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Why dont big pharma companies fight tough new prescription pill laws?

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fizzymk

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Dec 18, 2013
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All these fucking new prescription painkiller laws when into effect in my state back in 2012, before then, it was fairly common to be able to go into any ER, complain about a toothache, backache, or other pain, and they would at least give you vicoden, and sometimes 5mg or 7.5 percs, but now, when you go in with any kind of pain, even if its clearly obvious it is truthful and accurate, the ER docs hardly ever give out even vicodens now, usually give out ibuprofen or anti-inflams, or other bullshit no one wants.

I get the reason for these new laws, (they backfired and just created a shit load of new heroin addicts, but thats a different thread)...Im really curious why the big pharma industry didnt fight these new laws being enacted, this had to hurt their profits as for the longest time, docs were handing out scripts for vics and percs like candy, so the new laws have greatly reduced the sales of narcotics pain pills, although, I cant remember hearing anyone from big pharma even talking about it..??

They have lobbyists, and alot of money to spend, yet they seemed to just let all these new pill laws go into effect without even protesting, doesnt make sense..I can guarantee, if some lawmaker suggested tough new laws for alcohol or cigarettes, those industries would up in arms, fighting tooth and nail to stop the laws, or lessen their 'bite'.

Can anyone think of why they didnt put up a fight? Its not about lawsuits either, 10s of 1000s of people have OD'd on percs/vics in the past and NEVER has a lawsuit been brought against their manufacturer.
 
In cases like Percocet and Vicodin and even Roxicodone, they are all off patent. Not worth a lengthly lawsuit for something that is not a big revenue maker. Purdue, the maker of Oxycontin wouldnt stand a chance, because it is only supposed to be use for cancer and really severe chronic pain, so even though it was (and still is) handed out for acute pain, what would they argue?

Also, Big Pharma is buddy-buddy with the FDA for obvious reasons, but the DEA is another ballgame. Dont think they even want to consider that fight.
 
well, if the manufacturer didnt want to fight legally due to the off patents, someone was making ALOT of money off the millions of percocet and vicoden scripts back when every doctor was handing them out left and right, whether it was the pharmacys filling them, the doctors office giving the scripts, etc. I know a monthly supply of percocet 10mg with someone with NO insurance, was pretty damn expensive, so again, SOMEONE lost alot of money when the number of scripts for these drugs was suddenly cut way down...yet they didnt even fight it?

Plus, big industries take the Govt to court over lots of things, depending on the lobbyists 'power', and how much profit the company has, they would actually stand a good chance of beating the DEA...IMO anyway, lots of companies have won in court against the US Govt, on a variety of issues.

FUCK the DEA...they should not be so powerful as to expect an explanation from a privately held company as to why they are trying to sell as many products as possible ( in regards to oxycontin scripts), or answer questions about WHICH patient SHOULD get a script for it..GEEZ, the DEA needs to get the fuck out of peoples business, God, I fucking hate the US more and more. lol
 
Oh yea, forgot to mention this aspect...the DEA is responsible for drug enforcement, so Im assuming this includes ALL types of drugs, even alcohol...if you look at the statistics of crimes, traffic related, health related, problems caused by alcohol, the numbers are staggering, they grow and grow every year, YET Ive not seen the DEA or any other Govt agency even suggesting new regulations or laws to stop this particular problem...??? What have they been doing to try and reduce these types of crimes lately?

Ive seen a number of articles that stated the reason the Govt thought they needed these new pill laws, was due to the ever growing numbers of addicts abusing these drugs, OD deaths, ER visits due to them, etc. so they recognized the problem and VERY QUICKLY dealt with it, and the laws have 'teeth', but with alcohol and even tobacco, these seem to get overlooked every single year, despite the number of DUIs, deaths caused by drunk drivers, property damage, health problems caused by it (even stranger the insurance industry has not demanded new regulations on alcohol too)!....Maybe more people need to contact the fucking DEA and demand they do something about the problems caused by alcohol, since they seem to go after drug related crime and problems so aggressively when it comes to narcotics!

