Stop Oxy

New Book Sheds Light on Sacklers, Scrupleless Oxycontin Makers

Post author:Melissa
Post published:April 27, 2021
Post category:pharmaceutical industry
Reading time:2 mins read

A new book lifts back the veil on the history of the Sackler family, the people who owned and invested heavily in the marketing and manufacturing of Oxycontin. “Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty” goes into the history of the family, the source of their wealth, and their downfall as they settled lawsuits that drove the out of business.

OxyContin, the addictive painkiller known to be more powerful than morphine, is considered to be a driving force of the opioid crisis. In fact, Purdue Pharma recently settled with the government after facing hundreds of lawsuits over their practices. Doctors were said to be bribed, marketed to heavily, and even had salespeople downplay the possibilities of side effects, withdrawal, or addiction.

About the Sacklers: Oxycontin Millionaires

The Sackler family is one of the richest in America, and …

Kratom Imports Will Be Detained By FDA

Post author:Melissa
Post published:March 31, 2021
Post category:fda
Reading time:2 mins read

The FDA recently re-issued an alert that agents, effective immediately, will detain any imports or supplements that contain kratom. The alert says that the “FDA has seen an increase in the number of shipments of dietary supplements and bulk dietary ingredients that are, or contain kratom…”, also known as Mitragyna speciosa and a variety of other names depending on the region.

What is Kratom?

Kratom was once used as a folk medicine to help people in Southeast Asia recover from opioid addiction and a variety of other remedies. Now, people have been using it in the US for years for that exact purpose and more. Depending on who you ask, people say it has helped them with chronic pain, inflammatory conditions, and mental health issues.

The FDA, however, has not approved the supplement for any use, and there is no …

McKinsey Settles Oxy Accusations for 573 Million

Post author:Melissa
Post published:February 25, 2021
Post category:big pharma
Reading time:3 mins read

McKinsey, a consulting firm that worked for Purdue Pharma, Oxycontin’s creator, has been under the microscope. This week, they agreed to pay the government 574 million dollars for their actions that helped cause the opioid epidemic. The company worked with Purdue to create new strategies meant to “turbocharge sales” and admitted no harm but agreed to pay out the settlement. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the firm had been “part of a machine that… destroyed lives”.

The Accusations Against McKinsey

McKinsey is accused of advising Purdue to pressure doctors through sales calls, especially targeting doctors who were already known to be “high-level prescribers.” In doing so, they also asked sales associates to be careful to subvert the authorities. Their goal was simply to help doctors avoid prescribing limits that states were trying to uphold.

When higher-ups at McKinsey realized …

Doctors Seeing Increased Overdose Deaths

Post author:Melissa
Post published:January 30, 2021
Post category:doctors
Reading time:2 mins read

The pandemic death toll is both startling and sad, but other crises, including the addiction epidemic alongside the pandemic. Doctors say that overdose deaths from the opioid epidemic are higher than they have been in years, leaving families heartbroken. The damage has largely been uncounted by the media due to the unrest and pandemic, but it’s a true problem that is bubbling beneath the surface.

Places Hit Hard By Overdose Deaths

Overdoses have increased across the board in regions already hard-hit by the addiction epidemic. In Louisiana, “Just to give you some numbers, we had 233 total overdoses in 2020 compared to 154 in 2019,” said the Jefferson Parish Coroner Dr. Gerry Cvitanovich. ”We have seen an increase in methamphetamine as well. Still, the biggest increase is in fentanyl, literally if you are just going from year to year, in …

Sackler Family Members To Testify Before Congress

Post author:Melissa
Post published:December 16, 2020
Post category:big pharma OxyContin
Reading time:3 mins read

David and Kathe Sackler agreed with the House Oversight Committee to appear at a hearing set for this Thursday. The two family members, who helped steer the direction of Purdue Pharmaceuticals, will be answering questions about their role in the opioid crisis. Both seemed hesitant to appear at the hearing and were threatened with a subpoena if they did not appear willingly.

Purdue and the Sackler family owners have been at the center of thousands of lawsuits for years over their role in the opioid epidemic. The opioid epidemic, fueled by Oxycontin prescriptions and reckless prescribing, has taken over 450,000 lives over the past ten years.

Purdue Chief Executive Craig Landau is testifying at the hearing as well. His testimony was planned in advance.

