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Just recently Insys, the company that makes fentanyl[3] and gave 500k to help defeat legalized marijuana on Arizona[1], got approval/classification (Schedule II

Just recently Insys, the company that makes fentanyl[3] and gave 500k to help defeat legalized marijuana on Arizona[1], got approval/classification (Schedule II) for a synthetic THC/cannabinoid, Syndros, that does have the potential for overdose[2]. So not only are they killing opioid addicted users, now they are starting this. Somehow synthetic THC is Schedule II while natural/real cannabis is Schedule I. Fentanyl, synthetic opioid, was the cause of most of the ODs in the article, synthetics are a worse problem than the natural versions. But police suspect the heroin here was mixed with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is many times more potent than heroin. A wave of fatal overdoses signaled fentanyl’s arrival in Huntington in early 2015, and now some stashes aren’t heroin laced with fentanyl, but “fentanyl laced with heroin,” said Police Chief Joe Ciccarelli. [1] https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/fentanyl-maker-insys-give-500k-defeat-legalization https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/fentanyl-maker-insys-gi... [2] http://www.thecannabist.co/2017/03/23/synthetic-thc-drug-insys-therapeutics-dronabinol-syndros/76030/ http://www.thecannabist.co/2017/03/23/synthetic-thc-drug-ins... [3] https://www.statnews.com/2016/09/29/fentanyl-heroin-photo-fatal-doses/ https://www.statnews.com/2016/09/29/fentanyl-heroin-photo-fa...

c0nducktr 10y ago
I seriously can't understand how someone could work for that company in clear conscience.
- noonespecial 10y ago
  Its easy. Just add bills and take away options until your conscience is the least of your worries. When you're choosing between falling another month behind on rent on the apartment you were "so lucky" to get and getting a throbbing cavity filled at the dentist, you might not think too much about it.
  - c0nducktr 10y ago
    There are a lot of people working there who aren't close to falling a month behind on rent, and those people were who my comment was addressing. There are a lot of business out there which make a lot of their money in some very unethical ways, and people who choose to be part of that... I just don't understand. I couldn't live with myself. I know several people who have died of overdoses, so I'm probably biased, but I'm truly disgusted by what is going on.
    - exolymph 10y ago
      People rationalize their positions. Human morality / ethics is very flexible. "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it." — Upton Sinclair
      - wallace_f 10y ago
        It's different for different people. Some people are dirtbags, some people are saints, and everyone else is in-between.
- averagewall 10y ago
  Most people contribute to something they think is wrong but are just a cog in the machine so they don't think much about it. Pay tax to the US government? You're funding murder in the middle east. Have clients that are suppliers to service providers to this drug company? You're helping them too. Even professionals want a salary and a job.
sevenfive_ 10y ago
> Syndros, that does have the potential for overdose[2]. False. Syndros is delta-9-THC.
- drawkbox 10y ago
  Thanks Dwight, you appear to be right. The overdose is similar to too much weed: lethargy, decreased motor coordination, slurred speech, and postural hypotension. Non fatal overdoses have occurred and only one was a death from delta-9 but it was probably related to another condition (in other tests of dronabinol not Syndros specifically -- we'll find out about Syndros soon). Even synthetic THC is safer than opioids, alcohol and many other things. In my opinion natural cannabis is safer than the pharma synthetics. So why is the natural THC in cannabis Schedule I and this drug Schedule II? Beyond that, the really hypocritical thing about it is that Insys wants to keep legal cannabis away but push their synthetics. That can't be something you agree with unless you are bought in. I don't really care if synthetic THC is out there, but if it is, so should natural THC in cannabis. If both are completely safe, they should at least be same level classified or not on the crooked and legacy DEA controlled substances list at all, especially if they have medical value which they do.
  - sevenfive_ 10y ago
    Of course I think Insys are a bunch of crooks, just wanted to be accurate. I'm guessing the reason people say you can "overdose" for Syndros is because they're required to specify some arbitrary limit. Just like how storebought honey has an expiration date attached, even though honey never expires. I suppose it's also easier to take too much, if it comes as a concentrated syrup. But the same thing happens with edibles.

c0nducktr 10y ago

I seriously can't understand how someone could work for that company in clear conscience.

noonespecial 10y ago
Its easy. Just add bills and take away options until your conscience is the least of your worries. When you're choosing between falling another month behind on rent on the apartment you were "so lucky" to get and getting a throbbing cavity filled at the dentist, you might not think too much about it.
- c0nducktr 10y ago
  There are a lot of people working there who aren't close to falling a month behind on rent, and those people were who my comment was addressing. There are a lot of business out there which make a lot of their money in some very unethical ways, and people who choose to be part of that... I just don't understand. I couldn't live with myself. I know several people who have died of overdoses, so I'm probably biased, but I'm truly disgusted by what is going on.
  - exolymph 10y ago
    People rationalize their positions. Human morality / ethics is very flexible. "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it." — Upton Sinclair
    - wallace_f 10y ago
      It's different for different people. Some people are dirtbags, some people are saints, and everyone else is in-between.
averagewall 10y ago
Most people contribute to something they think is wrong but are just a cog in the machine so they don't think much about it. Pay tax to the US government? You're funding murder in the middle east. Have clients that are suppliers to service providers to this drug company? You're helping them too. Even professionals want a salary and a job.

sevenfive_ 10y ago

> Syndros, that does have the potential for overdose[2]. False. Syndros is delta-9-THC.

drawkbox 10y ago
Thanks Dwight, you appear to be right. The overdose is similar to too much weed: lethargy, decreased motor coordination, slurred speech, and postural hypotension. Non fatal overdoses have occurred and only one was a death from delta-9 but it was probably related to another condition (in other tests of dronabinol not Syndros specifically -- we'll find out about Syndros soon). Even synthetic THC is safer than opioids, alcohol and many other things. In my opinion natural cannabis is safer than the pharma synthetics. So why is the natural THC in cannabis Schedule I and this drug Schedule II? Beyond that, the really hypocritical thing about it is that Insys wants to keep legal cannabis away but push their synthetics. That can't be something you agree with unless you are bought in. I don't really care if synthetic THC is out there, but if it is, so should natural THC in cannabis. If both are completely safe, they should at least be same level classified or not on the crooked and legacy DEA controlled substances list at all, especially if they have medical value which they do.
- sevenfive_ 10y ago
  Of course I think Insys are a bunch of crooks, just wanted to be accurate. I'm guessing the reason people say you can "overdose" for Syndros is because they're required to specify some arbitrary limit. Just like how storebought honey has an expiration date attached, even though honey never expires. I suppose it's also easier to take too much, if it comes as a concentrated syrup. But the same thing happens with edibles.