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News Opioid crisis settlements have totaled over $50 billion. But how is that money being used?

thegreenhand

thegreenhand

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Opioid crisis settlements have totaled over $50 billion. But how is that money being used?​

Kerry Breen
CBS
1 Mar 2023

Excerpt:
A series of settlements from lawsuits related to the opioid crisis have flooded billions into the United States. This influx of money, advocates say, presents a unique opportunity for the U.S. to fund treatment solutions for substance use disorder and the overdose epidemic.

The settlement money comes from a number of legal battles around the nation and the world. Companies including Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson and Walgreens have settled, to the tune of billions of dollars, for their role in fueling the opioid crisis through actions like downplaying the risks of prescription opioids and promoting the use of the drugs.

Christine Minhee, attorney by training and founder of OpioidSettlementTracker.com, has compiled data on the settlements tracking the amount of money allocated and where states have decided to spend it. According to her data, which is used by state governments and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the total pot of funds available from the settlements has reached around $54 billion dollars, with nearly half of the money coming from a $26 billion dollar 2022 settlement with drug manufacturers and distributors, and more funds expected from ongoing legal battles.
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Fertile said:
I got a REALLY snarky warning from my pharmacist regarding oxycodone. He side-eyed me and said 'nobody who starts taking this stuff ever stops'.
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Should've asked him if people who start taking insulin ever stop.

What a silly statement for a pharmacist to make.
 
Fertile said:
I got a REALLY snarky warning from my pharmacist regarding oxycodone. He side-eyed me and said 'nobody who starts taking this stuff ever stops'.
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What a stupid thing to say. There's a thousand ways to say that in a more productive way. "Before you take this, I would highly recommend doing some research on its addictive propertie, if used improperly, it can be very dangerous..."

I would have made a comment about him being way funnier than my OTHER drug dealers. Pharmacists just LOVE when you remind them that they are drug dealers with a license.

I wonder how many pharmacists sold a lethal dose of a narcotic to someone?
 
You have to remember that this is the UK. We do not prescribe oxycodone. It's recognized as being just about the most destructive opioid known to man.

With that in mind - I got a LOT. No messing about. I went from 240mg of codeine a day to 80mg of oxycodone. My doctor's reasoning? 'It's less addictive'. I'm not so convinced.

Now 2 things. I AM aware that in the US people regularly got much more than 80mg/day and indeed the BNF accepts that SOME patients might need more than 400mg/day (!!!) but I just do not think doctors know much about it.

I'm guessing the pharmacist was used to oxycodone only being prescribed in palliative care....

So since then, every time I see him he helpfully tells me that I've lost weight...

So I don't know if HE knows why I get it - but I think his presumption is that I am dying.
 
Dead Machination said:
What a stupid thing to say. There's a thousand ways to say that in a more productive way. "Before you take this, I would highly recommend doing some research on its addictive propertie, if used improperly, it can be very dangerous..."

I would have made a comment about him being way funnier than my OTHER drug dealers. Pharmacists just LOVE when you remind them that they are drug dealers with a license.

I wonder how many pharmacists sold a lethal dose of a narcotic to someone?
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What a good question. I wonder also.
 
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