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Big pharma is spending millions to fight limits on opioids like OxyContin, Vicodin and fentanyl
Vice News ^ | Sept. 18, 2016

Posted on 09/27/2016 4:28:52 AM PDT by Wolfie

Big pharma is spending millions to fight limits on opioids like OxyContin, Vicodin and fentanyl

The pharmaceutical industry has spent more than $880 million over the past decade to fight laws that would limit the availability of powerful opiods such as OxyContin, Vicodin and fentanyl in the United States, according to an investigation by the Associated Press and the Center for Public Integrity published Sunday.

Often, these lobbying expenditures are funneled through groups like the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and other advocacy groups that represent the interests of patients with terminal cancer or chronic pain, whose conditions can be alleviated by taking opioids.

While opioids are critical for cancer patients and those in terminal pain, opioid abuse, including heroin and prescription drugs has been called the worst drug epidemic in American history. The numbers of overdose deaths have been rising in tandem with the booming sales of the drugs. On an average day in the United States, roughly 129 people die from an opioid-related overdoses, according to White House.

Big pharma spending on political contributions and lobbying has been targeted on limits being placed on prescribing opioids by doctors. To put the numbers into context, AP and the Center of Public Integrity found the pharmaceutical industry had spent eight times more than the gun lobby during that same period, from 2006 to 2015.

Lawmakers interviewed for the story attributed the failure of bills that they had pushed to stem the flow of opioids, to the aggressive lobbyists working on behalf of those pharmaceutical companies.

Some companies have already been forced to acknowledge their role in the current crisis. Purdue Pharma, for example, the maker of OxyContin, pleaded guilty in 2007 to charges that it misrepresented the drug as "abuse resistant" as part of its multimillion dollar marketing campaign. Purdue was forced to pay a hefty $600 million in fines.


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: addiction; bigpharma; painmanagement; pharma; pharmaceuticals
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To: Jim Noble
But (oh, yeah) they CAN smoke dope with a doctors note. Already, there are “practices” opening up next to marijuana dispensaries (you can’t co-locate) where you can get your doctor’s note for $500.

If that is legal under state law, then so what?

41 posted on 09/27/2016 7:09:57 AM PDT by Ken H (Best election ever!)
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To: Wolfie

I hate big pharma because of how powerful they are; they don’t care about their products’ safety and some of their products are literally forced by law onto the most vulnerable of us (babies and children) without big pharma having ANY product responsibility or liability.

HOWEVER, I’m all for opiates being widely available. We need to educate people about opiates and people need to ask for help from their loved ones when they are given prescriptions. Help your loved one get off them after pain events or surgeries. Opiates are very valuable. Suffering is not necessary. I’ve had 6 major surgeries, 2 brain, 4 c sections. I am grateful to opiated to get you over the otherwise unbearable pain, and I know all by myself when to stop taking them. But it’s ok to need help stopping. They are addictive. But they give quality of life back too.

If everyone understood how opiates work, their ghastly side effects (including constipation), and how to maximize their potential to do good, it would help. Doctors just give you “something for the pain” without enough instruction.

“Take one of these when you arrive home after surgery. Don’t take it on an empty stomach. Then, wait until the pain becomes a 6 on the scale before taking another, or 12 hours, whichever is farther from the original time. After the second dose, make sure you don’t take one until the pain becomes a 7.” Etc.

The moment to stop taking them altogether is when you first have this thought: “my pain is at a 0 right now, but I ‘know’ it’s going to get worse in a little while so I’ll just take a pill now” That is the addiction talking and BOOM I don’t take the pill and then you are done, no problems. You must avoid that “take one now for later.” If you can’t do it, you must have a friend or loved one distribute your pills.


42 posted on 09/27/2016 7:22:56 AM PDT by Yaelle
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To: Jim Noble

A doctor’s note for pot is only $40.


43 posted on 09/27/2016 7:24:02 AM PDT by Yaelle
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To: Neoliberalnot
I view pain as part of getting old and do all I can to remain mobile.

Agreed. I'm 62, and take two medications for cholesterol and diabetes. Both have side effects that include back pain, but I deal with it with exercise and diet. I'll suffer through that back pain, as I'm not going to rely on any other medications.

