The controversy pertaining to the Opioid Crisis continues to heat up as additional states are filing lawsuits against the various pharmaceutical companies. Additionally, hundreds of individual cases are being consolidated into bellwether trials scheduled for 2019. As more information is being gathered, it will undoubtedly prove how devastating this drug truly is.The Opioid Crisis started in the 1990’s when a dangerous marketing campaign was launched by pharmaceutical companies in which they downplayed the risks of these dangerous drugs while overstating the benefits. This set the stage for doctors to overprescribe these pills to patients who were misled to believe that this treatment was both safe and effective. Unfortunately, in 2016, there were 24,000 deaths due to overdoses in the U.S. and two-thirds of those were attributed to opioids. Although opioid regulations are continually being put into place, The National Institute on Drug Abuse recently reported that, “Opioid overdoses increased 30 percent from July 2016 through September 2017 in 52 areas in 45 states [and] the Midwestern region saw opioid overdoses increase 70 percent from July 2016 through September 2017.”As opioid addiction and misuse continues be problematic, many patients and states are speaking out to hold the pharmaceutical companies, drug stores, and even the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) accountable for the astronomical number of opioid prescriptions that are being filled: In July, Minnesota became the 26th state to sue Purdue Pharma over it’s misrepresentation of the safety and efficacy of opioids. Attorney General Matt Denn of Delaware filed a suit against CVS and Walgreens based on the statistics that, “each year, more than 50 opioid pills are shipped into Delaware for every man, woman, and child in the state. When limited to persons – including those who received prescriptions for a week or less following minor medical procedures – who actually have used opioids, the estimated number is 440 pills per person per year.” Additionally, U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster in Cleveland ordered the DEA to turn over detailed information about the quantities of pills drug companies produced and shipped to prove the DEA’s “failures” to control the epidemic. To further strengthen the three bellwether cases that are taking place in Ohio, special master David Cohen has required “baseline evidence” about opioid sales to be presented to the court to contextualize the high sales numbers that were brought about due to the allegedly unlawful marketing practices that caused the current Opioid Crisis. “The scope of the opioid crisis can only be assessed against pre-crisis conditions,” Cohen explained.The Opioid Crisis is clearly an example of a perfect storm where a harmful drug was falsely promoted, overly distributed, and grossly under-regulated. If you suffer from an opioid addiction, call Periscope Group today. You were given misinformation that has created stress and difficulties in your life, and the pharmaceutical companies should be held accountable for putting profits above people.
For more information about opioid addiction, click here now. For interviews or to tell your story, contact Jennifer Stanich-Banmiller at (925) 964-1485 or at info@periscopegroup.com.
