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posted by martyb on Saturday May 25 2019, @04:49AM   Printer-friendly
from the profits-at-all-costs dept.

Infamous OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma used front organizations and sponsored research to deceive the World Health Organization and corrupt global public health policies with the goal of boosting international opioid sales and profits, according to a Congressional report (PDF) released Thursday, May 22.

The investigation identified two WHO guidance documents that appear to parrot some of Purdue's misleading and outright false marketing claims about the safety and efficacy of their highly addictive opioids.

The findings, released by Reps. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), land as the country is still grappling with an epidemic of opioid abuse and overdoses. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioid overdoses kill an average of 130 Americans every day.

Clark and Rogers say that the motivation for the investigation follows a 2017 warning letter Congress members sent to the WHO. Given the opioid epidemic unfolding in the US, the lawmakers warned the WHO that opioid makers would try to expand into international markets, which could potentially trigger a global epidemic. But the Congress members say they didn't get a response (though the WHO disputes this).

"When the WHO failed to respond to the letter, we began to question why they would remain silent about such a significant and devastating public health epidemic," the report reads. "The answers we found are deeply disturbing."

Based on public records, the report outlines a tangle of organizations and individuals that connect financial threads from Purdue to WHO.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/05/world-health-organization-parroted-purdues-deceptive-opioid-claims-report-says/


Original Submission

Related Stories

OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma to Plead Guilty to Three Criminal Charges 67 comments

OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma to Plead Guilty to Three Criminal Charges

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma to plead guilty to 3 criminal charges as part of an $8 billion-plus settlement

WASHINGTON (AP) — Purdue Pharma, the company that makes OxyContin, the powerful prescription painkiller that experts say helped touch off an epidemic, will plead guilty to three federal criminal charges as part of a settlement of more than $8 billion, Justice Department officials told The Associated Press.

The company will plead guilty to a criminal information being filed Wednesday in federal court in New Jersey to three counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and violating federal anti-kickback laws, the officials said.

The deal does not release any of the company's executives or owners — members of the wealthy Sackler family — from criminal liability. A criminal investigation is ongoing.

The officials were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Also at: Business Insider, CBS News, and ABC News.

Guilty pleas? You seldom see that - these corporates always seem to get away with weasel word statements to the effect, "We acknowledge no wrongdoing blah blah blah . . . "

Purdue Pharma Pleads Guilty to Opioid Crisis Charges, Will Become a Public Benefit Corporation

OxyContin maker to plead guilty to federal criminal charges, pay $8 billion, and will close the company

Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, has agreed to plead guilty to three federal criminal charges for its role in creating the nation's opioid crisis and will pay more than $8 billion and close down the company.

The money will go to opioid treatment and abatement programs. The privately held company has agreed to pay a $3.5 billion fine as well as forfeit an additional $2 billion in past profits, in addition to the $2.8 billion it agreed to pay in civil liability.
"Purdue Pharma actively thwarted the United States' efforts to ensure compliance and prevent diversion," said Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Administrator Tim McDermott. "The devastating ripple effect of Purdue's actions left lives lost and others addicted."

The company doesn't have $8 billion in cash available to pay the fines. So Purdue will be dissolved as part of the settlement, and its assets will be used to create a new "public benefit company" controlled by a trust or similar entity designed for the benefit of the American public. The Justice Department said it will function entirely in the public interest rather than to maximize profits. Its future earnings will go to paying the fines and penalties, which in turn will be used to combat the opioid crisis.

That new company will continue to produce painkillers such as OxyContin, as well as drugs to deal with opioid overdose. Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, who announced the settlement, defended the plans for the new company to continue to sell that drug, saying there are legitimate uses for painkillers such as OxyContin.

Also at The New York Times, Bloomberg, NBC, and CBS.

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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Whoever on Saturday May 25 2019, @05:05AM (24 children)

    by Whoever (4524) on Saturday May 25 2019, @05:05AM (#847505) Journal

    And yet, despite all the evidence of how this company corrupted processes and doctors, lied about the likelihood of addiction, some people still believe that the victims have only themselves to blame.

    Apparently, big, wealthy companies can do no wrong!

