Posted on 01/26/2019 8:29:56 AM PST by Kaslin
No matter how you slice it, the opioid epidemic is poison. Literally, in the wrong hands, the drugs themselves are poison. The rash of broken homes and deaths caused by their over-prescription is social poison. The after-effects of the epidemic were so severe that they handed Democrats the House when Republicans fumbled the ball, which, for the party in power, made them political poison.
And yet, somehow, not only are pharmaceutical companies making more of this poison, but the FDA is rolling over in the face of Pharma pressure and letting them come to market, sometimes without adequate safety review. In other words, not only is more poison being produced, but the FDA isn’t even bothering to check whether it’s anything other than poison.
Such is the alarming finding of a report from the FDA’s own opioids adviser, who accused his colleagues of massaging results of FDA tests to favor Big Pharma in the pages of the Guardian. That adviser, Dr Raeford Brown, lists the approval of the controversial new drug Dsuvia – an opioid ten times stronger than Fentanyl, the infamous drug that started the opioid crisis in the first place. According to Brown, FDA leadership has “learned nothing” from the opioid crisis, and remains committed to putting the interests of big pharmaceutical companies over real issues of public health – you know, the very thing that it’s the FDA’s mission to protect? This is exactly the sort of thing that gave Pharma the sociopathic confidence required to create the Opioid crisis in the first place.
It gets worse. Dsuvia may have been approved following a decision by FDA Chairman Scott Gottlieb that new opioids should be approved not based solely on their effectiveness, but also based on the “need” for them. By implication, then, the FDA thinks that what America needs is an opioid ten times stronger than Fentanyl. What bizarre, convoluted thought process could have led them to this conclusion is anyone’s guess, and Gottlieb himself should hold his colleagues to account.
Under any other FDA Chairman, this could well be a lost cause. But in this case, it wouldn’t be the first time Gottlieb stood up to Pharma companies. In November of 2017, Gottlieb issued a shot across the industry’s bow, warning them to try to stop gaming the FDA’s REMS process, by which generic drugs are approved. “End the shenanigans,” Gottlieb commanded, warning that if brand name companies didn’t come to the table on developing shared guidelines by which generics could pass muster, he’d start issuing waivers to generic companies to develop their own guidelines. In other words, play ball or I let the other team win.
Whether Pharma listened is a matter of some debate, and indeed, a cynic could argue that Gottlieb’s critique was no more than Kabuki theater, especially given the alarms some have raised about his own connections to the pharmaceutical industry. This opioid alarm bell is his chance to prove that he was serious about taking the industry one, and remains committed to the kind of tough reforms recently embraced by President Trump, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar, and even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
So hold your industry to account, Dr. Gottlieb. Stand athwart the pharma gravy train yelling “STOP.” Because America does not need more poison. And therefore, America does not need more opioids.
There is a concerted effort to make US pharmaceutical companies into monsters. Be careful what you wish for. Yes, too many people get opiods, but there are also many people who need them. Any time you see the media start a crusade, you can be sure it will turn into a witch hunt.
The very first thing we need to do is take effective pain control away from veterans. Veterans receiving pain relief at taxpayers’ expense is the real scandal.
We could also napalm the poppy fields in Afghanistan instead of protecting them
Ever seen a 6'5” grown man turn into a whimpering weakling? FnLaw had late stage degenerative muscle disease...w/o pain killers, he could not function.
My own dad, having a leg amputated and other ailments have deteriorated his quality of life because of pain.
Yea...you got lots of boneheads abusing these medications, but now we have this full blown war on opiods. Every doctor, every dentist are scared to death to prescribe a pain killer for fear Uncle Sam will come after them.
Wonderful world we live in.
Opioids fill a need; families like the Sacklers don’t.
Almost all of the overdose deaths are from fentanyl - a street drug. Almost all addiction begins with recreational use.
So, who does the government choose to punish? Why, legitimate prescription users, of course.
Wow - sounds like you know whereof you speak.
Sorry for what you have to go through and/or see others go through.
Yours is the other side of the story that I think many never hear about.
I bet the Democrat positions sound perfectly reasonable when you’re doped up.
