4 ms·

I've never had debilitating, long-term pain. Have you? I think it's remarkably sadder that people have to deal with pain like this. And you jump right to wantin

I've never had debilitating, long-term pain. Have you? I think it's remarkably sadder that people have to deal with pain like this. And you jump right to wanting to lock up people and take your revenge. Isn't that a rather sad state of affairs? I've been in the presence of people who need pain medicines like OxyContin and who are not able to continue living without it. Not because they're addicts, but because they have horrendous medical conditions caused by all sorts of things, ranging from US armed conflict all the way to cooking accidents while on the job at a restaurant. For however many people you think are addicted and killed by drugs like OxyContin, there are far more people that are in need of drugs like these through no fault of their own, and often times, directly due to the very same politicians who are now celebrating this "takedown" of Purdue. The difficulty one of these individuals had in obtaining their necessary Oxycodone during the COVID-19 lockdowns resulted in him attempting suicide. This person is not alone in this dilemma. The ridiculous scapegoating and guilt-tripping of this drug has led to the ruination of countless lives as well. Many people are suffering right now because some people think it's a corporation's fault when they choose to put a highly effective narcotic into their system. We can't send people to foolish overseas conflicts, require people to engage in dangerous jobs like oil rigging and construction work, and then not give them medicine to make their on-the-job injuries livable. Doctors are the ones who make decisions about what to prescribe - they are the ones who commit the fraud of prescribing unnecessary medicines. If you're truly so eager to throw someone into a cage for their terrible crimes against humanity, you may want to start with the doctors and politicians before the wealthy, greedy Sacklers. I know that doesn't fit into the neat little boxes on top of which people love to grandstand these days, but the truth is a lot more valuable than filthy, emotionally-driven platitudes.

hilbert42 6y ago
You've missed the point. There would be precious few who would deny narcotics to those who really need them. They are often the only effective line of pain relief for severe pain and they are on WHO's list of essential drugs! You seem to have not considered these points: (a) The intrinsic nature of narcotics requires them to be managed with great care. This means the dose has to be accurately titrated sufficient to kill pain and no more or addiction results. These facts have been known by the medical and pharmaceutical industries for over 100 years, also the FDA knew this but seems to have forgotten when it was lobbied. (I'm oversimplifying the facts here but it'll have to do.) (b) Sacklers/Purdue were fully aware that intrinsic nature of narcotics requires them to be managed with great care. As this info is in almost every medical text on the planet that deals with the subject, similarly every pharmacopeia text on the subject. (Check for yourself.) (c) Sacklers/Purdue deliberately ignored these well established medical facts about narcotic addiction so as to proffer from drug sales. They willfully pushed OxyContin use to levels well in excess of that recommended by medical best practice. Thus, it hugely increased the numbers of opiate addicts than there would otherwise have been. (d) As I've said above, many medicos were complicit with Purdue and deserve to lose their license to practice. (e) As I also said above 'before OxyContin, there were any number of narcotic painkilling drugs from those that have to be injected to ones that can be swallowed as a tablet or capsule that are made by more reputable drug companies (and have been for decades). OxyContin didn't offer anything over these earlier drugs.' Doctors, pharmacists and the FDA knew this too, yet they deliberately threw away their Hippocratic Oath and 'mistreated' their patients for a few cheap shekels.

hilbert42 6y ago

You've missed the point. There would be precious few who would deny narcotics to those who really need them. They are often the only effective line of pain relief for severe pain and they are on WHO's list of essential drugs! You seem to have not considered these points: (a) The intrinsic nature of narcotics requires them to be managed with great care. This means the dose has to be accurately titrated sufficient to kill pain and no more or addiction results. These facts have been known by the medical and pharmaceutical industries for over 100 years, also the FDA knew this but seems to have forgotten when it was lobbied. (I'm oversimplifying the facts here but it'll have to do.) (b) Sacklers/Purdue were fully aware that intrinsic nature of narcotics requires them to be managed with great care. As this info is in almost every medical text on the planet that deals with the subject, similarly every pharmacopeia text on the subject. (Check for yourself.) (c) Sacklers/Purdue deliberately ignored these well established medical facts about narcotic addiction so as to proffer from drug sales. They willfully pushed OxyContin use to levels well in excess of that recommended by medical best practice. Thus, it hugely increased the numbers of opiate addicts than there would otherwise have been. (d) As I've said above, many medicos were complicit with Purdue and deserve to lose their license to practice. (e) As I also said above 'before OxyContin, there were any number of narcotic painkilling drugs from those that have to be injected to ones that can be swallowed as a tablet or capsule that are made by more reputable drug companies (and have been for decades). OxyContin didn't offer anything over these earlier drugs.' Doctors, pharmacists and the FDA knew this too, yet they deliberately threw away their Hippocratic Oath and 'mistreated' their patients for a few cheap shekels.