    • (Score: 4, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Saturday May 25 2019, @06:20AM (18 children)

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday May 25 2019, @06:20AM (#847518) Journal

      Blame the victims? No, not exactly. Still - let me ask, who is the boss of you? Do you religiously follow the doctor's orders? Or, do you take the doctor's orders into account, then decide for yourself if you are going to consume those drugs? Maybe I'm atypical, but each and every time I have had a prescription, I've consciously decided to take the drugs, or not take the drugs, or to take the drugs as I decide, along the way.

      Antibiotics are generally all or nothing. Pain pills? We've grown up in a world filled with addicts. Maybe the dangers of possible addiction aren't emphasized enough by society, but surely we all know the dangers.

      Again, I may be an outlier, but if something makes me "feel good", it gets my notice, and makes me worry a little bit. I don't want to feel "too good" because that may be a sign of addiction.

      At the same time, I have little problem using a drug "illegally". I'm pretty sure I've recounted in the past that I like some oxycodone or similar on occassion. I've hurt, all of my life. I'm usually stoic, and just tolerate the pain, but sometimes, it gets bad enough to deprive me of sleep, and rest. Someone around me has a pain pill, so I beg one, take it before bedtime, and I get a good night's sleep as a result. In bad times, one good night's rest gets me through the next few weeks. In better times, that night of rest can last for months. (If anyone is actually interested, no, my pains aren't age related.)

      People who rely too damned much on a doctor's advice must realize that they are vulnerable. YOU are responsible for your own well being. That has been true since the first hominid stood erect, and it will remain true until we go extinct.

      Choose wisely - take the red pill, or the blue pill, but don't take a whole fucking handful of pills.

      Blame the victim? No, I can't quite go there. Not with professional sons of bitches doing a hard sell to a person in pain. But, I say the victims share in the blame. We all remember no-fault insurance. Few accidents are entirely the fault of one individual. Twelve people may have all made mistakes, and all share in the blame. Just do yourself a favor, and look at the problem with that perspective. Yeah, the drug pushers get most of the blame - but maybe you should have done more to protect yourself?

       

      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @10:20AM (15 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @10:20AM (#847550)

        I share your outlook on the medical profession, and most of the time I don't even seek medical advice if I think I know what the advice will be. I have friends that keep a stash of morphine-level painkillers (tramadol) in their cupboard because when they need them, they're in too much pain to even go see a doctor. They will purposefully refill their last prescription when they no longer need it, just to refill their emergency stash. This is also illegal, but I think you and I both agree that what they're doing is prudent.

        But I don't share your outlook on addiction. Yes, part of the opioid crisis is people taking pills way beyond their immediate need (it's a very easy step to go from an emergency stash to persistent usage). And yes, part of it is people self-medicating without seeing a doctor. But as long as the addiction started from a doctor's prescription, blaming the victim is not going to help one bit. To fight an addiction, people need understanding and support, not judgemental finger-pointing.

        Do you religiously follow the doctor's orders? Or, do you take the doctor's orders into account, then decide for yourself if you are going to consume those drugs?

        As do I. But fundamentally, what makes our attitude different from all those anti-vaxxers out there?

        I don't want to feel "too good" because that may be a sign of addiction.

        Not wanting to feel "too good" is also a sign of depression. They have pills for that, you know.

        I've hurt, all of my life

        Sorry to hear that. But I do want to point out that if hurting is your default path through life, you may not very well equipped to judge the people that go through life unhurt and seek out doctor's advice to relieve their newfound pain. Myself, I go through life mostly unhurt but I'm hesitant to take even aspirin.

        Choose wisely - take the red pill, or the blue pill, but don't take a whole fucking handful of pills.

        I think this is a mischaracterization. Most addicts start out taking just one pill. They find that it works, and keep taking that one pill. The harmful long-term side effects of those pills will always take second place to the immediate relief it brings.

        maybe you should have done more to protect yourself?

        Most anti-vaxxers (the followers, not the leaders) genuinely believe they are going the extra mile to protect themselves (and their children).

        • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @12:33PM (6 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @12:33PM (#847564)

          Your problem is that you think the anti-vaxxers are the unreasonable ones. Those are the people demonstrating a rational skepticism of the medical profession which has a history of giving out bad advice while taking no accountability. This opiod thing is nothing compared to the skin cancer and obesity crises they caused. Once we see some accountability there I will begin to think a trustworthy process is in place.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @03:15PM (5 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @03:15PM (#847615)

            Okay.... the elites in the "medical profession" caused the obesity epidemic? Nothing to do with food industry stuffing everything with corn syrup to increase profit.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @03:53PM (4 children)

              by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @03:53PM (#847628)

              Yes, they recommended the food pyramid and a "low fat" diet (code for "high carb"). Anyone can prove to themselves in a few days that eating a low carb diet makes you less hungry. You will even save money while running this experiment. The same number of calories as fat are simply much more satiating than as carbs, so you consume less.

              In contrast, they spent billions of dollars on BS low fat research and public health campaigns that resulted in an obesity crisis.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @04:22PM (3 children)

                by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @04:22PM (#847640)

                That food pyramid [wikipedia.org] you speak of did not come from the medical industry, it came from the department of agriculture.

                • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday May 25 2019, @04:26PM (1 child)

                  by Gaaark (41) on Saturday May 25 2019, @04:26PM (#847643) Journal

                  And how many doctors told there patients to follow the food guide instead of saying "WTF? That'll make you fat!"

                  --
                  --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @04:28PM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @04:28PM (#847645)

                  Where do you think the recommendations came from if not doctors or other healthcare "experts"? If they weren't on board why wasn't there an outcry from them?

                  Anyway, I suspect I am responding to the same AC that showed up recently who seems to have such little understanding of the world that they must be a bot.

        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday May 25 2019, @08:44PM (7 children)

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday May 25 2019, @08:44PM (#847706) Journal

          But fundamentally, what makes our attitude different from all those anti-vaxxers out there?

          How about reason?

          For example, I can note that measles has gone in incident by three orders of magnitude roughly in countries which adopt near universal vaccination. I can note that measles and its complications are worse and more frequent than corresponding complications of the measles vaccines commonly used.

          Similarly, I can consider the risks and benefits of using opioids without requiring an expert and their potential conflicts of interest to tell me what to think.

          • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 26 2019, @03:12AM (6 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 26 2019, @03:12AM (#847791)

            For example, I can note that measles has gone in incident by three orders of magnitude roughly in countries which adopt near universal vaccination. I can note that measles and its complications are worse and more frequent than corresponding complications of the measles vaccines commonly used.

            The first is just as easily explained by differences in diagnostic criteria, and the second is just false. Fake facts.

            • (Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday May 26 2019, @04:12AM (5 children)

              by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Sunday May 26 2019, @04:12AM (#847806) Journal

              The first is just as easily explained by differences in diagnostic criteria, and the second is just false.

              On the first remark, everything can be easily explained by any arbitrary criteria you want to throw out there. OTOH, if you're going to use reason and evidence, it's not so easy to explain things via that method. Sorry, it doesn't account for three orders of magnitude that happens every time some country adopts mass vaccination for measles.

              As to the second statement, sorry, you're wrong here as well. The last time this conflation of side effects of vaccination with the symptoms of measles was defended, a certain AC was equating [soylentnews.org] any appearance of a rash (the side effects of vaccination) with the seven to ten days of full body rash of measles; occasional fever with measles's consistent, high fever; and of course, ignoring that people who get sick from measles are usually out for at least a week (7 to 10 days of misery in the usual scenario, folks!), possibly taking out other people as care givers while it is rare for side effects of vaccination to cause any need for sick days.

              • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 26 2019, @04:24AM (4 children)

                by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 26 2019, @04:24AM (#847811)

                Sorry, it doesn't account for three orders of magnitude that happens every time some country adopts mass vaccination for measles.

                Yes it does. It is the same mechanism every time. The simultaneous introduction of vaccination + blood tests + doctors are hesitant to diagnose measles in vaccinated patients happens the same way every time. Find a single counter example.

                • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 26 2019, @04:33AM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 26 2019, @04:33AM (#847815)

                  Same AC. And it would be so easy if they ever just ran a blinded RCT. But they didn't and never will.