“The rash of broken homes and deaths caused by their over-prescription...”
I’d bet you wouldn’t think they were “over prescribed” if you got them for some excruciating pain you were enduring.
“Almost all of the overdose deaths are from fentanyl - a street drug. Almost all addiction begins with recreational use.
So, who does the government choose to punish? Why, legitimate prescription users, of course.”
Yes, and the pro-pain scum deliberately conflate the two.
There are people who are in pain. They need very strong medicine.
The Fentanyl that is sold on the street is not being dispensed or created under the eye of the FDA in any case. It is being imported, usually from China into Mexico and from there across the border.
Because of this apparently the Pharmaceutical companies should not come up with pain killers.
If this drug gives the right "high" then it is going to be on the streets inside a year no matter what the FDA says.
If somebody invented (and they will) a pain-killer that is not addictive, impossible to overdose on, much more effective than anything available now, etc.,, these vipers would still be against it. Just like the crusade against e cigs.
There's nothing funnier than seeing old veterans writhing in pain, eh?
I’m on deck for a total hip replacement. I checked to see if my regular scripts were ready for pick up and noticed I had an order for narcan for 126.00. This is a nasal spray used for overdose of pain killers. I didn’t have the surgery yet nor do I have pain killers. I questioned the doctor who prescribed them and was told anytime pain killers were to be prescribed to a patient the doctor must, by law dispense an overdose script. I told the pharmacy I didn’t want it, I don’t plan on overdosing.
Drivel. First opioids are not by definition an “epidemic”. Epidemics are caused by transmittable diseases. I’m pretty sure we won’t turn into a junkie just by coming into contact with one. Second opioids are the ONLY way to control severe pain. NSAIDS have a maximum dose threadhold where no matter how much higher the dose you take the pain relief doesn’t improve. Opioids have no such limitation. Third the pharmaceutical companies are not trying to create addicts nor is the medical profession. For every sob story where some poor unsuspecting “victim” find himself wanting to continue the drugs after the initial prescription there are far more who simply scored the stuff to get high.
From personal experience with several major surgeries unless you enjoy severe pain you need something stronger than Advil for the first couple of post surgical days, but you really have no desire to continue the stuff once you can manage the pain with NSAIDS. For one thing they constipate you and that may seem funny, but it isn’t. And second if your pain is severe this totally counteracts any high you could possibly get.
Addicts to be referred to henceforth as junkies are not victims. They get into their condition of their own free will, and blaming anyone else for their condition is a form of lying. The have only themselves to blame
Prescription opioids have declined signicantly since 2013, but opioid related deaths are still increasing.
The idea is to continue to demonize doctors and pharmacutical companies instead of laying the blame on drug trafficking at SW border. Sure, there were very bad doctors and unscrupulous companies, but this has largely been wrung out of the system. What company wants to make opioids and face lawsuits from AGs across the country? What doctor wants to risk prescribing opiates and risk their liberty or license?
But fentanyl and heroin are still cheap and available. Big Pharma and doctors have nothing to do with that. We should all know the answer by now. Congress, top officials at FBI, DEA, DOJ are being paid via money laundering banks, so this cannot stop. Of course, no one will ever be able to prove this because the government benefits from criminal activity and is in control of the legal process.
So, why not put out a story that diverts the publics attention away from the government sponsored drug cartels. At least, we can pretend that there are people in govenment fighting for the people’s safety. What BS.
No different than the way the want to deal with guns in the hands of criminals...
An epidemic? I’ve always been skeptical of the triggering language used by every news outlet.
Its largely NOT an epidemic, though it does target some communities in greater numbers.
“Five percent of U.S. adults say they have abused or been addicted to opioids or prescription painkillers, up from 1 percent in 2017, possibly reflecting a greater awareness and willingness to talk about the problem.”
from:
https://www.psychiatry.org/newsroom/news-releases/nearly-one-in-three-people-know-someone-addicted-to-opioids-more-than-half-of-millennials-believe-it-is-easy-to-get-illegal-opioids
Overprescription is the least of it. China is pushing boatloads of opioids and fentanyl across the southern border.
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