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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsOxyContin Maker Sackler Family Sued by 500 Cities, Shunned by Tate Galleries
https://www.thedailybeast.com/opioid-oxycontin-maker-sackler-family-sued-by-500-cities-shunned-by-tate-galleries?ref=homeOxyContin Maker Sackler Family Sued by 500 Cities, Shunned by Tate Galleries
REUTERS/George Frey
ck4829
(35,069 posts)Socal31
(2,484 posts)That doesn't mesh with suing the source.
That being said, Big Pharma shouldn't be sued for producing opiates. They should be sued for conspiracy to keep safer alternatives (MJ) on the draconian Schedule I, thereby removing the choice from the consumer.
babylonsister
(171,059 posts)Sackler Family Led Effort to Mislead Public About OxyContin, Opioids, Emails Show
snip//
An email from 2001 shows that, when evidence of growing abuse of the painkiller became clear, former company President Richard Sackler instructed executives to try to push blame onto people who had become addicted. We have to hammer on abusers in every way possible... They are the culprits and the problem. They are reckless criminals, he wrote.
FakeNoose
(32,634 posts)I mean yeah, the doctors were lied to in the beginning. But this has been going on for way too long, people dying or OD-ing regularly and nobody put a stop to this? No doctors said wait a minute, something's not right here? The original criminals are definitely the manufacturer, but all those doctors who kept writing scripts were the enablers. Many took bribes of one kind or another, then looked the other way while people were dying.
babylonsister
(171,059 posts)I have met docs out there whose sole purpose is to push pain killers; they don't give a damn what damage they're doing.
cstanleytech
(26,290 posts)lied to and did the prescriptions for their patients based upon the fact that their patients were experiencing pain.
My mother would have been a perfect example of the pain part because she had an extremely degenerative back and she was a constantly in pain so she was on some oxy.
To prevent an overdose though since it was a narcotic we did take some precautions such as making sure she did not have access to the medication at all and we carefully spaced her medication apart.
FakeNoose
(32,634 posts)... but I'm saying that the manufacturer consciously lied when they said the Oxycontin pills weren't habit-forming. At first the doctors believed it, but how could that have continued after the doctors saw how many of their patients got hooked?
Not every family was as careful as yours either. I'm sure you've read the stories of how some patients had their pain pills stolen by family members or care-givers etc.
ck4829
(35,069 posts)duforsure
(11,885 posts)Needs to be investigated for their part in it getting its approval, to be mass promoted to the public when they knew its addiction problems would be a danger to the public, but they were after profits from doing this to people. Where are those in Congress being held accountable for this, and the agencies that approved this ?
Celerity
(43,339 posts)Duppers
(28,120 posts)democratisphere
(17,235 posts)Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)May their lives be filled with lawyers for a very long time.
rickyhall
(4,889 posts)Celerity
(43,339 posts)Oppaloopa
(867 posts)This is the doctors fault no one else for writing such large and unnecessary prescriptions. Now in my state Florida since they are being sued. All of a sudden scripts are only 3 days worth with no renews. Why didn't they do this before?
oldsoftie
(12,533 posts)And i've known since the early 2000s that it was a potent drug & could be dangerous. How could anyone GETTING it not know that
oasis
(49,381 posts)NNadir
(33,515 posts)...of a pretty powerful ethical stain.
catbyte
(34,376 posts)claiming how benign Oxycontin was and it shouldn't have been prescribed for non-chronic pain, that drug allowed me to keep working full time for almost 20 years. It was a true lifesaver for me and my family. I'm no longer on it because I don't need as much pain relief now that I'm retired, but it gave me my life back, and I'm sure there are millions of others that it's helped, too.
I had absolutely no problems tapering down and off of it. I hate to see Oxycontin portrayed as nothing but this "demon drug" when it saved me.
BobMcWan
(18 posts)I have a good friend who also benefits from what I think is a derivative of Oxycontin. Very happy to hear it worked for you, and for many others.
What I object to is the sales pitch Purdue Pharma continued after they knew Oxycontin prescriptions were way beyond the pale of normal. I believe businesses have a responsibility to look at how they are making money, especially when it suddenly becomes a deluge of cash. For instance, when tracking prescription numbers indicate irregularities like 500 pills for every man, woman and child in any given area for a month. (an exaggeration, I hope, but I recall reading stories along that line)
Or, to take another industry, I believe bankers, mortgage originators, ratings agencies and investment firms had (and continue to have) a responsibility to watch where they are making their money and (here comes a real kicker) IF they are suddenly loading wheelbarrows of cash, they need to investigate if this is happening in an ethical manner.
CountAllVotes
(20,868 posts)I know of people that have been using this MEDICATION RESPONSIBLY for many many years. And no, they have not asked for larger doses.
Some absolutely require these types of medication to remain ambulatory & functional. Otherwise, they end up bedridden and perhaps suicidal.
This is just another way to promote the opiate hysteria that is now the focus of the CDC & FDA.
I find it to be disgusting at best.
This sets a dangerous precedent that will harm chronic pain patients.
I wonder if they thought of this yet?
oldsoftie
(12,533 posts)imported from china thru Mexico. Regular pills laced with Fentynal is where a lot of the deaths are coming from.
Dont take away a needed option for so many just because crooks make bad versions of it and others have an addiction problem.
One of my friends can only function with a combo of LEGAL Fentanyl and Oxycontin. Its not fair to him and others like him to take away his treatment. And believe me, he has to jump thru a LOT of hoops to continue to get his medicine
CountAllVotes
(20,868 posts)n/t
BobMcWan
(18 posts)but I wrote the following letter to the editor a while back and, well, it never got printed. I knew it was a long shot but I had to take it. Thanks for the opportunity to share:
Now that Bernie Sanders has announced his run for president, we can expect even more
observations and proclamations about socialism from our current president, i.e. "socialism = Venezuela."
I would like to offer my own simplification comparing capitalism with socialism. Sorry to
say it won't fit on bumper sticker, but, here goes: "socialism = Jonas Salk, and capitalism =
the Sackler family."
Jonas Salk, as many of us know, was instrumental in the development of the polio vaccine that
has made that disease something we learn about in history books and from older friends or relatives.
He is also remembered for never patenting the vaccine because he wanted to see his work benefit as
many lives as possible.
The Sackler family is perhaps less well known, but their legacy continues to ravage our nation, and
the world. The Sacklers own Purdue Pharma. Purdue Pharma is the company that developed Oxycontin.
I will avoid simplification and note that not all opioid deaths are directly related to Oxycontin,
but the fact is since 1999 approximately 200,000 Americans have perished in an epidemic triggered
by a patented drug.
Jonas Salk did not die a poor man, but by his actions he did forfeit millions.
The Sackler family is on the Forbes 500 list with a net worth of $13 billion.
There is more to life than making as much money as possible; that is what socialism means to me.
Gothmog
(145,173 posts)From Sam Bee
dalton99a
(81,472 posts)Greedy murderous scum
Hekate
(90,673 posts)oasis
(49,381 posts)elias7
(3,997 posts)OxyContin is quite useful: I took it for a few days after hip surgery. Been around for years. Opiates have their place in therapeutics and very few get addicted. Needs to be prudently prescribed and certainly not over prescribed.
Pharma is greedy and should be accountable for that, but they are not responsible for the thousands of ODs were seeing. Heroin laced with fentanyl and the incredibly potent carfentanyl in uncontrolled quantities have caused epidemic unintentional overdoses. Fentanyl is more rapidly addictive, hence its use by dealers, unless there is a plot to kill opiate users...