44 posted on 09/27/2016 7:24:05 AM PDT by Night Hides Not (Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad! Remember Gonzales! Come and Take It!)
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To: Wolfie

Doesn’t matter. Small drug labs in China are cranking out Fentanyl, and importantly many *analogs* (similar in action but not chemically identical) of Fentanyl. It is cheap as dirt to manufacture, and because only a tiny amount is used, it is remarkably easy to smuggle.

And now there is a new drug that is ridiculously more powerful than heroin. Some estimates are as much as 10,000x more powerful. It is literally an elephant tranquilizer, called Carfentanil (W18 or Wildnil). And mere micrograms (1/1,000,000 of a gram) of it are all that is needed, as with LSD.

Again, think micrograms, when you hear that Canadian customs just confiscated a container of it. A four kilogram (8.8 pound) container full. Just 1 microgram, or even less, is needed for a human, so this container had 1 billion doses.

So how does controlling the US pharma industry have anything to do with this at all?

The bottom line is that Fentanyl, taken intentionally or not (used to adulterate heroin), is so risky that it is suicidal. And NOBODY can stop it, or even slow it down.

A lot of Americans who use heroin are going to die. Many already are.


45 posted on 09/27/2016 7:26:37 AM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy (Friday, January 20, 2017. Reparations end.)
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To: Chickensoup
The fact that there are severe limitors being placed on legal drugs is a horror show for every pain ridden person.

Alleviating pain should be the top priority. If a few more addicts destroy themselves that's on them. There's also the radical possibility that legalizing opoids would prevent overdoses, which are often due to confusion about the correct dosage that goes with black market drugs.

46 posted on 09/27/2016 7:28:17 AM PDT by MaxFlint
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To: wrench

How dare you say that hospice gives opiates to EUTHANIZE??????

You people who feel that way must have been the people who did surgeries on helpless babies without anesthetics because people that young were not supposed to feel pain??????

Sorry, my dad died this year and this makes me a bit ragey. This is what occurs when you die. When you are elderly (and in dads case advanced Alzheimers to where everything is shutting down) and can no longer take food or even water, it is dying time. We love our precious elders so much, we know they are leaving, and we want them to leave in comfort rather than agony.

AS THE ORGANS BECOME DEPRIVED OF WATER, THE PAIN IS IMMENSE. Two days before my dad died he was unable to eat or drink for the first time. He was clearly dying, which was the right time for him to go, he had lost all normal functioning. So you don’t incubate for for food or IV for water. You don’t prolong his suffering. So of course these people become dehydrated. For the first time in 7 years of Alzheimer’s, my dad cried out in pain from his organs dehydrating. SO THEY GAVE HIM THE MORPHINE. I am glad they did. When he passed the next day he was peaceful.

You purists would rather have seen him go out groaning in agony. Please do not accuse hospice of euthenasia. They knew my dad was shutting down and dying, which he was. Morphine is wonderful when you are in agony. It doesn’t remove you from this earth. The last time I was given morphine, I watched all the morning chat shows on it and STILL thought they were insipid. It calms a still living body’s pain. It can help someone dying of pneumonia to breathe less scarily, to choke a little less on their way to the next world.


47 posted on 09/27/2016 7:36:30 AM PDT by Yaelle
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To: Night Hides Not

If your diet is good, drop your cholesterol Med. That is a scam. (You might need to taper down, I don’t know)


48 posted on 09/27/2016 7:38:00 AM PDT by Yaelle
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To: Ken H
What they do not quantify, primarily because it is impossible to do so, is the number of overdoses that were administered with intent to commit suicide vs. accidental over dosage. It does after all provide a usually reliable, fast and painless way for one to get a rather immediate solution to perceived and real problems. In reality they may just be transferring their problems to a different location.

In addition the method of introduction into the system may cause a person to overdose. If a person is used to taking something orally and decide to inject it straight into their system is yet another cause for overdosing. While taking 3 tablets orally may have not caused a person a problem it may be more than their body can handle when that same quantity is taken intravenously.

If a person normally obtains illegal substances that have been heavily stepped on, get hold of a supply that is purer and thus greater in strength, and are unaware of that fact, their usual quantity taken proves to be a fatal dosage.

