OxyContin maker to plead guilty to federal criminal charges, pay $8 billion, and will close the company

[Ct_L33T]

OxyContin maker to plead guilty to federal criminal charges, pay $8 billion, and will close the company

Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, has agreed to plead guilty to three federal criminal charges for its role in creating the nation's opioid crisis and will pay more than $8 billion and close down the company.

www.cnn.com

 

[Kevo]

$8 billion. How much did they make on that shit?

 

[Ninjastix]

Many much money. I may be mistaken but their distribution wasn't limited to the US, correct?

 

[jesusatemyhotdog]

Many much money. I may be mistaken but their distribution wasn't limited to the US, correct?

Nope. They infected the planet with their 'non addictive' morphine substitute.

 

[Ninjastix]

I remember when I first started seeing physicians about my intestinal issues how quickly they were willing to prescribe oxy. My current GP knows I can't tolerate pain medications, they make my physically ill, so if I ask for something in the realm of pain relief things have to be bad. Thankfully I haven't had a need to be on any of that shit but other folks aren't so fortunate. My Dad refuses to be on them and he had spinal compression crushing the nerves in his legs. But he can't fuck with oxys. We both get violently ill if we do.

 

[Bran]

Anyone else find it “convenient” that Oxycotin closes down a day after Rush Limbaugh announces his cancer is terminal?

 

[Clark Kent]

So a company is being blamed for the country’s opioid problem. Am I missing something.
why isn’t McDonald’s being blamed for all the fat people and obesity related issues.

i missed the part where they paid dr to write more. Shouldn’t all the dr be at fault too.

 

[Ninjastix]

So a company is being blamed for the country’s opioid problem. Am I missing something.
why isn’t McDonald’s being blamed for all the fat people and obesity related issues.

To a degree they were and are, but taxes on high fat, high sugar, high calorie foods haven't been popular. Neither has legislation because turns out food chains that factor into the meat industry have pretty good representation in Congress. And fantastic lawyers.

But if you're saying that addiction is a personal choice.. okay. All I'm going to say is I hope you never have to go through long-term pain treatment. You can probably see about meeting people that have and have had to deal with opioid withdrawal from treatment. Not from abuse. From treatment.

Hope things work out for your Clark. I'd take extra caution you don't hurt your back or hip weight training.

 

[Clark Kent]

To a degree they were and are, but taxes on high fat, high sugar, high calorie foods haven't been popular. Neither has legislation because turns out food chains that factor into the meat industry have pretty good representation in Congress. And fantastic lawyers.

But if you're saying that addiction is a personal choice.. okay. All I'm going to say is I hope you never have to go through long-term pain treatment. You can probably see about meeting people that have and have had to deal with opioid withdrawal from treatment. Not from abuse. From treatment.

Hope things work out for your Clark. I'd take extra caution you don't hurt your back or hip weight training.

You love jumping to conclusion, where did I say addiction is a personal choice. Please tell me where I said this. Go ahead I’ll wait.

so are you saying if I hurt myself that I’m going to develop a addition problem.

 

[Ninjastix]

so are you saying if I hurt myself that I’m going to develop a addition problem.

No. But I am saying that if you hurt yourself, and have to endure pain management therapy, it's very likely you'll develop a multiplication problem.

 

[Clark Kent]

No. But I am saying that if you hurt yourself, and have to endure pain management therapy, it's very likely you'll develop a multiplication problem.

been through pain management and months and months of physical therapy rehab and never developed any issues. But then again I must be wrong because mr ninja is always correct.

Still waiting for you to show me where I said addiction was a choice.

there’s a difference between having to take something to help and developing a problem and starting Off by taking to pills or drugs to get high and becoming addicted.

 

[jesusatemyhotdog]

So a company is being blamed for the country’s opioid problem. Am I missing something.
why isn’t McDonald’s being blamed for all the fat people and obesity related issues.

i missed the part where they paid dr to write more. Shouldn’t all the dr be at fault too.

I will give an anecdote:

At the turn of the century, my brother was a professional hockey player. In 2001 he dislocated and tore his shoulder. He was prescribed opioids by the team doctor.

In 2002, he dislocated his shoulder again with a complete tearing of the socket. He had 3 major surgeries. He was immobilized for almost a year. Again he was prescribed opioids. During his recovery, he dislocated again. He was prescribed opioids. By the time he recovered, his career was over, he had chronic pain and was on opioids. The doctor stopped prescribing without any form of withdrawal plan. By 2006 it turned out that my brother had been horribly addicted and was sourcing opioids on the street. My mother, a nurse, took 60 days off work to detox my brother, who lost 70 lbs from withdrawal syndrome. He had DTs, night sweats, nighmares, insomnia, incontinence, chronic nausea, gastritis, a tremor in his hands, tinnitus and other symptoms.

My brother listened to his doctors, who gave him a powerful and lethal addictive drug without any type of cessation guidelines, left to figure it out himself.



