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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: 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