5 ms·

From the article: "As part of the 2007 settlement agreement, the board of Purdue Pharma, which included members of the Sackler family, signed a corporate integ

From the article: "As part of the 2007 settlement agreement, the board of Purdue Pharma, which included members of the Sackler family, signed a corporate integrity agreement with the federal government promising that the company would not violate the law in the future." This is essentially a large driver of America's social and environmental problems. An individual lacking in resources found guilty of a crime serves jail time, probation and generally faces life changing repercussions. When a corporation is found guilty of crimes that may very well include the deaths of dozens/hundreds of people they pay a fine. Not a business crushing fine, just a slap on the wrist. The fact that individuals made all of the decisions that led to the companies crimes is for the most part ignored. Large corporations are essentially given impunity to pursue 'share holder value'. The only time individuals are prosecuted is if they negatively affect those same shareholders such as with Enron, etc. We allow pharmaceutical companies to addict and destroy lives, chemical companies to dump carcinogens into drinking water, coal plants to pollute our air but its ok because its a corporation doing it and they are rich. Removing the shield that protects individual decision makers from criminal prosecution would go a long way towards fixing this country. People would be much more hesitant to order something illegal if they were personally sent to jail for it.

snarf21 8y ago
Why hasn't there been a (prominent?) class action civil suit by the parents of all those who died from this? We know the government is going to be corrupt and bought but surely some smart lawyers can see this as the new tobacco. And for that matter why are the states suing like they did for tobacco?
- cronix 8y ago
  There are. In fact, on 60 Minutes a few weeks ago they were interviewing the main lawyer who actually brought and won the case against big tobacco. Guess whet he's working on now? Multiple states have signed on. :) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/opioid-crisis-attorney-mike-moore-takes-on-manufacturers-and-distributors-at-the-center-of-the-epidemic-60-minutes/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/opioid-crisis-attorney-mike-moo...
- maxxxxx 8y ago
  I have read quite a bit about class action suits and it's a super high risk business for lawyers and states. Very expensive and you need really strong proof.
mistrial9 8y ago
product liability is an achilles heel of American business models; try and find information on carcinogenic or Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals and current products, esp. plastics
GeekyBear 8y ago
The prosecutors recommended charges that would land Purdue execs in prison. >Based on their findings after a four-year investigation, the prosecutors recommended that three top Purdue Pharma executives be indicted on felony charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, that could have sent the men to prison if convicted. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/health/purdue-opioids-oxycontin.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/health/purdue-opioids-oxy... However, political appointees at DOJ stepped in. >Political appointees at the Justice Department, following a closed-door meeting with a high-powered Purdue Pharma legal team advised by Rudolph Giuliani, refused to back Brownlee’s recommendations. The prosecutor was left in the wind, and the executives, who insisted they did nothing wrong, only had to plea to the misdemeanor charge. http://time.com/5311359/purdue-pharma-oxycontin-lawsuit-opioid-crisis/ http://time.com/5311359/purdue-pharma-oxycontin-lawsuit-opio...
- maxxxxx 8y ago
  People like Brownlee who try to do their job are probably the "deep state" the administration is complaining about...
  - ironic_ali 8y ago
    Remove "probably" and your statement is correct.
- darawk 8y ago
  Yet more evidence that Rudy Giuliani is literally the worst person in the entire world.
  - jgalt212 8y ago
    I guess, but he's just representing his client (albeit a reprehensible client). The DOJ appointees who passed on prosecuting felony charges are indistinguishable from corrupt cops.
    - krageon 8y ago
ohithereyou 8y ago
Each person who was a member of the board of Purdue Pharma at the time these policies should be charged with a count of manslaughter for each documented case of non-intentional overdose death that can be linked to their product. Bring home to them the body count their reckless decisions have wrought. Let them rot. Make an example of them. Otherwise, bring out the guillotine because apparently the robber barons of the Neo-Guilded Age need to be taught a lesson in noblesse oblige.
- Alex3917 8y ago
  > for each documented case of non-intentional overdose death that can be linked to their product. The only people who accidentally OD on Oxycontin are going to be either those who for some reason take the highest dose without any previous tolerance, or else toddlers who get into them. The overwhelming majority of people dying from Oxycontin are going to be those who mix it with alcohol, heroin, fentanyl, methadone, benzos, grapefruit juice, etc. It's all but impossible to overdose on if used as directed.
  - wallflower 8y ago
    It was never about people OD'ing on Oxycontin. It is about Oxycontin creating an opioid dependency that leads many to cheaper alternatives (read: heroin) once they can no longer afford Oxycontin.
    - Alex3917 8y ago
      > once they can no longer afford Oxycontin. When sold legally, it's less expensive than Starbucks even if it's not covered by insurance. If people are forced to access illegal substitutes, that's because of bad government policy and not because of the company.
      - beavisthegenius 8y ago
        When you're hooked and can't a prescription filled, who cares what Oxy costs via legal prescription? That's the problem, you can't be prescribed Oxy forever.
clairity 8y ago
the counterargument is that the invention of the corporation (along with relatively lenient bankruptcy laws) is what allowed western nations, particularly the US, to dominate the world economy because the corporate veil allowed corporations to take bigger risks in creating new products and industries. but yes, the corporate veil is too thick, as shown by poor societal outcomes like this one. however, let's not throw out the baby with the bath water--we should lower the burden of proof for prosecuting such wrongdoings without completely losing the innovative effects of the corporate form. (we also need political reform so that policy makers can promote prosocial behavior, like proactively internalizing externalities like this rather than trying to clean it up after the fact).
delecti 8y ago
> signed a corporate integrity agreement with the federal government promising that the company would not violate the law in the future I don't understand how someone proposed this with a straight face. Signing something agreeing to not break the law more is a confession that you've already done so.
killjoywashere 8y ago
deaths of hundreds? Try hundreds of thousands.

