Some Individuals Will Get Small Opioid Lawsuit Payouts

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Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of Oxycontin, recently settled lawsuits from the government for billions of dollars over their role in the opioid epidemic. The money was meant to cover both the human toll and the strain on society, including the medical community. Instead, the opioid epidemic touched every corner of America, and billions of dollars are being diverted to the cause of addiction prevention and treatment.

However, even as these payouts go out to governments, there are still incredible losses for the communities to bear. The most significant losses, of course, are the victims of overdoses and their families. For them, there will be just a small, token payout for their suffering.

Families Still Struggle With the Aftermath

As the financial details were being finalized for the most significant drug company settlements in history, families across the US gathered items …

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New Book Sheds Light on Sacklers, Scrupleless Oxycontin Makers

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 …

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Purdue Pleads Guilty in Criminal Court

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 …

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25 State Attorneys Oppose Oxy Settlement

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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 …

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Oxycontin Makers Sink Claws Into China

A report has come out detailing the marketing moves that Purdue Pharma, the drugmaker responsible for Oxycontin and other variations of opioid, has moved on to China. Of course, it’s no big secret that companies like food and pharmaceutical makers take their wares overseas to new markets.

What’s unusual about Purdue’s business moves is that the behavior that cost billions of dollars in US lawsuits is now being deployed in China.

Boosting Sales and Breaking Laws in China

Stat News claims that when sales began to crash due to the opioid crisis, the Sacklers and their subsidiaries set their eyes on the global market. In China, Purdue’s international pharma dealer, Mundipharma, pushed for profits over ethics without fail. While the profit scheme unraveled very publicly in the US courts, quietly, Purdue Pharma began marketing elsewhere.

Current and former employees told …

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