Three of Purdue Pharma’s top executives were sentenced last week for their roles in misrepresenting Oxycontin, a powerful pain killing opioid, to the medical community and general public. They were convicted of a litany of charges including:
The charges included several illegal schemes to promote, market and sell OxyContin as being less likely to cause abuse, addiction, tolerance and withdrawal than other pain medications. In particular, it is reported that Purdue trained its sales representatives to make false representations to health care providers about the difficulty of extracting oxycodone, the active ingredient, from the OxyContin tablet thereby decreasing the potential for abuse, and that a lack of euphoria rendered it less addictive than immediate-release opiates and morphine. In addition, Purdue falsely labeled OxyContin as providing "fewer peaks and valleys than with immediate-release oxycodone," and falsely represented that patients taking lower dosages of the drug can always be discontinued abruptly without suffering withdrawal symptoms or tolerance.
Purdue Pharma as a private company had already been penalized with $600 million in fines for the criminal activities. In my opinion, this should have characterized the seriousness of the crimes and been followed by draconian sentences for the three executives that orchestrated the crimes. Unfortunately it was not to be, none of the executives will set foot in prison with the worst of their sentences being probation and community service.
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This wasn’t a mistake. This wasn’t a side effect that was missed in testing or just an altruistic program designed to get a wonder drug to the masses regardless of the circumstances. This was the willful misrepresentation of a drug to doctors and the public with nothing but profit as a motive. Society is mostly to blame for the scourge of prescription drug abuse our nation is facing, but just as organized crime took advantage of prohibition these executives are criminals that are exploiting the situation.
They should go to jail with the rest of the criminals.
Below is the NEW warning label for Oxycontin.
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It's great that the new warning for this drug contains the real deal now. I can't blame my addiction to Oxycontin on anybody but myself but I can see how it must be so common since nobody knew the real addictive properties of the drug.
When I read it I just got the chills because the bottom piece of the warning about not chewing or crushing (should also add in no snorting) were all of the ways that I would take Oxy. It was the almost fatal dose that I would consider to be a good high.
I'm glad I lived through those days.
erinsav
www.whatwinnersdo.com
they intentionally trained their sales force to mislead doctors that I consider the most heinous. People are going to abuse almost all drugs regardless, but it was how this drug was falsely marketed that made it so readily available on the street.
I am glad you made it through those days.
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