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 I have to give my vote to Indian doctors. I think they seem to have a more open opiate/opioid prescribing hand than any other nationality out there. The U.S. gets somewhere in the range of 80% of there raw opiate materials from India, my theory being that Indian doctors prescribe more opiates because it supplies there home country with money and jobs.

Brilliant response. Exactly what I was looking for. I agree that the origin of the MDs training would possibly determine the likelihood of said MD prescribing certain meds. In my experience here at my office I've noticed most of the MDs are from other parts of the country; however, the ones from the North (upstate NY and Vermont) are less likey to prescribe controlled substances and even look down on patients who have expressed interest in Rxs like Ultram which is a debateable opiate and the MDs from the South are more likely to atleast attempt to place a trust in their patient by allowing that pt to sign a pain mgmt agreement and receive narcs through proper adherence to said pain mgmt agreement. Secondly, does the nationality matter? Obviously it does and here's why: In my practice and like most others the nurse sees the pt first, writes up a H&P, talks to the MD or PA and bam the MD or PA are now seeing the pt. The Nurse has so much power in this situation when working with a MD who relies entirely on the nurse's impression of the patient. This is very unfortunate as this is something I see everyday I come to work with certain MDs. I understand that some MDs and their assts have long sometimes close relationships and there may be a high level of trust but it's sad that appearance alone can determine whether or not a patient receives meds that work for them. And I live in Western North Carolina! Come on, everybody is a hick. Well, maybe not but close. Anyway, thanks for the great reply.

i have seen so many docs in the past 3 years for my degenerative disc disease, a good # of them were ER docs or walk in clinic docs, only 2 of them were pcps that i saw on a regular basis.  they were both white males, but one was in Mass, and one was in Maine, which I was told a couple years ago is supposedly the most opiate addicted state in the US.  i dont know how truw that is, i think its a big prob everywhere.  anyways, the dr here in mass i had to see once a WEEK, to get 50 perc 5s.  then a year or so later when i was in maine, this doc gave me 180 perc 5s the FIRST time i saw him!  i continued to see him once a month, and he'd ask me how the meds were working, now i had been an addict for years prior to this so perc 5s didnt do anything.  so everytime id see him id say they arent working or they make me feel sick ..some story to get him to give me something new.  so i finally got him to rx me 120 roxi 15s a month which i stayed with and said they worked fine.  now keep in mind im about 6'2", 250, with tattoos all over me and ears and tongue pierced.  so i look like a stereotypical addict or whatever u wanna call it, but this guy saw thru that and actually listened to me about my pain, and did help me a lot.  As for the whole race thing, I think that comes into play , for me anyways, in the ERs.  Looking the way i do is not a good thing when im in pain and trying to get a rx from an er doc.  But im gonna agree with Solo5010 in that the indian drs were the most liberal when rxing narcs.   one indian dr i saw in a mass ER even rxed me perc 5s and he knew I was on the methadone clinic! but he knew i had messed up my neck pretty bad, so i guess he knew i needed the narcs.  but in other ERs with a variety of races of drs I would end up getting a script, but they were hesitant to give it up, i could tell easily, and that was after they DRILLED me for info and loaded me up with questions.  But i guarantee if i didnt look like i was in a metal band, it probably would have been no prob.  there were plenty of times i did not get an rx for narcs in an ER though, and those times it was every race of dr there is that denied me. so obviously it was more about how I looked then their race.  the nurse would come back 2 discharge me, and give me an rx for 10 ultram, and a blisterpak with one perc 5 in it.  Thats what i get for having ink and a couple earrings and being a big guy! So i guess my points are, that it depends not only on the drs race, but the patients appearance(which some of u have already mentioned), and also where in the country you are.  But the stereotype that goes with the whole thing is so stupid, but it will never end.   

My current Dr.s are both from Bangledesh, A husband and wife team. he practices pain management, her- family practice. I have a 7+ inch goatee and religous tattoo's...I have schizophrenia and get disability. I also have arachnoiditis, degeneration..blah blah....I have been with him for 8 years now..he is one of the best drs around...people with mental illness sometimes can't really describe what ails them..but he follows.  His wife is iffy on things. When I started seeing her she had a problem with writing 4 mgs xanax a day...been on the same dose for 8 years...I was not seeing a psych dr at the time...she offered 3 mg a day...I told her I would see a psych..he is white and gave me what i asked for right off the bat no problems..forgot to add him uptop..rambling post..but i hope it helps.  

Let me assure you, though, that in many areas it's the middle-class, or upper-middle-class, females that are stereotyped as drug-seekers.

In any case, it ticks me off that you have to go through that just to get relief. I don't have chronic pain. If I did, I don't know WHAT I would do.