I am certainly not advocating illegal usage, I am just arguing where the real problems lie. For someone who requires prescription opioids for pain management and use them strictly as prescribed the issue of over dosage is less likely to arise. When they decide to increase that usage on their own, usually as the result of their bodies becoming more resistant and the effectiveness in controlling their pain becomes diminished, then they increase their chances of overdosing. Instead they need to communicate that to their doctor to see what alternatives may be employed.

The fact is people rely too much on substances to make their life either more tolerable or more enjoyable. The problem is lack of control by those taking both legal or illegal drugs. Should we penalize those who legitimately have a need because of those who imbibe illegally? In many ways it is akin to the gun issue, should law-abiding citizens be penalized because of the actions of law breakers?

The real culprit here has been the replacement of religions that advocated personal responsibility, with increased governmental control. This has been the single most destructive aspect to this country and her people. The problems we are experiencing in every aspect of life are directly related to that fact. Until we come to accept that reality, we will only continue to degenerate into the depths of hell.

49 posted on 09/27/2016 7:52:45 AM PDT by Robert DeLong
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To: Wolfie

I take Percocet 10s daily

Zanaflex on occasion

Prednisone on occasion

Cortisone shots on occasion

Toradal shots on occasion

All comes from a rigidly controlled pain clinic

Monthly visits and forms

Drug tests each quarter for marijuana cocaine and benzos and meth

And you are forbidden from accepting competing pain meds from another doc unless in the hospital

You are on a database in the state of TN both the pharmacies and doctors participate in

If you get dropped for a violation you will not be able to get on another pain management program unless hospice or the methadone line in the hood

Why the rise in pain med use?

We have a sharply aging population due to the boomers and will again in 25 years or so when their kids age

Think of it as the big boom 1946-65 followed by yet another lesser but still significant bubble in the 80s of births and now with the immigrant bubble who knows

When I go for my monthly visit the patient ages in the waiting room are rarely under 55 unless injured

They sniff out the resellers pretty quick though I’m sure some get through

Around here with our big Mexican population young opiate abusers have learned heroin is cheap and available but they are sometimes stupid with the dose sadly

My doctor will not prescribe OxyContin or Xanax

There is a sign out front

Typical therapeutic pain mgt us 10-40mg of oxycodone or hydrocodone daily

Abusers I’ve known start their morning with 40-60mg and proceed to gobble 150-200 mg daily which is never ending chase the buzz

It’s no wonder they move on to dilaudid or fentanyl and then ultimately heroin bought on the street

If you find a serious Mexican dealer who likely doesn’t adulterate a fairly inexpensive product an opiate abuser can accommodate their addiction easily for 20-40 bucks a day

In other words a little more than Starbucks and two packs of Reds

From what I’m told the Mex dope is very very good

Which sadly explains why folks are dying from it

People do crazy things

Chewing fentanyl patches is probably the nuttiest I’ve heard

My little brother got fentanyl patches. 10mg I think after a snowmobile wreck

He put one on and waited

He said after about an hour nothing so he put on another one

He called me vomiting thinking he was going to die and yanked them both off...,he said for about 15 minutes it was cold sweat and nausea and spinning

Strong stuff that’s why they put it in epidurals at childbirth and the drip when you have an arteriogram


50 posted on 09/27/2016 8:00:07 AM PDT by wardaddy (free republic is an aging demographic)
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To: Robert DeLong

You re likely correct...

However, I read a stat the other day that if one uses opiate based drugs for more than 90 days... 70% become addicted... and since they can no longer get the pills... they turn to heroin....

Unfortunately I am knee deep in this crisis... my daughter is struggling to stay in recovery... we almost lost her 2 years ago... opiates are insidious in their addictive abilities and how they impact the brains chemistry.

Just yesterday a was made aware of a mother who became addicted after an accident she was in... she OD’d and died a few days ago...

Yes there is a place for opiate medication... but IMHO... it is prescribed to often... I was offered it for an umbilical hernia... I turned it down...

Prayers for all those that find themselves in addiction... there are treatment options at no cost... Teen Challenge and places such as them have incurred major success in helping persons looking for deliverance... they are long term... they have to be... it takes up to 6 months for the opiates to be removed form the body... and the brain chemistry to return to normal....

