The Problem Of Pain Management

Over the past two decades, pharmaceutical companies have quietly invaded American’s homes by introducing new miracle drugs such as OxyContin into their daily lives. Purdue Pharmaceuticals introduced OxyContin saying it was a miracle cure for pain that would last twelve hours. However, “even when doctors began reporting that patients were complaining

The United States of America has had a war against drugs since the 37th president, Richard Nixon, declared more crimination on drug abuse in June 1971. From mid-1990s to today, a crisis challenges the health department and government on opioid regulation, as millions of Americans die due overdoses of painkillers. Opioids are substances used as painkillers, and they range from prescription medications to the illegal drug, heroin. Abusing these substances can cause a dependency or addiction, which can lead to overdoses, physical damages, emotional trauma, and death. To ease the crisis, physicians are asked to depend on alternatives to pain management. Law enforcement cracks down on profiting drug-dealers and heroin abusers. People are warned against misusing opioids. The controversy begins for those who suffer from chronic pain, because they depend on opioids. There’s so a correlation to the 1980s cocaine epidemic, and people are upset over racial discrimination. Nonetheless, the best way to avoid this crisis is to recover the people at risk, reduce inappropriate opioid description, and have a proper response.

Chronic pain is a tremendous public health problem, and a costly one. As health care advances and the need for palliative care rises, patients and health care providers are constantly investigating alternative methods of pain treatment and management. Questioning and challenging traditional health policies and practices has created a curiosity in the use of cannabis as an alternative option to standard opioids, for the management of chronic pain. Cannabis, is a leafy green plant consisting of buds and leaves of the cannabis sativa forma indica plants. Marijuana has been used in holistic solutions for hundreds of years; it has also been especially prevalent among terminally ill patients, who have been reported using it to alleviate symptoms like chronic pain, nausea and depression.

Purdue Pharmacy is the company that is responsible for producing Oxycontin. It has a very complicated background, including the effort that was made to sell it, as well as neglecting to tell the public how addictive Oxycontin truly was. There are numerous actors involved in this case, who are guilty in committing crime. After careful research we have decided that the Oxycontin case is a Corporate Crime, as well as an Implicit Act of Commision, which will be explained in more detail below. Oxycontin is a drug that is still on the market and affecting millions of people today, which is why we want to highlight how Purdue Pharmacy is participating in crime. Before we can discuss the crimes involved, we have to begin with the background of

In the early 1990’s many doctors were hesitant in prescribing narcotics because they were seen as harmful and habit forming. Purdue Pharma the creator of OxyContin changed the ways of the drug industry. Purdue changed the mindset of many physicians and family doctors inconveniencing them that the new to the market drug was revolutionary, with promises of quick pain relief that last up to 12 hours. With marketing adds like “Remember, effective relief just takes two” Purdue Pharma convinced doctors that it was virtually impossible to become addicted (HARRIET RYAN, 2016). The rise of OxyContin started in 1996. OxyContin

The documentary points to a company called Pharma Purdue, which seemed to have caused a momentum in drug addictions and deaths, after releasing a drug called Oxycontin (Oxycodone). Originally it was pushed as a pain medication, supposedly not as addictive as other pain medications. "Oxycontin was not really a new drug. The molecule has been around since 1916. What they did is, they took this old extinct drug, and they introduced a time release mechanism into it so that it would be significantly less addictive because it wouldn 't be released upfront, all at once. That’s how they pitched it to the FDA" (Katherine Eban, Fortune).

OxyContin is a controlled drug containing oxycodone, the active ingredient responsible for eliminating the pain associated with: injuries, bursitis, dislocation, fractures, neuralgia, arthritis, lower back pain, and pain associated with cancer. When taken according to the proper dosage, the oxycodone runs on a perfectly timed release in the body’s system in order to manage the pain. This narcotic, when abused, produces heroin like effects and can enable the user to develop a tolerance, forcing an increase in dosage per intake in order to achieve the desired effects. Though OxyContin is