                • (Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday May 26 2019, @07:49PM (2 children)

                  by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Sunday May 26 2019, @07:49PM (#847961) Journal

                  The simultaneous introduction of vaccination + blood tests + doctors are hesitant to diagnose measles in vaccinated patients happens the same way every time.

                  Yes with the big factor being vaccination. Changing an infection from exponential growth to exponential decay remains a big deal.

                  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 26 2019, @09:16PM (1 child)

                    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 26 2019, @09:16PM (#847990)

                    It is so boring when you respond. You never have any good info of your own, mostly opinions or questionable info everyone has seen already.

                    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Monday May 27 2019, @12:24AM

                      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday May 27 2019, @12:24AM (#848041) Journal

                      It is so boring when you respond. You never have any good info of your own, mostly opinions or questionable info everyone has seen already.

                      Why should I go with novel but weak arguments when the whole thing was settled half a century ago and whose truth continues to be reinforced every time another part of the world adopts near universal immunizations? There's no point to changing an argument that still works devastatingly well. I find it remarkable how we can complain that an old argument still works without considering the stilted thinking that goes into those rival arguments. How can you not be concerned that anti-vaxxer arguments continue to be defeated by old reasoning and evidence? What is more boring again, the people who bring arguments to the table that come already broken, or the people who then quickly perform the coup de grace on those arguments with the usual rebuttals?

                      Come up with something that isn't pre-broken. Then we'll have something interesting to talk about.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @11:46PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @11:46PM (#847747)

        Maybe I'm atypical, but each and every time I have had a prescription, I've consciously decided to take the drugs, or not take the drugs, or to take the drugs as I decide, along the way.

        This, my friend, is called "practicing medicine without a license" nowadays [soylentnews.org].
        It must be banned because it hurts the profits of BigPharma.
        Why do you hate capitalism, consumer?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 26 2019, @03:28AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 26 2019, @03:28AM (#847795)

        Have you tried CBD[1] for pain management, or FECO - also known as RSO[2] - as a sedative?

        You might be surprised.

        My dentist has always been amazed at my resistance to pain.

        The Hashishim[3] were obviously onto something. JSOC[4] is missing out on something good. Or are they?

        [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2503660/ [nih.gov]
        [2] https://www.healthline.com/health/rick-simpson-oil-cancer [healthline.com]
        [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Assassins [wikipedia.org]
        [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Special_Operations_Command [wikipedia.org]

        ~childo

    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @01:40PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @01:40PM (#847579)

      I don't blame victims but shit-stained junkies deserve what they get.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @01:42PM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @01:42PM (#847580)

      Blaming victims.

      When it comes right down to it, death is a personal choice. /s

      • (Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Saturday May 25 2019, @03:01PM (2 children)

        by hemocyanin (186) on Saturday May 25 2019, @03:01PM (#847608) Journal

        Right -- just keep eating that gluten free low fat hemp infused macrobiotic vegan Mediterranean paleo diet and you will live forever.

  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @05:15AM (18 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @05:15AM (#847506)

    Vast majority of people choose to get addicted. They make the choice to start and continue using. You cannot just go into a doctor's not addicted to heroin then come out addicted. If people want to use, let them. If they want to overdose, let them. It's their life and they have agency.

    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Whoever on Saturday May 25 2019, @05:20AM (6 children)

      by Whoever (4524) on Saturday May 25 2019, @05:20AM (#847507) Journal

      And, just as I predicted, it only took 10 minutes for someone to blame the victims.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @06:05AM (5 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @06:05AM (#847515)

        It's not impossible for both to have some amount of blame. We should probably include the doctors who should have known better but didn't seem to care in the blame as well. I can however feel pity for the users, more than I can say about everyone else involved in this debacle.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @01:44PM (3 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @01:44PM (#847581)

          When I go fishing I blame the fish for taking the bait. Sure I have some blame in the situation, but if they hadn't become addicted to food they never would have ended up in my boat (and on my grill).

          • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday May 25 2019, @03:58PM (2 children)

            by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday May 25 2019, @03:58PM (#847632) Journal

            I didn't think TMB posted anonymously!

            • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @04:44PM (1 child)

              by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @04:44PM (#847653)

              I’m not TMB. But with all the atupid shit you post it doesn’t surprise me that you would slander all ACs by accusing one of us as being TMB.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @03:28PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @03:28PM (#847618)

          Care to do an experiment?

