Jan 29 2017 – Kevin Yaworski – Global Citizen and Public Advocate – http://wp.me/p1fJaD-Sg

Here are some facts about addiction that you may not know about.  They will likely change your perspective on a few things.  More teens and adults need to be informed about the risks and we need to make sure our elected and appointed reps are doing enough about the root causes of this epidemic that has already taken hundreds of thousands of lives and caused untold suffering.
76% of Heroin addicts seeking help for addiction admit they began by abusing pharmaceutical narcotics (pain killers), primarily OxyContin.
From 1999 to 2014, overdose deaths involving prescription pills quadrupled. In that 15-year period, more than 165,000 people died from an opioid overdose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

How is it that a company like Purdue Pharma (maker of OxyContin, Fentenyl and others) with about $1700 employee’s can make $10’s of Billions and not be held more responsible after behavior like below and worse?
Why are so many records from so many lawsuits against them and other big corporations sealed when so many people are dying or suffering.

In 2015 Forbes named the Sackler family, the owners of Purdue Pharma on its list of America’s Richest Families, with an estimated net worth of $14 billion.
In 2007 the Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty to misleading the public about Oxycontin’s risk of addiction, and agreed to pay $600 million in one of the largest pharmaceutical settlements in U.S. history. Its president, top lawyer, and former chief medical officer pleaded guilty as individuals to misbranding charges, a criminal violation.
Evidence since than show senior executives knew their OxyCotin was being diverted and didn’t act till it was too late and millions of pills already diverted.  They allowed this even though they required by law to monitor for this and act.
What else is this and other big corps doing that is sealed from the public.  At what point does public health, safety and interest trump corporate and political greed?
Here is a link with YouTube video,  a pod cast and article that do a much better job of telling this story.

Fentanyl Epidemic Exposed

https://pressfortruth.ca/top-stories/fentanyl-epidemic-exposed/

Why one U.S. city is suing the maker of OxyContin over its opioid epidemic

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/episode-322-refugee-crisis-at-the-oscars-the-slants-cartoonists-on-trump-the-museum-of-transology-and-more-1.3951792/why-one-u-s-city-is-suing-the-maker-of-oxycontin-over-its-opioid-epidemic-1.3951802
Pill Push: How pharmaceutical companies helped create the opioid epidemic

http://verdenews.com/news/2017/jan/17/pill-push-how-pharmaceutical-companies-helped-crea
Related but in Canada:

How a little-known patent sparked Canada’s deadly opioid crisis

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/investigations/oxycontin/article33448409/

Related posts:

​Opioid Epidemic

Some Food Safety, Health, Environmental Protection and other regulations are benefiting special interests groups, putting the public at risk and have already caused harm

Good and Bad Vaccines – Court cases compensating flu shot victims