News West Virginia says J&J, drugmakers created 'tsunami' of opioid addiction

[thegreenhand]

West Virginia says J&J, drugmakers created 'tsunami' of opioid addiction​

Dietrich Knauth
Reuters
4 Apr 2022

Excerpt:

West Virginia's attorney general on Monday urged a judge to hold Johnson & Johnson, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd, and AbbVie Inc's Allergan liable for causing a "tsunami" of opioid addiction in the state.

The addiction crisis has affected the state's police forces, hospitals, foster care system and jails, with effects that will linger for more than a generation, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said during opening statements in Kanawha County Circuit Court.

"This epidemic has impacted virtually all of West Virginia," Morrisey said. "Our lawsuit speaks for all West Virginians who have suffered due to the defendants' unlawful, callous and destructive conduct."

West Virginia has accused the drug manufacturers of creating a "public nuisance" by deceiving prescribers about the risks of opioid painkillers and said their marketing efforts caused opioids to become a common treatment for chronic pain in West Virginia, leading to an increase in substance abuse and overdose deaths.

Full article here.

 

[deficiT]

Yeah, it's bad in WV. In at least the eastern part of the state it's close to Baltimore, so heroin/fent has pretty much taken a huge hold. The defacto capital of the eastern panhandle, Martinsburg, has an awful problem and it's really fucked up the community.

 

[deficiT]

I honestly don't really blame the manufacturers though. Opioids are addictive, point blank. It probably wouldn't be as bad of a problem if the crackdown on prescriptions didn't happen. A lot of people wouldn't have graduated to heroin.

 

[thegreenhand]

i pretty much agree with that.

while i know there is documented cases of the sales reps going to extreme lengths, any doctor knows that an opioid can cause dependency or addiction. and if they don't, then i question how well they payed attention in med school.

the current public focus on going after these pharma companies is just misguided imo. the time and energy would be better spent on advocating for local harm reduction services. some places don't even have a syringe exchange yet. free drug checking would go a looong way too.

but when we go after the pharma companies we get to pat ourselves on the back and feel like we made a difference without actually making life safer for drug users. the damage is done. bankrupting a few CEOs (who will simply launder their assets and maintain wealth) is great fodder for political campaigns though. whereas actually working to end the drug war is essentially political suicide