The opioid crisis in the United States has left seemingly indelible marks on society, with far-reaching consequences that extend beyond immediate public health concerns. Revelations from Purdue Pharma CEO Dr. Craig Landau's testimony shed light on the intricate legal and financial entanglements resulting from the crisis. Landau's statements, coupled with insights from physicians and consulting firms, underscore the multifaceted nature of the crisis and the imperative for concerted action to address its enduring effects. In Dr. Landau’s testimony, he delves into Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy proceedings, revealing the monumental sacrifices demanded by the Sackler family, the principal stakeholders in the company. Landau explains the terms of Purdue …show more content…
Dr. Landau's testimony also underscores the need for collaborative efforts to address the crisis effectively. He emphasizes that “one prescription opioid manufacturer alone cannot end this public health crisis”. Any meaningful solution must involve input from the full array of stakeholders, including public health officials, other manufacturers, health insurers, distributors, academics, regulators, legislators, law enforcement, the addiction and recovery community, physicians, pain patients, and advocates for people with the disease of addiction” (Landau 6). This call for collective action underscores the complexity of the crisis and the imperative for comprehensive, multifaceted interventions. Physician Dr. William T. Fannin's testimony provides further insight into the origins and perpetuation of the crisis, illuminating the role of deceptive marketing practices employed by pharmaceutical manufacturers. Fannin recounts being misled by the manufacturer of OxyContin in his testimony, in which he stated, “I was advised by the manufacturer of OxyContin, through its employees and marketing materials, that OxyContin was less addictive, less prone to tolerance, and less prone to abuse than other …show more content…
The involvement of consulting firm McKinsey & Company in Purdue Pharma's affairs further highlights the ethical dilemmas and corporate accountability issues entwined with the opioid crisis. McKinsey's acknowledgment of its failure to consider the broader societal implications of its work with Purdue Pharma underscores a broader trend of ethical reckoning within corporate spheres. McKinsey's statement acknowledges their responsibility to account for the wider ramifications of their actions and signals a commitment to higher ethical standards in their future endeavors. This admission reflects a growing awareness of the ethical imperatives inherent in addressing public health crises and the imperative for corporations to prioritize social responsibility alongside profitability. The opioid crisis in the United States represents a complex and multifaceted challenge with enduring consequences for society. The revelations from Purdue Pharma CEO Dr. Craig Landau's testimony, coupled with insights from physicians and consulting firms, underscore the far-reaching impacts of the crisis and the imperative for concerted action to address its lingering
Prescription and pharmaceutical drug abuse is beginning to expand as a social issue within the United States because of the variety of drugs, their growing availability, and the social acceptance and peer pressure to uses them. Many in the workforce are suffering and failing at getting better due to the desperation driving their addiction.
Deontology theory defines an ethical action as one that adheres to a set of rules and duties. PharmaCARE’s actions are unethical by way of this moral compass because the firm has failed to perform in accordance with one very important duty, the duty to safeguard human dignity and basic human rights. Paying $1 a day to its workers and not providing them with even the most basic of amenities is a gross violation of the firm’s obligation to safeguard human rights, which in itself is a morally required behavior and applicable almost universally. PharmaCARE is not treating the Colberians like the treat their executives, nor are they treating the community there as they treat the communities in the
The documentary states that over 27,000 deaths a year are due to overdose from heroin and other opioids. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2015 prescription pain relievers account for 20,101 overdose deaths, and 12,990 overdose deaths are related to heroin (Rudd et al., 2010-2015). The documentary’s investigation gives the history of how the heroin epidemic started, with a great focus on the hospice movement. We are presented with the idea that once someone is addicted to painkillers, the difficulty in obtaining the drug over a long period of time becomes too expensive and too difficult. This often leads people to use heroin. This idea is true as a 2014 survey found that 94% of respondents who were being treated for opioid addiction said they chose to use heroin because prescription opioids were “more expensive and harder to obtain (Cicero et al., 2014).” Four in five heroin users actually started out using prescription painkillers (Johns, 2013). This correlation between heroin and prescription painkiller use supports the idea presented in the documentary that “prescription opiates are heroin prep school.”
Almost one hundred years ago, prescription drugs like morphine were available at almost any general store. Women carried bottles of very addictive potent opiate based pain killers in their purse. Many individuals like Edgar Allen Poe died from such addictions. Since that time through various federal, state and local laws, drugs like morphine are now prescription drugs; however, this has not stopped the addiction to opiate based pain killers. Today’s society combats an ever increasing number of very deadly addictive drugs from designer drugs to narcotics to the less potent but equally destructive alcohol and marijuana. With all of these new and old drugs going in and out of vogue with addicts, it appears that the increase of misuse and abuse is founded greater in the prescription opiate based painkillers.