Following the guidelines by policymakers and the CDC to limit prescription of opioid medications, there have been numerous instances that highlight the pharmaceutical industry’s role in propagating initiatives that are contrary to these guidelines hence thwarting the fight against opioid abuse (Bement et al., 2014). The opioid pharmaceutical market is worth about $ 10 billion in sales annually which explains why the pharmaceutical industry would be reluctant in joining the fight against opioid abuse. The pharmaceutical industry perceives the fight against opioid use as a setback. As a result, the industry is constantly looking for measures to earn more profits by aggressively expanding the market for more drugs that are related to opioid use such that the answer to opioid addiction is to use more pills. The pharmaceutical industry is aggressively manufacturing alternative drugs to treat the side-effects of opioid use like constipation. Historically, the pharmaceutical industry has been accused of providing misleading information concerning the addictive features of some opioid medications which further frustrates the initiatives to stop opioid abuse since the addiction levels will be high for

Individuals who use Opioids are Addicts. The history of this very debatable topic is very educational and

that the increase in production of OPR has closely paralleled the increase in overdose rates.

After nearly 15 years on the market, the feds finally put a little pressure on Purdue and as a result they rolled out a new formulation of the drug that made it virtually impossible to snort, inject, or smoke the pill. So abuse of oxycontin declined drastically and even though there were still many other highly addictive opiates on the market including drugs with the same active ingredient, prescription drug overdoses decreased by 20% over the next two years. Awesome right? But there's a catch. Heroin overdoses increased by 23% in those same two years (2010-2012). When the old formulation of oxycontin was taken off the market opiate pills became harder to find on the black market and street prices skyrocketed. So the oxycontin addict was forced to make a decision: either pay the premium price, get help, face excruciating withdrawals and temporarily lose all functionality as a member of society, or turn to the less expensive, more potent, and readily available option which was heroin. Sadly, many addicts choose the latter option. Now, since there is no way for the addict to truly to know how much narcotic they are ingesting when using heroin, cases like this one happen every

These big drug companies like Purdue Pharma, started out with their marketing campaign that said that OxyContin was a good drug even for minor pain, promising that it was not addictive. This type of misinformation started the pro-opioid movement that quickly swept the nation. Purdue Pharma’s multimillion dollar campaign that convinced the masses that opioids were good for Chronic pain, and non-malignant pain conditions, should be treated with Opioids. It was

Chronic pain is a tremendous public health problem, and a costly one. As health care advances and the need for palliative care rises, patients and health care providers are constantly investigating alternative methods of pain treatment and management. Questioning and challenging traditional health policies and practices has created an interest in the use of cannabis as an alternative option to standard opioids, for the management of chronic pain. Cannabis, or marijuana, is a leafy green plant consisting of buds and leaves of the cannabis sativa forma indica plants. Marijuana has been used in holistic solutions for hundreds of years; it has also been especially prevalent among terminally ill cancer patients, who have been reported using it to alleviate symptoms like chronic pain, nausea and depression.

Oxycodone, often sold as OxyContin, is an opiate drug that come is an opioid that comes from the poppy plant. Sometimes, Oxycodone will be combined with over-the-counter pain relievers like acetaminophen or ibuprofen to increase the effective and potency of the drug. In all of its forms, Oxycodone changes the way the central nervous system responds to pain by creating a euphoric and sedative effect. This time-released painkiller meant for patients who need of moderate to severe pain relief after surgery or a major

Conspiracy theories are an integral part of society to answer the world’s unexplained questions. It is a theory that explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators (Merriam-Webster). There are various ways to categorize these theories. According to Jesse Walker, there are five kinds: The enemy outside, the enemy within, the enemy above, the enemy below, and benevolent conspiracies (p. __). On the other hand Michael Barkun believes there are three types: event conspiracy, systematic conspiracy, and super-conspiracy (p. 6). The conspiracy theory at hand revolves around Purdue Pharmaceuticals (Purdue Pharma), and their release of opioids. Opium is a plant that was used from 1804 to now. In 1972 Contin was put on the market at a controlled drug-release system (Purdue Pharma L.P.). In 1984 MS Contin was put on the market as an extended-release formula of morphine, and in 1996 OxyContin was put on the market as an extended-release formula of Oxycodone (Van Zee). These drugs were released in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. According to the Center for Addiction and Mental Health these drugs are commonly used for pain and recreational use (__). Purdue Pharmaceuticals did not notify doctors and patients of the drug’s addictive properties, thus creating the opioid addiction epidemic in America. Due to them concealing the truth, a six hundred million dollar lawsuit was settled in May 2007, with more lawsuits to come