This article contains a discussion of the Opioid Crisis.
Summary
- OxyContin is still legally prescribed today, contributing to the ongoing opioid crisis in the United States. The CDC reports a national average of 43.3 opioid prescriptions for every 100 Americans in 2020.
- Purdue Pharma discontinued direct-to-physician marketing of OxyContin in 2018 due to lawsuits. They are now pushing for bankruptcy, which would have included up to $6 billion in settlement money but prevented victims and family members from taking action against the Sackler family.
- Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy plans involve transferring everything to Knoa Pharmacy, a new company that will continue to manufacture drugs, including opioids. They claim to provide opioid addiction treatment and drug overdose reversal for no profit, but victims deserve a chance to get justice.
After the horrors depicted on Netflix Painkiller, many viewers are curious what happened to Purdue Pharma’s drug OxyContin. Painkiller is a dramatized series that chronicles the rise and fall of Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family. Character from Painkiller including fictional versions of pharmaceutical representatives, Purdue executives, and investigators. But most devastatingly, throughout the show, the victims’ narratives show the direct damage OxyContin caused to the family and the eventual Opioid Crisis.
According to The Controlled Substances Act’s classification system, OxyContin is a Schedule II narcotic, which makes it highly addictive with several demonstrated medical uses. Unfortunately, as seen in Painkiller, the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma mass-market the product as the safest opioid available. Additionally, they lied about the risks posed by the drug, prompting former FDA agent Curtis Wright to approve the drug. Since the incident at the end of the year Painkillera lot of changes have happened with Purdue Pharma while everything else has sadly stayed the same.
OxyContin Is Still Legally Prescribed Today
Despite the ongoing opioid crisis depicted throughout Painkiller, OxyContin is still on the market today. This has significantly contributed to the ongoing problem of the opioid crisis. In fact, in 2020, the CDC reported a national average of 43.3 prescriptions for opioids for every 100 Americans. Some US counties reach nine times this number of prescriptions. This is much lower than in previous years, but 3.6 percent of counties still have sufficient prescriptions for each citizen. While this CDC statistic isn’t specific to OxyContin alone, it does help illustrate the problem Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family allegedly help with, as described in Painkiller TV shows.
Purdue Stopped Marketing OxyContin Direct to Doctors In 2018
Many people wonder what happened after that event Painkiller. Due to various lawsuits, in 2018, Purdue Pharma stopped marketing OxyContin directly to physicians’ offices, a good but belated solution (via PBS). Since then, they have pushed for bankruptcy, which will include up to $6 billion in settlement money CNN. However, it would also prevent victims and family members from seeking any kind of action against the Sackler family. As of August 2023, the Supreme Court has suspended bankruptcy proceedings with a view to hearing arguments in December 2023.
Under the bankruptcy plan provided on Purdue Pharma’s website, they will transfer everything to Knoa Pharmacy, a new company that will continue to manufacture drugs, including opioids. The company will function under independent board members. Most importantly, they will research and provide opioid addiction treatment and drug overdose reversal without profit. If the plan is approved by the court, Knoa Pharma will have no affiliation with Sacklers. While this plan looks promising in some ways, it is dubious in others. Every survivor that appears in Painkiller and millions of other people who are not highlighted deserve a chance to get justice.
Source: United States DEA, CDC, PBS, CNNPurdue Pharmacy
#OxyContin #Prescribed #Today #Purdue #Drugs #Painkillers #Real #Life
