain.

Green C. R., Ndao-Brumblay S. K., West B., and Washington T. (2005) Differences in Prescription Opioid Analgesic Availability: Comparing Minority and White Pharmacies Across Michigan. The Journal of Pain, 6(10), 689-699.

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