In 1906, the Pure Food and Drug Act, that was years in the making was finally passed under President Roosevelt. This law reflected a sea change in medicine-- an unprecedented wave of regulations. No longer could drug companies have a secret formula and hide potentially toxic substances such as heroin under their patent. The law required drug companies to specify the ingredients of medications on the label. It also regulated the purity and dosage of substances. Not by mere coincidence was the law passed only about five years after Bayer, a German based drug company began selling the morphine derivative, heroin. Thought to be a safe, non-habit forming alternative to morphine, heroin quickly became the “cure-all drug” that was used to treat anything from coughs to restlessness. Yet, just as quickly as it became a household staple, many began to question the innocence of the substance. While the 1906 law had inherent weaknesses, it signaled the beginning of the end for “cure-all” drugs, such as opiate-filled “soothing syrups” that were used for infants. By tracing and evaluating various reports by doctors and investigative journalists on the medical use of heroin, it is clear that the desire for this legislative measure developed from an offshoot in the medical community-- a transformation that took doctors out from behind the curtain, and brought the public into a new era of awareness.
The United States of America accounts for only 5% of the world’s population, yet as a nation, we devour over 50% of the world’s pharmaceutical medication and around 80% of the world’s prescription narcotics (American Addict). The increasing demand for prescription medication in America has evoked a national health crisis in which the government and big business benefit at the expense of the American public.
Large pharmaceutical industries are making big profits on medications because they charge high prices for profit. These pharmaceutical companies are overcharging for medications that are essential to maintaining the health of patients. Having such a high cost for medication prevents patients from receiving the care that they need. This may result in patients resorting to desperate measure such as stealing and other illegal acts. The pharmaceutical industry need to reevaluate their ethical standards because the way that these companies are going about pricing their drugs is preventing patients from living a health life. These profits come at an expense of people who depend on those medications to maintain a quality of life. It is not ethical
By the year 2000 opioid medicine containing oxycodone etc., are being abused and misused and more than doubled in 10 years’ time.
Painkillers have been used for many years, and they have been beneficial to many. But one that recently took the market has been the topic of many controversial discussions. Oxycodone has always been used in modern medicine but in small amounts. OxyContin contained a higher amount of oxycodone than most opiate based pain killers, the weakest dose of OxyContin had double the amount found in said painkillers (Meier 12). This lead to the spread of abuse and addiction towards the drug. And a medicine made to do nothing but help became the subject of overdose and death. The creation of OxyContin was a triumph for modern medicine and a halo of light to people with chronic pains, but this drug now seems to carry a trail of addiction and abuse along with it.
Opioid’s chemical composition consist of many highly addictive substances which cause the human body to become quickly tolerant. Many opioid users become addictive to the substance because the doctors have been over prescribing. “In the United States, there were 14,800 annual prescribed opioid (PO) deaths in 2008” with the US having less restrictions (Fischer, Benedikt, et al 178). The United States have implemented more regulations so that “high levels of PO-related harms been associated with highly potent oxycodone formulas” will decrease (Fischer, Benedikt, et al 178). With the regulations, it does not change the fact that opioids are is destructive. The regulations assistance by lessening the probability of patients becoming addictive to opioid. There are numerous generations that are effected and harmed by the detrimental effects of opioids on opioid-dependent patients.
Opioid overdose is currently the most common cause of accidental death in Canada and the U.S. The opioid crisis is having a devastating effect on communities across Canada, taking its toll on opioid users as well as their friends and families.
On the typical day, over 90 people will die at the hand of opioid abuse in America alone (National). In fact, as of 2014, nearly 2 million Americans were dependent and abusing opioids. The Opioid Crisis has affected America and its citizens in various ways, including health policy, health care, and the life in populous areas. Due to the mass dependence and mortality, the crisis has become an issue that must be resolved in all aspects.
3Walker, Hugh: Market Power and Price levels in the Ethical Drug Industry; Indiana University Press, 1971, P 25.
The rate of death due to prescription drug abuse in the U.S. has escalated 313 percent over the past decade. According to the Congressional Quarterly Transcription’s article "Rep. Joe Pitt Holds a Hearing on Prescription Drug Abuse," opioid prescription drugs were involved in 16,650 overdose-caused deaths in 2010, accounting for more deaths than from overdoses of heroin and cocaine. Prescribed drugs or painkillers sometimes "condemn a patient to lifelong addiction," according to Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This problem not only affects the lives of those who overdose but it affects the communities as well due to the convenience of being able to find these items in drug stores and such. Not to mention the fact that the doctors who prescribe these opioids often tend to misuse them as well. Abusing these prescribed drugs can “destroy dreams and abort great destinies," and end the possibility of the abuser to have a positive impact in the community.
Wolf, M. (2011, June 4). We should declare an end to our disastrous war on drugs. Financial Times. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.consortiumlibrary.org/docview/870200965?accountid=14473