snarf21 8y ago

Why hasn't there been a (prominent?) class action civil suit by the parents of all those who died from this? We know the government is going to be corrupt and bought but surely some smart lawyers can see this as the new tobacco. And for that matter why are the states suing like they did for tobacco?

cronix 8y ago
There are. In fact, on 60 Minutes a few weeks ago they were interviewing the main lawyer who actually brought and won the case against big tobacco. Guess whet he's working on now? Multiple states have signed on. :) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/opioid-crisis-attorney-mike-moore-takes-on-manufacturers-and-distributors-at-the-center-of-the-epidemic-60-minutes/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/opioid-crisis-attorney-mike-moo...
maxxxxx 8y ago
I have read quite a bit about class action suits and it's a super high risk business for lawyers and states. Very expensive and you need really strong proof.

mistrial9 8y ago

product liability is an achilles heel of American business models; try and find information on carcinogenic or Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals and current products, esp. plastics

GeekyBear 8y ago

The prosecutors recommended charges that would land Purdue execs in prison. >Based on their findings after a four-year investigation, the prosecutors recommended that three top Purdue Pharma executives be indicted on felony charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, that could have sent the men to prison if convicted. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/health/purdue-opioids-oxycontin.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/health/purdue-opioids-oxy... However, political appointees at DOJ stepped in. >Political appointees at the Justice Department, following a closed-door meeting with a high-powered Purdue Pharma legal team advised by Rudolph Giuliani, refused to back Brownlee’s recommendations. The prosecutor was left in the wind, and the executives, who insisted they did nothing wrong, only had to plea to the misdemeanor charge. http://time.com/5311359/purdue-pharma-oxycontin-lawsuit-opioid-crisis/ http://time.com/5311359/purdue-pharma-oxycontin-lawsuit-opio...

maxxxxx 8y ago
People like Brownlee who try to do their job are probably the "deep state" the administration is complaining about...
- ironic_ali 8y ago
  Remove "probably" and your statement is correct.
darawk 8y ago
Yet more evidence that Rudy Giuliani is literally the worst person in the entire world.
- jgalt212 8y ago
  I guess, but he's just representing his client (albeit a reprehensible client). The DOJ appointees who passed on prosecuting felony charges are indistinguishable from corrupt cops.
  - krageon 8y ago

ohithereyou 8y ago

Each person who was a member of the board of Purdue Pharma at the time these policies should be charged with a count of manslaughter for each documented case of non-intentional overdose death that can be linked to their product. Bring home to them the body count their reckless decisions have wrought. Let them rot. Make an example of them. Otherwise, bring out the guillotine because apparently the robber barons of the Neo-Guilded Age need to be taught a lesson in noblesse oblige.

Alex3917 8y ago
> for each documented case of non-intentional overdose death that can be linked to their product. The only people who accidentally OD on Oxycontin are going to be either those who for some reason take the highest dose without any previous tolerance, or else toddlers who get into them. The overwhelming majority of people dying from Oxycontin are going to be those who mix it with alcohol, heroin, fentanyl, methadone, benzos, grapefruit juice, etc. It's all but impossible to overdose on if used as directed.
- wallflower 8y ago
  It was never about people OD'ing on Oxycontin. It is about Oxycontin creating an opioid dependency that leads many to cheaper alternatives (read: heroin) once they can no longer afford Oxycontin.
  - Alex3917 8y ago
    > once they can no longer afford Oxycontin. When sold legally, it's less expensive than Starbucks even if it's not covered by insurance. If people are forced to access illegal substitutes, that's because of bad government policy and not because of the company.
    - beavisthegenius 8y ago
      When you're hooked and can't a prescription filled, who cares what Oxy costs via legal prescription? That's the problem, you can't be prescribed Oxy forever.

clairity 8y ago

the counterargument is that the invention of the corporation (along with relatively lenient bankruptcy laws) is what allowed western nations, particularly the US, to dominate the world economy because the corporate veil allowed corporations to take bigger risks in creating new products and industries. but yes, the corporate veil is too thick, as shown by poor societal outcomes like this one. however, let's not throw out the baby with the bath water--we should lower the burden of proof for prosecuting such wrongdoings without completely losing the innovative effects of the corporate form. (we also need political reform so that policy makers can promote prosocial behavior, like proactively internalizing externalities like this rather than trying to clean it up after the fact).

delecti 8y ago

> signed a corporate integrity agreement with the federal government promising that the company would not violate the law in the future I don't understand how someone proposed this with a straight face. Signing something agreeing to not break the law more is a confession that you've already done so.

killjoywashere 8y ago

deaths of hundreds? Try hundreds of thousands.