More than 500 cities, counties, and Native American tribes across the country filed a class action lawsuit Monday that argues the billionaire family behind Purdue Pharma “initiated and perpetuated” an entire generation of opioid users for their own financial gain by marketing their drug, OxyContin, as safe to prescribe. The nearly 200-page lawsuit — which... Continue Reading →
Who is to blame for the opioid epidemic that is currently gripping the nation and taking the lives of 60,000 Americans each year? Most people tend to blame the makers of these drugs, the doctors who prescribe them, and some even fault those who take these medications. However, now a very familiar name has been... Continue Reading →
Aaron Francisco Chavez swallowed at least one of the sky blue pills at a Halloween party before falling asleep forever. He became yet another victim killed by a flood of illicit fentanyl smuggled from Mexico into the Southwest — a profitable new business for drug gangs that has pushed the synthetic opioid to the top spot for fatal U.S.... Continue Reading →
A complaint filed by the state of Massachusetts alleges that Purdue Pharma explored expanding into an “attractive market” fueled by the popularity of its powerful painkiller (and life killer) OxyContin: opioid addiction treatment. With billions of dollars in profits from the potent painkiller OxyContin, its maker explored expanding into an “attractive market” fueled by the... Continue Reading →
Opioids are the class of pain-relieving drugs made from the illegal and deadly drug heroin. Fentanyl is by far the most dangerous, but you’ve certainly heard of some other popular ones, including oxycodone (a.k.a. Oxycontin), hydrocodone (a.k.a. Vicodin), morphine and codeine. Fentanyl is so strong that just a few too many milligrams can cause a... Continue Reading →
Many admit overprescribing of opioid medications helped create epidemic In the early 1990s, the number of painkiller prescriptions filled at U.S. pharmacies increased by 2 to 3 million every year. Around 1996, they jumped by 8 million, as doctors quickly became part of a painkiller prescription-writing bonanza. The makers of Oxycontin launched a marketing campaign... Continue Reading →
Prescription Opioid-Related Overdose Deaths Prescription opioids continue to contribute to the opioid overdose epidemic in the United States. More than 40% of all U.S. opioid overdose deaths in 2016 involved a prescription opioid, with more than 46 people dying every day from overdoses involving prescription opioids. The most common drugs involved in prescription opioid overdose deaths... Continue Reading →
The opioid crisis has reached epidemic proportions in this country, with the number of deaths quadrupling since 2000, and around 115 people dying from overdoses each day. President Trump has declared the opioid crisis a national health emergency, and high schools across the country have started stocking up on the drug Narcan to try to save lives... Continue Reading →
