PLE-3004

A mentally competent 76-year-old man is in the terminal stage of multiple myeloma. He is unable to move and requires 24-hour nursing care. Increasing doses of narcotics are needed to control severe pain. As a result, when he is pain-free, respiratory function is impaired and consciousness is clouded. The patient says he cannot live with this degree of pain and asks to be given a lethal injection of pain medication. What is the most appropriate step regarding the pain medication?