Sackler Family a.k.a Purdue Pharma and the "Opioid Crisis"

[Lovecraft]

Does anyone else think that the current crusade against these people and the general hysteria going on in society regarding Opioid medication is total nonsense? I mean, Purdue pharma is being blamed for lying about how addictive the opioids they manufacture were. I don't give a rats ass what their sales reps told doctors. I mean how does a doctor not know that opioids are physically addictive and always have been and always will be and the physiology behind how they create dependency? Oxycodone isn't some new, designer opiate-type drug, like Tramadol was considered when it first came out and which 'might' create some confusion about it's addiction potential. It's straight up pharmaceutical heroin and every doctor should know that.

And the current hysteria around opioids in general is just ridiculous to me. It's almost as if now that weed is being let off the hook, the prude WASP paternalists need another "drug" to go after. Of course, alcohol and tobacco are never their targets.

 

[Rectify]

Purdu is French for, 'lost.'

 

[HatingThisLife]

I absolutely think Purdue participated in sketchy business practices. There are documents to prove they lied about the addiction potential and they also pushed incentives and bonuses on doctors to prescribe the meds. The doctors absolutely shouldve known better and surely many of them did know better or at least quickly realized it but they were getting bonuses and had ways to protect themselves from regulatory bodies. I lived in South Florida during the crazy pill mill hey days and it was complete insanity. People getting prescribed 270 roxy 30s, 180 15s and 90+ xanax and all they had to have was a MRI with even the slightest look of an injury. I knew some people going to 2 or 3 doctors A WEEK getting scripts like that at shady clinics. The clinics had pharmacies in their lobbies and they were making so much money they were throwing it in giant trash cans bc they couldnt keep it in registers bc the registers were filling so quickly. I literally witnessed this firsthand and did pills with these people. If the pharma company cared about anything other than profits they wouldve known there was no way there should be that high of a demand for these pills. And to they conveniently come out with suboxone, imagine that. The crackdown on these pill mills is what caused the current epidemic IMO tho bc once people couldnt get 30s in vast amounts they turned to dope and then fentanyl came out in dope and now half my friends are dead from OD. I know at least 150 people who have died from OD that were previously doctor shopping at pill mills. Regulators cracked down too fast without a safety net or real plan to help all these addicts. The doctors def played a huge roll bc the over prescribing of opiates has definitely created this situation. Pharma reps pushing the pills with bonuses and shit definitely didnt help these unscrupulous doctors from making better decisions. Never before did you see so many OD deaths, its the only thing that can explain the uptick.

All that said, I do believe some of the recent regulations are much to stringent. Doctors can only prescribe like a 3 day supply after surgeries and stuff which is crazy. No one is gonna become a full blown addict from a 5-7 day supply of perc 5 or 10. Also, the regulations have made things incredibly difficult on people who really need these meds to function.

So I think its a combo of Purdue, the doctors and the regulators all making a perfect storm that fueled the current opiate crisis. I do think its a crisis tho. There is a generation of babies growing up without parents. I know so many who died and had little kids and the grandparents have them now. Its the saddest fucking thing.

 

[S.J.B.]

Does anyone else think that the current crusade against these people and the general hysteria going on in society regarding Opioid medication is total nonsense? I mean, Purdue pharma is being blamed for lying about how addictive the opioids they manufacture were. I don't give a rats ass what their sales reps told doctors. I mean how does a doctor not know that opioids are physically addictive and always have been and always will be and the physiology behind how they create dependency?

I agree, and I've stated so many times in this forum. The premise that physicians are clueless vessels for pharmaceutical companies is ludicrous. They deserve much more of the blame for any amount of overprescription that occurred. Pharmaceutical companies don't prescribe drugs to patients.

 

[thegreenhand]

pushed incentives and bonuses on doctors to prescribe the meds

this is inherent in our current market system of healthcare. are doctors absolved of having any agency just because advertisments were heavy?

i think the other party to "blame" is the media. it is often sensationalist coverage. and TV reports of fentanyl deaths are overlayed with video footage of a pharmacist counting pills. these overdoses are largely from street drugs not pharmaceuticals. it's just dishonest

my dad recently had some jaw surgery and he keeps refusing to take even codeine despite intense pain. he just takes massive doses of NSAIDS

 

[HatingThisLife]

this is inherent in our current market system of healthcare. are doctors absolved of having any agency just because advertisments were heavy?

i think the other party to "blame" is the media. it is often sensationalist coverage. and TV reports of fentanyl deaths are overlayed with video footage of a pharmacist counting pills. these overdoses are largely from street drugs not pharmaceuticals. it's just dishonest

my dad recently had some jaw surgery and he keeps refusing to take even codeine despite intense pain. he just takes massive doses of NSAIDS

Many doctors in South Florida went to prison for over prescribing. Greed is greed whether you're a doctor or not. The doctors were marketed to and influenced to prescribe above and beyond what they were prescribing. Pharma is also to blame.

 

[Cream Gravy?]

my dad recently had some jaw surgery and he keeps refusing to take even codeine despite intense pain. he just takes massive doses of NSAIDS

That's sad... NSAIDS aren't very good for you; ibuprofen fucks with your intestinal tract permeability and acetaminophen fucks with your liver hard. Opioids are definitely preferable as pain killing agents, much safer when taken medicinally.