Further, Purdue WILLINGLY SUPPRESSED multitude of evidence regarding both the addictive properties of Oxy and its limited efficacy. They spent BILLIONS to hide the information, to pay ghostwriters, to bribe doctors and insurance companies.

Never once in my life do I know anybody who was prescribed a Big Mac by an expert in a time of absolute vulnerability.

One other thing, the first friend of mine that I had to bury was a pro hockey player who had a similar journey, but unlike my brother who was withdrawn by our mother, my friend died with a needle in his arm in his parents' bathroom while recovering from a debilitating injury. His journey once again started with a doctor giving him a non-addictive opioid called Oxycontin.

So fuck the personal responsibility. How many clinical trials or meta studies have you ever read regarding pharmaceuticals? Likely closer to zero than to ten. I read them due to my subject matter expertise regarding psychotropics, which are on aggregate highly dangerous and do more harm than good. But, we still prescribe SSRIs, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, stimulants and sedatives because of guild and government ignorance and corruption and people take them because they trust their doctors and regulators and people should BE ABLE TO TRUST THEIR FUCKING DOCTORS AND THEIR DRUG REGULATORS BECAUSE THEY ARE THE EXPERTS.



Fucking people.

 

[Ninjastix]

By intimating that businesses are being "blamed" for an crisis that they manufactured (which is well documented at this point) you're illustrating what exactly Clark?

I've known several people who had the same sort of opination that you provide there and have become addicted to Oxy through no fault of their own. They followed treatment to a T. What they were advised when they started therapy was not what we've come to learn, which is the degree by which these medications build a drug dependency. These were also non-recreational drug users. These weren't people having a good time on pills nor were they abusing their dosage. These aren't teenagers. They were fed one set of information and a completely different outcome was reached. In 1 case it lead to severe consequences with organ failure.

I have been on opioids and have never developed an addiction. But I also haven't been on sustained/management pain therapy treatment. My mother-in-law is just coming off of one that lasted approximately 5 months, which is next to nothing in terms of how long these treatments can be sustained. She's experienced insomnia, withdrawls, and bloodclots all stemming from continual postponement of knee surgery due to Covid (not her choice).

The idea that we wouldn't hold the drug manufacturers accountable given the body of evidence that details how they mislead and influenced doctors and prescribers is pretty fucking ignorant. Highlighting your incredulity over holding the Purdue family account means what by contrast?

 

[Kevo]

So a company is being blamed for the country’s opioid problem. Am I missing something.
why isn’t McDonald’s being blamed for all the fat people and obesity related issues.

i missed the part where they paid dr to write more. Shouldn’t all the dr be at fault too.

I feel like you didn't read the article before commenting.

 

[Clark Kent]

The dr. gave the medication, shouldn’t they be held just as responsible.

i Don’t believe for the most part that car manufacturers, gun, tobacco, fast food, alcohol and etc... should be held responsible.

for the most part, but I do understand when hiding results and still pushing incentives. That’s why in my first i added the edited part that I mentioned i seen they paid more to write more scripts.

 

[Ninjastix]

Doctors have been when it's been shown that they prescribed painkiller in excess, in bad faith (such as for profit), or out of convenience so malpractice. But this ignores that Doctors in general WERE MISLEAD BY A CONCERTED EFFORT OF DISINFORMATION REGARDING THE EFFECTS AND RISKS OF OXYCONTIN. In addition to misleading healthcare professionals there was incentivizing or outright bribes.

Now just because the information has changed and healthcare professions are more educated regarding the risks of opioids, that doesn't mean the supply has diminished. If you've created a dependency it's takes time to undo or reverse that dependency.

 

[Kevo]

The dr. gave the medication, shouldn’t they be held just as responsible.

i Don’t believe for the most part that car manufacturers, gun, tobacco, fast food, alcohol and etc... should be held responsible.

for the most part, but I do understand when hiding results and still pushing incentives. That’s why in my first i added the edited part that I mentioned i seen they paid more to write more scripts.

I think you're categorizing people who were dealing with legit pain management issues and got this junk pushed on them by doctors, and junkies who tried it to get high and got hooked, into the same category.

My best friend died shooting up oxys, they found him with the needle still in his arm. He didn't have a pain problem, he had a drug problem. His fault, not the manufacturers.

A guy I worked construction with fell off a roof and fucked his back up. The doctor prescribed oxys, says it was less habit forming than other options, per the manufacturer. He tried to get something else prescribed, doctor wouldn't do it (winner why?$). He ended up in rehab and lost his job. I blame the manufacturer.

 

[Clark Kent]

I think you're categorizing people who were dealing with legit pain management issues and got this junk pushed on them by doctors, and junkies who tried it to get high and got hooked, into the same category.

My best friend died shooting up oxys, they found him with the needle still in his arm. He didn't have a pain problem, he had a drug problem. His fault, not the manufacturers.

