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DEA tracked every opioid pill sold in the US. The data is out
Between 2006 and 2012, opioid drug makers and distributors flooded the country with 76 billion pills of oxycodone and hydrocodone—highly addictive opioid pain medications that sparked the epidemic of abuse and overdoses that killed nearly 100,000 people in that time period.
As the epidemic surged over the seven-year period, so did the supply. The companies increased distribution from 8.4 billion in 2006 to 12.6 billion in 2012, a jump of roughly 50%. In all, the deluge of pills was enough to supply every adult and child in the country with around 36 opioid pills per year. Just a 10-day supply can hook 1 in 5 people into being long-term users, researchers have determined.
The stunning supply figures were first reported by the Washington Post and come from part of a database compiled by the Drug Enforcement Administration that tracked the fate of every opioid pill sold in America, from manufacturers to individual pharmacies. A federal court in Ohio released the data this week as part of a massive consolidated court case against nearly two-dozen opioid makers and distributors, brought by nearly 2,000 cities, towns, and counties. The local governments allege that the opioid companies conspired to saturate the country with the potent painkillers to soak up billions in profits. The companies deny the allegations, arguing generally that they were serving the needs of patients.
According to an analysis of the data by the Post, just three companies made 88% of the opioid pills: SpecGx, Actavis Pharma, and Par Pharmaceutical, a subsidiary of Endo Pharmaceuticals. Purdue Pharma ranked fourth, making 3% of the pills. Just six companies distributed 75% of the pills: McKesson Corp., Walgreens, Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen, CVS, and Walmart.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 18 2019, @02:36AM (7 children)
From the ArsT article: "Early last year, the CDC released guidelines for prescribing opioids, recommending weak, short doses, ideally three days for acute pain. The agency urged doctors to refrain from prescribing opioids for chronic pain, except for cancer patients and end-of-life care."
This recommendation has led to doctors leaving chronic pain patients to, well, writhe in pain. Some are simply killing themselves. But old and disabled people killing themselves is good for Medicare and Social Security, right, so no problem there.
The article says 1 in 5 people become long term users after a 10 day supply of opioids. Is that because they turned into junkies in those 10 days, or could it be that the condition for which they take the opioids is still going on? Sure seems like the article (and the study?) want everyone to think it's the former, and not the latter.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Thursday July 18 2019, @02:52AM (2 children)
That's called being human, mate. You know? A biological construct, with nerves and all the troubles this come along with.
Expecting to be repaired for anything broken and causing pain like a second hand car is simply an unreasonable expectation. Deal with it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 5, Interesting) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday July 18 2019, @03:33AM (1 child)
I had very serious surgery about 10 years ago, and was sent home with a handful of paracetamol after about 5 days (or so).
I was still in pain, but really it was a bad ache rather than excruciating pain, and with hindsight I am glad they didn't give me anything stronger.
I just lay in bed and complained, and Mrs. PartTimeZombie told me to get over it. Worked out fine in the end.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 18 2019, @04:43AM
Glad you dealded in the end.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by HiThere on Thursday July 18 2019, @03:26AM
Opiods are not a good treatment for long term pain. Various studies have shown that over the long term they aren't much better than aspirin, and for many patients are worse. OTOH, there have been studies that have shown that cannabis is better at long term care, and for terminal pain there was one study that showed that LSD was a better choice. It didn't actually kill the pain so much as make the patients willing to accept it. (IFAIK that study was only of a small group, and was never repeated. The "crusade" against "hippie drugs" started about that time. So you don't need to trust it, but it sure is interesting that the result was never followed up.)
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 18 2019, @11:16AM (1 child)
I have a friend in his late 60's. He's a very conservative church goer and can get a bit self righteous. Early last year he broke his ankle serious enough to require surgery (the pin was in place for about a month). He was prescribed Oxy.
I visited him a few days after he got home and he said he felt great. Not only was his ankle almost pain free, but he felt younger and had more energy. The way he felt he wasn't going to let his ankle keep him from his normal day to day activities, so he was zooming around on his crutches. So much so that his wife was worried he would re-injure his ankle.
I talked to hm about it, and he said the ankle surgery was a godsend because it seemed to have alleviated all the aches and pains he had on a daily basis. He felt like a new man. He was crushed when I explained that it was the Oxy and that this is how many people get addicted. Not because they get high, but because they feel so much better that they don't want to go back to they way they felt before.
He said it completely changed how he felt about "drug addicts" and that he felt guilty for being so judgmental towards them. His wife cut back his dosage and had him off the Oxy about two weeks after the pin in his ankle was removed. Every once in a while, when he's feeling his age, he says in passing (something to the effect of) "boy, I could sure use one of those pills today." I remind him "We all could."
(Score: 2, Funny) by nitehawk214 on Thursday July 18 2019, @03:02PM
I think I am glad Oxy didn't have that effect on me when I had surgery. Instead it just made me pass out on the couch. Which is fine, I am not in pain when I am asleep.
But now that I have healed I don't need drugs to pass out on the couch. That comes naturally.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 4, Interesting) by stormreaver on Thursday July 18 2019, @01:24PM
I had to have minor surgery years ago, and was prescribed Hydrocodone for my post-op pain. The surgeon made a mistake while prepping me, which lead to a longer recovery time accompanied with the need for a longer prescription. The way the hospital treated me when I called in for the additional refills leaves me with no doubt that I was classified as a junkie. So take everything coming out of the DEA and CDC with a HUGE grain of skepticism.