Dependent, Not Addicted is a patient-led advocacy movement founded by chronic pain patient Tony Hardy. It represents people who rely on prescribed medication to manage pain and challenges the assumption that medical dependence is the same as addiction. The movement highlights how confusion between the two can affect patients’ access to treatment, dignity, and care, while emphasizing that addiction is a distinct condition deserving appropriate support.

The organization provides free resources for people living with chronic pain, including a printable Pain Snapshot, practical letter templates for communicating with doctors, pharmacies, and insurers, information about patient rights, and guidance for responding to a pharmacy refusal or finding a pain-friendly provider. Its website also shares personal stories, investigations, evidence-based myth-versus-fact information, advocacy group links, and a memorial honoring people lost. Visitors can share stories publicly or anonymously, join the email list, and find ways to contact lawmakers and support the movement. Dependent, Not Addicted describes itself as an advocacy organization, not a provider of medical advice, and directs people in crisis in the United States to call or text 988.