A guy I worked construction with fell off a roof and fucked his back up. The doctor prescribed oxys, says it was less habit forming than other options, per the manufacturer. He tried to get something else prescribed, doctor wouldn't do it (winner why?$). He ended up in rehab and lost his job. I blame the manufacturer.

If you look at one of my posts I actually said there’s a difference between someone who actually needs it and someone that just uses it to get high.

 

[Kevo]

If you look at one of my posts I actually said there’s a difference between someone who actually needs it and someone that just uses it to get high.

well I'm glad we're both in agreement that we disagree with your previous statements lol

 

[Ct_L33T]

So a company is being blamed for the country’s opioid problem. Am I missing something.
why isn’t McDonald’s being blamed for all the fat people and obesity related issues.

i missed the part where they paid dr to write more. Shouldn’t all the dr be at fault too.

It's like you receive information and purposefully misinterpret it.

 

[SickNasty]

So a company is being blamed for the country’s opioid problem. Am I missing something.
why isn’t McDonald’s being blamed for all the fat people and obesity related issues.

i missed the part where they paid dr to write more. Shouldn’t all the dr be at fault too.

Your initial reaction shows a scary level of apathy man.

 

[Ninjastix]

I can't speak for everyone but I know more people affected by opioids than I do cancer. And I know a lot of people who have known loss due to cancer.

 

[Anchorpunch]

I don't think companies should be fined except where shown that they behaved unethically, like purposefully hiding evidence of addiction. If they had said "it's addictive, but we think it's the best option" and doctors actually agreed, then, if anything, I'd blame doctors. But they didn't, so fuck them. Go out of business.

 

[Kano]

If they had said

they didn't

 

[Anchorpunch]

they didn't

They would have if it wasn't for those regulations requiring them to lie.

 

[Kano]

They would have if it wasn't for those regulations requiring them to lie.

pesky regulations, never served a good purpose

 

[Clark Kent]

Your initial reaction shows a scary level of apathy man.

Yeah I don’t much care. I lost any compassion years ago And just stopped caring. I spent time working in the drug court and after seeing the same person 3 plus times you just learn to accept it.

you start off by man they are going to tackle this, they seem ready, then in a few months you see them again and it’s like oh maybe now they are ready, then you see them again and again and you finally just say fuck it.

 

[Kano]

Yeah I don’t much care. I lost any compassion years ago And just stopped caring. I spent time working in the drug court and after seeing the same person 3 plus times you just learn to accept it.

you start off by man they are going to tackle this, they seem ready, then in a few months you see them again and it’s like oh maybe now they are ready, then you see them again and again and you finally just say fuck it.

Clark I liked your post because many people feel that way.

Please please please do not give up on people who suffer from addiction.
I went to drug and alcohol treatment three times before I finally got clean. If one life can be saved by being patient and persistent it's worth it.

Cause you are not only saving a life, you are saving a daughters life and greatly enriching grandkids lives.

End rant

Thank you for listening

 

[Clark Kent]

Clark I liked your post because many people feel that way.

Please please please do not give up on people who suffer from addiction.
I went to drug and alcohol treatment three times before I finally got clean. If one life can be saved by being patient and persistent it's worth it.

Cause you are not only saving a life, you are saving a daughters life and greatly enriching grandkids lives.

End rant

Thank you for listening

Some people you just don’t give up on. But as a job it’s so overwhelming and heart breaking. You see these people come in and you root for them and feel for their families and then when they mess up over and over it’s emotionally draining and makes you feel like your shit at your job.

 

[Poindexter]

When Purdue Pharma agreed last month to plead guilty to criminal charges involving OxyContin, the Justice Department noted the role an unidentified consulting company had played in driving sales of the addictive painkiller even as public outrage grew over widespread overdoses.

Documents released last week in a federal bankruptcy court in New York show that the adviser was McKinsey & Company, the world’s most prestigious consulting firm. The 160 pages include emails and slides revealing new details about McKinsey’s advice to the Sackler family, Purdue’s billionaire owners, and the firm’s now notorious plan to “turbocharge” OxyContin sales at a time when opioid abuse had already killed hundreds of thousands of Americans.

In a 2017 presentation, according to the records, which were filed in court on behalf of multiple state attorneys general, McKinsey laid out several options to shore up sales. One was to give Purdue’s distributors a rebate for every OxyContin overdose attributable to pills they sold.

The presentation estimated how many customers of companies including CVS and Anthem might overdose. It projected that in 2019, for example, 2,484 CVS customers would either have an overdose or develop an opioid use disorder. A rebate of $14,810 per “event” meant that Purdue would pay CVS $36.8 million that year.

McKinsey Proposed Paying Pharmacy Companies Rebates for OxyContin Overdoses

Court filings reveal consultants’ talk of a records purge during the opioid crisis, and shed new light on sales advice given to the billionaire Sackler family and their drug company, Purdue Pharma.

www.nytimes.com