I can guarantee, if anyone even suggested new regulations (especially if they were extremely tough new laws), the alcohol industry would fight in court to the death to stop the laws and protect their profits.

hell, for all I know, maybe the DEA wants more heroin addicts and this was the route they could achieve this very quickly, as more heroin addicts leads to more people committing more crimes, thefts, etc. and of course this will equal more prison terms for more people, keep in mind for profit prisons are HUGE, they are building them left and right all over the country, so they need people to fill all the new cells, plus, this means ALOT of profit...This country is soooo fucking corrupt!
 
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To tell the truth, no new laws or regulations were created at the federal level. The DEA just beefed up the enforcement of the laws already on the books making it a humongous pain in the ass for patients, doctors, and pharmacies alike. When prescription drug abuse went on a meteoric rise, the DEA responded and we are living with the results. It is much easier and safer to go after doctors rather than drug cartels and pharmacies are even simpler.

While I agree with you about alcohol (and tobacco for that matter) being as or more dangerous than other drugs, the DEA doesnt regulate them. That falls to the TTB, ATF and local law enforcement. Many activist groups have made this very argument to the DEA, specifically on the medical marijuana issue, but the DEA has never wavered in saying cannabis has no medical use. (Even though there is plenty of data saying otherwise and there are at least two synthetic THC like drugs and an actual tincture of cannabis aproved and used in various countries). I say this to make the point of the autonomy of the DEA. What they say, goes and this applies to the opiate issue as well as the marijuana issue.

Now lets talk about the issue of who made or lost money in this whole fiasco. Of course pharma took a bit of a hit, but not so much as they would consider an expensive and lengthy court battle with one of their regulators. It just isnt worth it to be the one who start a case against the DEA when it could affect the future health and profitabilty of their companies. And, as you said, the retail cost of these drugs are quite pricey, but on the wholesale level they are relatively cheap.

The ones who lost the most money were the pill mills and shady pharmacies who had no scruples and were engaging in illegal activity. You really think they would proactively sue the DEA for the right to continue business? It would be like a pub who knowing sells liquor to underage customers taking the government to court so they can continue doing so. Of course legitimate doctors and pharmacies got caught up in this mess, but again it is much easier for them to comply than challenge the DEA. No way they are risking their professional or CDS licenses to make a point. This is most troublesome for the patients, however as many either are looked at as junkie scumbags and/or cannot get adequate relief. It is a giant mess with no real answer in the near future.
 
^Anyone in jail for drugs is a shame.

Drug laws make people criminals in the way in that, if you have a group of respectable people doing something harmless, and then you make that harmless thing illegal, you've now turned a group of people into statistics that you can spend and make money from fighting them. criminals make money, in the large case of privatized prisons..

And let's say" the government makes no profit off criminals", which I cannot argue, then it is a Civil crime being committed against citizens of the United States, by citizens of the United States who happen to be in government 8(

So it's a basically a "moral" issue, one could argue.
 
Leegrow said:
^Anyone in jail for drugs is a shame.

Drug laws make people criminals in the way in that, if you have a group of respectable people doing something harmless, and then you make that harmless thing illegal, you've now turned a group of people into statistics that you can spend and make money from fighting them. criminals make money, in the large case of privatized prisons..

And let's say" the government makes no profit off criminals", which I cannot argue, then it is a Civil crime being committed against citizens of the United States, by citizens of the United States who happen to be in government 8(

So it's a basically a "moral" issue, one could argue.
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Oh, I agree completely!

I feel they keep the drug laws and enforce them so aggressively due to for profit prisons and some part of it probably due to big pharma, wanting to stop the illegal opiate market because it hurts their product sales, but the prisons and fines are likely the big one.

If you took all the people out of jail/ prison that were in there for anything drug related...most of our prisons would be close to empty...they need a crime that ENOUGH people will violate regularly, drugs fit this bill for them perfectly. There just isnt enough criminals who commit other types of crime to keep ALL those cells filled all the time...fucking sad, but nothing we can do to change it.

What I really find ridiculous is all these big pharma companies have acres and acres of opium poppies for their opiate painkillers, BUT if someone has heroin, something that comes from those very same poppies, its HIGHLY illegal...I know the 'whys' of this, but still seems fucking stupid at the same time!
 
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