Anyone looking for help... don’t hesitate to private message me.


51 posted on 09/27/2016 8:28:59 AM PDT by PigRigger
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To: Yaelle

That’s my goal, drop both meds. I’m getting there.


52 posted on 09/27/2016 8:29:35 AM PDT by Night Hides Not (Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad! Remember Gonzales! Come and Take It!)
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy

The bottom line is that Fentanyl, taken intentionally or not (used to adulterate heroin), is so risky that it is suicidal.

**************************************

When I finally convinced my wife that those mice running up and down our wall weren’t real, she took the Fentanyl patch off her shoulder, those mice were gone within 24 hours.

(That wasn’t the only hallucination she had, plus paranoia.)


53 posted on 09/27/2016 8:45:47 AM PDT by Graybeard58 (Bill and Hillary Clinton are the penicillin-resistant syphilis of our political system.)
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To: Yaelle

Freepers are so incredibly reactionary about drugs period

They like things simple and easy to condemn

Because they don’t educate themselves a lot and often are ignorant about specifics

Drug concern trolls

But and this always tickles me

They love love love booze

How many threads are interspersed at night with “I think I’ll go have another drink or if they are older it’s a cocktail “

Threads with pics of drinks or bars all celebrated

Totally oblivious they are celebrating Americas real number one drug problem

Those of us who have dealt with drunks close to us get it

The accepted turd in the punch bowl

I have acute cervical arthritis with spurs like a fighting rooster

Moderate opiate use simply lubricates it enough I can function although I prefer steroids you simply can’t take them all the time

If you are disciplined you can take opiates forever with no ill effect if as I said disciplined which I am

The Tylenol they adulterate Percocet with stupidly with in my view will harm you much quicker

My alternative is surgery with ambiguous results predicted

After two open hearts and a pacemaker etc I prefer medication over somebody cutting open my throat to get to my neck

Sorry if that offends the Cotton Mathers here on opiates

And you are so right

Hospice

I’ve cared for in the past 20 years four folks dying and two were at home

All had opiate hospice relief

The notion that is opiate abuse is preposterous and bloodcurdling idiocy

Ask any soldier wounded in battle if that dose on the chopper being medivaced was helpful?

You just can’t believe folks sometimes


54 posted on 09/27/2016 9:03:26 AM PDT by wardaddy (free republic is an aging demographic)
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To: GailA

Amen

I deal with it too close to home

I don’t drink hardly at all

I detest what it does to so many yet it’s celebrated


55 posted on 09/27/2016 9:04:59 AM PDT by wardaddy (free republic is an aging demographic)
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To: GailA

Amen

I deal with it too close to home

I don’t drink hardly at all

I detest what it does to so many yet it’s celebrated


56 posted on 09/27/2016 9:05:02 AM PDT by wardaddy (free republic is an aging demographic)
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To: Yaelle
SO THEY GAVE HIM THE MORPHINE. I am glad they did. When he passed the next day he was peaceful.

Several years ago my Dad passed away from Alzheimers and it happened the same way as with your dad. Morphine for about two days after he stopped eating and he passed. Once he stopped eating it was quick.

57 posted on 09/27/2016 9:15:20 AM PDT by OldMissileer (Atlas, Titan, Minuteman, PK. Winners of the Cold War)
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To: marktwain

Alternative headline: Big Gov Interferes with Free Market Medicine.


58 posted on 09/27/2016 9:17:15 AM PDT by NorthMountain (Hillary Clinton: corrupt unreliable negligent traitor)
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To: Jim Noble

I have a problem with migraines. A few months ago I had one that was a horrible, one of the worst I’ve had. I called my brother in law, who took me to the local VA hospital (veteran here) ER. They put me in a room, turned down the lights, took my vitals, promised me I’d be seen soon, then let me sit there for two hours.

A worthless trip.

Never received care for my pain.


59 posted on 09/27/2016 9:53:16 AM PDT by Loud Mime (Liberalism: Intolerance masquerading as tolerance)
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To: wardaddy
Re: morphine for the dying:

Those who know, don't say; those who say, don't know.

60 posted on 09/27/2016 9:57:36 AM PDT by Jim Noble (Rise)
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