          Leave unlimited amounts of oxys around your parents, kids, friends, neighbors' houses. Don't tell them what the downside of oxys are. Any time they have an ailment or sadness, encourage them to take 1 or 2. Stand back and let the experiment roll. After 6 months, take away the supply.

    • (Score: 2, Flamebait) by NewNic on Saturday May 25 2019, @05:33AM (1 child)

      by NewNic (6420) on Saturday May 25 2019, @05:33AM (#847509) Journal

      I think you forgot to log in Takyon.

      --
      lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
      • (Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Saturday May 25 2019, @06:08AM

        by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Saturday May 25 2019, @06:08AM (#847516) Journal

        Nah.

        I'm pro-legalization/decriminalization of all drugs, but I don't blame victims. Heroin addiction can be linked to overprescription of opioids. Send drug users to hospitals if they need immediate treatment. Give clean needles and heroin to addicts in supervised injection sites. Legalize cannabis immediately, as it has been shown to decrease opioid use rates. Etc.

        --
        [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    • (Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Saturday May 25 2019, @06:26AM (8 children)

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday May 25 2019, @06:26AM (#847519) Journal

      FALSE!!!

      In 1996, Purdue claimed that only 1% of patients that took OxyContin became addicted. So, right there, in Purdue's claims, it is acknowledged that SOME people do indeed become addicted, when taking the drug under doctor's orders. The shit is addictive. Even the doctors can unwittingly cause an addiction.

      The real crime is that Purdue dismissed that 1% as unimportant, and aggressively pushed those addictive drugs to an even wider audience, in greater amounts.

      • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @07:21AM (3 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @07:21AM (#847532)

        Even if it was a 100% addiction rate, he is not forcing anyone to take it. Addiction itself doesn't force people to take drugs. They willingly feed the addiction. They choose to do it because it is easier than quitting. They are doing it to themselves. Blaming someone else is just enabling the user to continue using. Because it's the addictions fault they're using. It's the drug manufacturers fault. No. It's their fault. It's their problem. They need to accept responsibility for their life. Now, if they sell the user contaminated drugs, then yeah, it's the manufacturers fault.

        • (Score: 4, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Saturday May 25 2019, @08:05AM (2 children)

          by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday May 25 2019, @08:05AM (#847536) Journal

          Obviously, you've been addicted, and beat the addiction. That's the only way you could know so much about addiction.

          Unless, of course, you're just another fucking shill.

          One thing I'm certain of. Unscrupulous assholes can and will do anything for a dollar. They don't know, don't want to know, don't care how much human misery they might cause, so long as there is money to be had.

          • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @03:03PM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @03:03PM (#847609)

            Former addicts can be the most judgmental. Something got broken in their brains and they extrapolate their issues to everyone.

            • (Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday May 26 2019, @04:20AM

              by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Sunday May 26 2019, @04:20AM (#847808) Journal
              Well, they were addicts in the first place. So something was indeed broken in their brains.

              As to the hostile response, that's a natural response to something that you're particularly susceptible to. In my view, one doesn't get rid of the mental temptation of addiction. Instead, something has to change in your brain in order to resist the ever-present temptation (and the behaviors that can lead to resumption of the addiction). For a strong addiction, you need a similarly strong resistance.

              But sure, blame the victim, right?
      • (Score: 2) by stormreaver on Saturday May 25 2019, @01:20PM (3 children)

        by stormreaver (5101) on Saturday May 25 2019, @01:20PM (#847574)

        My primary reason for doubting the so-called epidemic comes from my own experiences with Hydrocodone, as it's supposed to be highly addictive.

        When I had a hemorrhoid removed several years ago, I was prescribed Hydrocodone. Due to a prepping mistake made by my surgeon, my recovery time was far longer (three weeks) than the doctors thought it should be (about a week). I had to renew my prescription two or three times (I don't remember which) because the surgeon's mistake caused my stitches to rip frequently. Instead of treating me as someone whose surgeon had made a painful mistake, they viewed me as a drug addict (those retards told me that directly), and said they would not renew my prescription after this last one.

