This article is a reprint. It was originally published September 26, 2018.
An estimated 202,600 Americans died from opioid overdoses between 2002 and 20151, and drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Americans under the age of 502. Chronic opioid use also accounted for 20% of the increase in male unemployment between 1999 and 20153 and, remarkably, 74% of farmers report being addicted to opioids or know someone who is4. Aside from the staggering death toll, addiction to narcotic pain relievers also places an enormous economic burden on society, costing the U.S. an estimated $504 billion each year (2.8% of gross domestic product), according to a November 2017 White House report5,6.
Opioid Epidemic Is No Random Fluke
Adding insult to injury, evidence suggests opioid makers are directly responsible. They knew exactly what they were doing when they claimed opioids — which are chemically very similar to heroin — have an exceptionally low addiction rate when taken for pain. In fact, the massive increase in opioid sales and subsequent addiction rates have been traced back to an orchestrated marketing plan aimed at misinforming doctors about the drug’s addictive potential, and it is this false advertising campaign that seeded the current opioid epidemic — an epidemic so great it has even lowered the national life expectancy.
Purdue Pharma, owned by the Sackler family, was one of the most successful in this regard, driving sales of OxyContin up from $48 million in 1996 to $1.5 billion in 20027. Studies now show addiction affects about 26% of those using opioids for chronic non-cancer pain, and 1 in 550 patients on opioid therapy dies from opioid-related causes within 2.5 years of their first prescription8. Meanwhile, Purdue’s sales representatives were extensively coached on how to downplay the drug’s addictive potential, claiming addiction was occurring in less than 1% of patients being treated for pain. Evidence also shows Sackler family members were intimately involved with the marketing machinations behind OxyContin9,10. In fact, attorney Mike Moore — who represents Ohio, Louisiana, and Mississippi in lawsuits against Purdue Pharma — claims to have evidence connecting the Sackler family “directly, and personally, to corporate misdeeds” committed in the 1990s and 2000s11. In 2007, Purdue Pharma did plead guilty to charges of misbranding “with intent to defraud and mislead the public,” and paid $634 million in fines12. Alas, a decade later, it’s quite clear the company has not changed its ways to any significant degree. It, and the Sackler family, is still in the business of profiting from addiction.
OxyContin Maker Patents Opioid Addiction Treatment
As reported by STAT News earlier this month, Dr. Richard Sackler — who, according to Esquire journalist Christopher Glazek13, was deeply involved in the marketing of OxyContin as head of the company’s research and development, sales, and marketing divisions — was awarded a patent for a new, faster-dissolving form of buprenorphine, a mild opioid drug used in the treatment of opioid addiction. As noted by STAT News14:
“… Sackler is listed as one of six inventors on the patent, which was issued in January [2018] … Critics told the [Financial Times] that they were disturbed that the patent could enable Sackler to benefit financially from the addiction crisis that his family’s company is accused of fueling.”
Indeed, the company is currently fighting more than 1,000 lawsuits brought by tribes, cities, counties, and states across the U.S., which claim Purdue Pharma helped orchestrate the opioid addiction epidemic and should therefore help pay for the societal costs. President Trump has also stated he would like to see a federal lawsuit be brought against opioid makers15. Apparently, Sackler decided to pursue avenues to cash in on the epidemic instead. Salon magazine16 reported on the patent saying, “Sackler made billions off of sales of a drug that caused a massive public health crisis — and now he stands to make more billions by selling the public a solution.”
Purdue Pharma Secretly Owned Generic OxyContin Too
As reported by Financial Times17 and the New York Post18, the Sackler family also secretly owns Rhodes Pharma, “one of the biggest producers of generic opioids, which had never before been linked to the family.” What’s more, this company was launched just four months after Purdue Pharma’s guilty plea back in 2007. When combined, Purdue Pharma and Rhodes Pharma account for about 6% of the total opioid market in the U.S. So, “not only did the Sacklers fail to scale back its marketing of OxyContin after the plea, they further cashed in on the pill crisis — by launching the second firm and selling more of the drug under a different name,” the New York Post writes, adding: “Rhodes [Pharma] was set up as a ‘landing pad’ in case the under-fire drug maker needed a clean start amid the 2007 criminal charges, a former senior manager at Purdue told the paper. Together, both firms accounted for 14.4 million opioid prescriptions in 2016. Rhodes Pharma also makes other highly addictive opiates such as morphine, oxycodone, and hydromorphone, according to the FDA.”
Purdue Pharma to Offer Free Opioid Addiction Therapy
Sackler’s new buprenorphine patent is actually held by Rhodes Pharma and, according to Bloomberg, Purdue has offered to donate an undisclosed number of treatment doses of this drug as part of any settlement that might come out of the 1,000 lawsuits currently pending. University of Kentucky law professor Richard Ausness told Bloomberg: “I’d have to say this is a pretty clever move. Over the last 20 years, Purdue hasn’t shown any real contrition or remorse, so I see this offer of free step-down drugs as a savvy negotiating tactic to limit what they have to pay in any settlement.”
Opioids Still Being Widely Overprescribed
In related news, research19 published in the Annals of Internal Medicine shows nearly one-third of opioid prescriptions given in an outpatient setting are not backed by a documented medical reason for the prescription20, suggesting the drugs are still being widely overprescribed and misused. According to the authors, their findings “show the need for stricter rules on patients’ needs for the highly addictive drugs.” Of the opioid prescriptions handed out during 809 million doctor’s visits across the U.S. between 2006 and 2015, only 5% were prescribed for cancer-related pain; more than 66% were given for non-cancer pain — the most common being back pain, diabetes-related pain, and arthritis — while just over 28% were prescribed in cases where no pain-related condition could be ascertained in the patient’s medical record. Curiously, the most common nonpain conditions for which an opioid was prescribed were high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Seeing how doctors are largely failing to significantly cut down on opioid prescriptions, might cutting insurance coverage do the trick? Both Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida have stopped paying for OxyContin, and as of January 2019, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee will no longer pay for it either21. They all still pay for other brands of opioids, though, which may water down the impact of the decision. According to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, the decision to drop OxyContin was primarily based on the fact that it still has a higher street value and is easier to crush, snort, or inject than other opioids.
Struggling With Opioid Addiction? Seek Help!
Regardless of the brand, it’s vitally important to realize that opioids are extremely addictive drugs that are not meant for long-term use for nonfatal conditions. Chemically, opioids are very similar to heroin, and if you wouldn’t consider shooting up heroin for that toothache or backache, you really should reconsider taking an opioid to relieve the pain as well.
The misconception that opioids are harmless pain relievers has at this point killed hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed the lives of countless more, including the families and friends of those who have died. Don’t be so quick to be the next in line. Some marketing materials for opioids still claim the drug will not cause addiction “except in very rare cases,” describing the adverse effects patients experience when quitting the drug as a “benign state” and not a sign of addiction. This simply isn’t true. Panic is one psychological side effect commonly experienced when quitting these drugs, and…