Purdue Pharma’s Guilty Plea

In November, Purdue Pharmaceuticals pleaded guilty to criminal charges concerning their …

Purdue Pleads Guilty in Criminal Court

Post author:Melissa
Post published:November 24, 2020
Post category:big pharma oxycontin epidemic
Reading time:3 mins read

Purdue Pharma, the drugmakers responsible for Oxycontin, pleaded guilty to criminal charges this afternoon. The charges are related to the drug, a highly addictive narcotic that has been a primary driver of the opioid epidemic.

Previous Oxycontin Lawsuits

The guilty pleas in the criminal case came after a settlement last month

In October, the Sackler Family (owners of Perdue) were handed an eight billion dollar judgment, a settlement combining thousands of lawsuits from cities, states, and counties. (Not every locality suing Perdue signed off on the settlement, and some were paid out separately, including New York, which received several billion of its own.) Purdue has filed for bankruptcy and may be restructured and overseen by the government as the Sacklers remove themselves from the business.

Perdue’s Criminal Charges

In today’s world, corporations are treated as people. It may be surprising …

25 State Attorneys Oppose Oxy Settlement

Post author:Melissa
Post published:October 16, 2020
Post category:big pharma
Reading time:2 mins read

Twenty-five State attorneys have signed a letter opposing any settlements between the Justice Department and Purdue Pharmaceutical, Oxycontin’s manufacturers.

Purdue, owned by the infamous Sackler family, is preparing to settle a lawsuit with dozens of cities and counties across the United States. The suit itself is over their aggressive marketing and obfuscation with their addictive drug Oxycontin.

The Argument Against the Settlement

The attorneys say that the settlement does more harm than good. By forcing the state to oversee the settlement, the settlement will “improperly entangle state and local officials with future sales of the company’s addictive pain drug OxyContin.” The Justice Department has stipulated that Purdue transforms itself into a “public benefit company.” By becoming such an establishment, it would be run “on behalf” of the cities, states, and counties who are suing it.

The company, therefore, would need …

website selling tramadol

FDA Targets Illegal Website Sales of Tramadol

Post author:Melissa
Post published:September 30, 2020
Post category:U.S. government
Reading time:3 mins read

The US Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning to website operators for the illegal sales of the opioid Tramadol. According to the letters sent to operators, some of the drugs were mislabeled, while others were not approved for sale in the United States. All of the websites are illicit and selling opioids without prescriptions.

FDA Cracking Down 0n Tramadol

While it may seem to be a minor way censure to have an FDA letter sent to a website, it’s the first action the agency typically takes. The FDA’s letter also clearly states that they are taking action, which means the letter is the first step.

The FDA’s primary job is to make sure that our foods and drugs stay safe. They do not have the authority to arrest website operators. However, they often bring the DEA and other …

Fake Oxycontin is Killing People

Post author:Melissa
Post published:August 31, 2020
Post category:OxyContin addiction
Reading time:2 mins read

Fake Oxycontin is a big trend on the streets in America, and investigators in Minnesota say they’re the cause of fatal overdoses. Usually, they’re laced with fentanyl, which can be fifty to a hundred times as potent than morphine.

Fake But Deadly

In St. Cloud, Minnesota, a recent overdose came from fentanyl marketed on the street as Oxycontin. Some fentanyl has also been passed off to be Oxycodone or Percocet. It’s a nationwide trend in recent months, as drug traffic has stalled at the border during a national pandemic.

The pills are made to look like the real pill, although some have a blueish tint to them. One side of the tablet is blue with the “M” stamped on one side and “30” stamped on the other.

Last month, a Sacramento resident was caught with over 1,000 pills of what …

FDA Adds Naloxone Info to Opioid Scripts

Post author:Melissa
Post published:July 23, 2020
Post category:legislation
Reading time:3 mins read

The Food and Drug Administration announced a new requirement for drugmakers to help inform consumers about naloxone. Naloxone is a drug that helps reverse opioid and other drug overdoses. The new rule means that every prescription drug containing opioids will now include information about naloxone.

The naloxone notice is just one small thing that they’re hoping will help people stay alive during the pandemic. People who are abusing opioids may not be aware that it’s an option. Many people are isolated from other drug users and staying home during the pandemic.

Overdoses Are Increasing During Pandemic

Drug overdoses are multiplying quickly during the age of COVID-19, and numbers of deaths were higher than ever in 2019 before the pandemic even touched American lives.

Public health officials have warned the public and doctors to expect significant increases in “deaths of …