        Fortunately for me, I healed enough by the end of that last prescription to not need strong painkillers anymore. I still had a few pills left after my pain stopped, so I just kept them in the medicine cabinet as a reserve. As it turns out, the second hemorrhoid that the surgeon said wasn't bad enough to remove started flaring up a few months later, so I took the remaining pills to ease that pain. Fortunately for me, though, I discovered that regular bowel flushes with Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt) caused my Hemorrhoid to stop flaring up.

        Hydrocodone was no more addictive to me than Tylenol, so I am very dubious about the motives of the people pushing this alleged epidemic.

        • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday May 25 2019, @02:51PM

          by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday May 25 2019, @02:51PM (#847604) Journal

          Skepticism is good. But, we should all realize that different people have different tolerances for substances. Some of us can take doses that should kill a horse, and suffer no consequences. Others of us have various reactions at extremely low doses of stuff.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @03:14PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @03:14PM (#847614)

          Kudos for posting about hemorrhoids under your pseudonym. I had a flare up a couple years ago and while not removed, the doctor cut it to relieve the pressure. By the time I got home the pain was even worse and my wife called in for a pain killer. I was prescribed tramadol which I took I think for four or five days, maybe a week.

          Tramadol was interesting. It didn't make me high and it didn't take the pain away -- it simply made me totally apathetic about the pain. I knew the pain was there and at the same time, I didn't care. It was a strange drug to say the least. Without the tramadol though it was like being tortured -- it was insanely horrible. With it, I could get through those few days. I'm honestly very glad it was there for me and when I was done, I had no ill effects from using the tramadol - no withdrawals, no depression, nothing.

          Definitely going to look up the espom salt thing. Hemorrhoids are no joke.

          • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @03:31PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @03:31PM (#847619)

            Oh butt they are ;)

  • (Score: 1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @05:56AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @05:56AM (#847514)

    I mean those poor people are just getting hammered over and over again.

    They're just trying to keep the family business afloat.

    Doesn't anyone remember Milton Friedman and Alan Greenspan? They put it really well: There's no such thing as fraud. And any action (except shirking one's fiduciary responsibility to shareholders) is just fine as long as executives are putting shareholders and profits first.

    If a company does something that is objectionable in the eyes of some people, the company may face consequences in the market. But anything that disturbs or hampers the invisible hand is inherently bad.

    So some people died. So what? Some folks got addicted and ruined their lives. Again, so what?

    That small, family business made a profit. Good. That's why they exist. Any externalities are irrelevant. Purdue has been unfairly targeted. They're just a small, family business that made good. They expanded their market share and assiduously attended to their *only* responsibility: maximizing profit for the shareholders.

    Anything else is just non-market based bull. The only thing that works is the market and the only thing that matters is profit.

    That's the American way. And it's why we're the greatest country that ever existed and have the greatest leader (President isn't a big enough title for him though) in all of history. He's better than Caesar, better than Alexander (who wasn't so great -- what a loser!), better than Napoleon and much, much better than any of those other, so-called, "presidents" (how do we really know they were presidents at all? Only because the enemy of the people -- that'd be the free^W fake press says so and they always lie) anyway.

    • (Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Saturday May 25 2019, @06:45AM (1 child)

      by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Saturday May 25 2019, @06:45AM (#847529) Homepage Journal

      You're trying to flatter me. But, you're not trying too hard. Because you're not with my America First policy. Of getting very tough on the Opioid Companies( &others).

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @04:24PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @04:24PM (#847641)

        Il Douche the Dorito Benito?

    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday May 25 2019, @08:51PM

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday May 25 2019, @08:51PM (#847708) Journal

      Doesn't anyone remember Milton Friedman and Alan Greenspan? They put it really well: There's no such thing as fraud.

      They were just ripping off Cleopatra who said it first, probably when she was committing suicide with Abraham Lincoln.

  • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @06:27AM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @06:27AM (#847520)

    How's the back, Runaway? Need a little help? And if Obamacare is going to pay for it, well. Nothing to do but get high and watch Fox News all day long. Explains much, don'it?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @06:33AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @06:33AM (#847522)

      Poor idiot. Runaway said nothing about his back. People with back problems usually have severe pain, rather than aches that they just deal with.

