By his late 40s, Adams was a world authority on easing the pain of dying cancer patients. He faced penalties of two to 20 years on each charge. In the end, the charges were withdrawn and Adams was fully exonerated. He may be reprimanded, or he may lose his licence. The decision is expected to come down before the end of the year.
Many doctors are uncomfortable, even embarrassed, treating dying patients.
They regard it as some kind of failure, not what they were trained to do. They also tend to regard pain-relief as something of a moral issue, as if pain relief is okay so long as it isn't too much pain relief. Adams says in both the U.S. and Canada, doctors encounter no problems whatever if they choose to let patients die in agony. In fact, there is a term for a procedure to control such patients. Adams would go to jail for his beliefs in proper pain relief, as he would have gone to jail for his beliefs when he was a reporter, for refusing to divulge the identities of his sources.