The Opioid Epidemic - A.K.A The Crisis of Addiction

Good news, bad news...

https://www.npr.org/2020/10/21/9261...l-with-justice-department-over-oxycontin-sale

Purdue Pharma Reaches $8B Opioid Deal With Justice Department Over OxyContin Sales

The Justice Department announced on Wednesday a global settlement of civil and criminal investigations into Purdue Pharma's aggressive marketing of opioid medications, including OxyContin.

Federal officials have long maintained Purdue's actions helped fuel a prescription opioid epidemic that has killed more than 232,000 Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But the deal unveiled Wednesday morning, which includes three felony guilty pleas, won't result in company officials or members of the Sackler family, who own Purdue Pharma, serving prison time. However, Justice Department officials said this deal doesn't preclude future criminal prosecutions of individuals involved in Purdue Pharma's opioid marketing practices. They said those separate investigations are ongoing.​

 

Not only those drugs, but also benzodiazepines (sedatives). I am guessing there is a huge market which doesn't usually get mentioned as often as opiates.


People may not know if the the street medications they purchase contain fentanyl, which is cheaper and more potent than other drugs, because the pills are made to look exactly like prescription medications such as Xanax, oxycodone, Percocet, Norco, and others.

For example, counterfeit Xanax pills, sold for as little as $5 on the street, include a deadly combination of Xanax and fentanyl. These pills have caused numerous deaths and overdoses nationwide, including here in Carroll County.

https://cchd.maryland.gov/alert-cou...fentanyl-related-overdoses-in-carroll-county/

 

I can't speak to Canada, but in the areas here in the US, due to prior access, and all the issues surrounding the stay-in-place orders as well as all the businesses closing or being restricted, there has been an uptick. Additionally, there has been an increase in fentanyl, so there has been an increase in death rates. Though fentanyl is a bit of a different issue because it is getting mixed in with other drugs.

 

What is that about?