    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @08:30AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @08:30AM (#847540)

      How's the back, Runaway? Need a little help? And if Obamacare is going to pay for it, well. Nothing to do but get high and watch Fox News all day long. Explains much, don'it?

      This here's the story 'bout Runaway1956, an old fart with nothing better to do, than sit around the house gettin' high and watch the tube. [youtube.com]

      Here's what happened when he decided to cut loose. He headed on down to old Soylent News. That's where he ran into a great big hassle. Runaway1956 shot off his mouth without a clue...

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @11:37AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @11:37AM (#847556)

      A lot of people here are real dicks.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @05:45PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @05:45PM (#847671)

        A lot of posts here are aristarchus going off the deep end.

  • (Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Saturday May 25 2019, @06:28AM (2 children)

    by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Saturday May 25 2019, @06:28AM (#847521) Homepage Journal

    Don't worry, folks. We're ARRESTING & LOCKING UP the Crooked Opioid Pushing Pharma Executives. Something you won't hear in the anti Trump Fake News MSM & Soylent News. Big win this month. When5 Top Executives of Insys pleaded, or pled guilty to Conspiracy. Otherwise referred to as Collusion.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @06:36AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @06:36AM (#847523)

      Inquiring minds want to know: Who is RDT really colluding with?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @04:26PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @04:26PM (#847644)

        No Conclusion! No Conclusion!

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by pTamok on Saturday May 25 2019, @02:37PM (2 children)

    by pTamok (3042) on Saturday May 25 2019, @02:37PM (#847596)

    Opioid addiction is real, and blaming the victims doesn't help. To use an analogy: some people can handle alcoholic drinks, and some become alcoholics; and it is difficult to tell in advance who might have the problems. The same is true for opioids: some people can take them for pain relief, then easily stop taking them when it is no longer necessary: others, not so much.
    History tells us that some people can be long-term addicts and still have a relatively normal life, so long as they have access to a clean supply when necessary. So for some, the problem is not addiction as such, but getting access to a regular and reliable clean supply of the opioid they are addicted to. Others have a rapid cycle of needing more and more, progressing relatively quickly to life-endangering doses. There is no reliable test to find out who is which kind of person. As a society, we have decided to restrict access to opioids to all because some people cannot manage them.
    Alcohol is extraordinarily damaging to the lives and health of many people, but as a society, we have decided to live with that rather than enact prohibition. Mormons, baptists, and muslims choose differently.
    Frankly, I would prefer to live in a society where opioids are available as needed for pain relief, addicts are treated with sympathy and understanding (so called 'harm reduction' strategies) and not pushed into criminal lifestyles , and the ones with the most problems are given the most help so the rest of us can continue to have access to pain relief when needed without being treated as semi-criminal addicts.

    One person finding it easy to choose to say 'no' does not generalise. For a whole host of reasons, some people are unable to make good choices. Such people need help, not blame.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @03:31PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @03:31PM (#847620)

      Good post. I wrote above about my one experience with tramadol which got me through some excruciating pain. I had it for at most a week one time in a 50 year lifetime (and it was my only opiate experience). I can't express how glad I was to have it -- not because it was such a great drug -- but because the pain was so unbearable (as in "would rather die" level). Forcing me to experience extreme pain merely because some small percentage of people might get addicted would have been a cruel and torturous act. I can also totally see how intense unrelenting pain could make people seriously look at suicide because that sort of torture will fuck with your head.

      Honestly, if I had some sort of permanent pain (need a better word than "pain" -- I'm talking beyond bearable) I would either want a lifetime supply of whatever alleviated it, or a bullet. Maybe the pain killer would shorten my life, but not so fast as suicide. There must be a balancing between the risks that some people will get addicted, and the risk that some people in the absence of relief from intractable pain would just off themselves then and there.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @04:46PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @04:46PM (#847655)

        A big problem is the increasing difficulty of chronic pain suffers getting needed medications. We just recently had a dustup with a pharmacist at Walgreens who decided he knew better than my wife's doctors and refused to fill a presciption. He also blackballed her with the pharmacist at Walmart where we switched her presciptions so they wouldn't fill it. Finally found a small local pharmacy that would fill it. Her doctor filed a complaint against the first pharmacist with the pharmacy board but I doubt that will do much good.

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