13/9/05
This
is one of the best articles about the OxyContin travesty
in the U.S. I have read in a long while.
 However,
I would like to make one important point: The volume of
chronic, NON-CANCER pain patients truly needing OxyContin
or other opioids long-term, has been persistently over-stated
by certain so-called "pain experts" and Purdue
Pharma [which is how this company fraudulently bloated its
sales of OxyContin to make absurd profits]. Millions of
pain patients who never needed this drug became "hooked"
and dependent on it in order "to feel normal and to
function", and now these prescription drug addicts
or "chemical copers" [who get a continued legitimate
supply from their physicians] are part of the army of chronic
pain patients [added to those needy patients with severe
pain from cancer and those with pain from other types of
intractable tissue disease or damage] who are now "fighting
like mad" against any restrictions which will threaten
their supply. As a example, these "opioid pushers"
have stated that opioids should be used much more often
to treat the 25 million people with arthritis, whereas,
in reality, the percent of patients with arthritis who truly
need these drugs is less than 5%, mostly in patients with
painful end-stage osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis
who have not responded to other therapies and are not candidates
for surgery.
Beneficial
non-narcotic therapies are often downplayed in favor of
opioids by these "white coat" drug pushers, many
of whom are also paid consultants for Purdue and other opioid
companies, some of which like Purdue have also hired former
FDA officials for big salaries.
Thanks again for a great article.
Stephen
G. Gelfand, MD, FACP
Rheumatologist, USA
16/9/05
Thanks
for the excellent portrayal of the truth about Oxycontin.
It has led to an epidemic of new drug use across the country
that is leaving families devastated....
My tie to this problem began in 2003, when I received a
call at work that my 72 year old mother had been brutally
murdered, and my younger sister was in surgery for injuries
to her neck, chest and arms from an attack by her ex boyfriend
who had broken into my mother's home to steal prescription
drugs. He was picked up shortly after the murder with several
pill bottles in his car prescribed to my sister, who was
suffering from addiction.
Following
my mother's funeral and my sister's release from hospital
for her near fatal injuries she chose to stay with a friend.
A month later her addiction had worsened and she checked
into rehab. She only stayed a few days and left. I called
her 'primary care doctor' and told his staff not to prescribe
drugs to her, as she was addicted. I also called the police
and they held her until we could get her to another rehab
clinic and an officer also talked to my sister's medical
staff about her situation. She stayed in the second rehab
clinic for about forty days and was released. While waiting
for a half-way house, which had a long waiting list, she
arranged for a man she'd met in treatment to drive her back
to her hometown of Orange, Texas. On the way she called
her doctor and he arranged for her to receive a prescription
from a pharmacy. She then stopped by her friend's home for
a few hours. The next morning she was found dead.
The
report said she died from an accidental overdose of Oxycondone.
This was the ONLY drug found in her system at that time.
I began to try and get my sister's medical records and pharmacy
profiles, which was another problem. In Texas, only a spouse,
parent or child can obtain these records, and with the recent
passage of tort reform, attorneys are rarely interested
in such cases. I finally received an affidavit of heirship
and was allowed to get her medical records from her family
doctor and pain management doctor. I also received pharmacy
profiles from four pharmacies. There was one pharmacy in
Orange that refused to give me her records. I sent them
the affidavit of heirship and they had their lawyer send
me a letter stating that in order for me to get these records,
I had to appear in person with proper ID to get the copies
I had requested. My only living sister and I drove five
hours from Austin to Orange, Texas to do this.
When
we arrived we were told by pharmacy staff that they did
not have the records, and that the owner of the pharmacy,
who was absent at the time of our visit, had those records
in her possession. We drove to the attorney's office's that
sent us the letter, but being a Friday afternoon his office
was closed. We left several messages that to this day have
not been returned. We later returned to the pharmacy, where
we were told the owner would not be back until Monday. Fed
up with these delays we informed the pharmacy that we could
not make this trip back and decided to just sit and wait.
The pharmacist then called the police and we were informed
that if we did not leave we would be charged for criminal
trespassing' After refusing to leave, further police were
called, and though reluctant to arrest us we were told that
if we did not leave the pharmacy premises they would be
forced to act. It was obviously a very distressing incident'
I
filed complaints with the medical examiners office against
the two doctors that had prescribed drugs to my sister.
The pain management doctor left town and nothing was done
to him. Our complaint against the family doctor resulted
in receipt of a letter stating that the situation had not
been deemed reasonable for investigation, however he did
lose his license on the grounds of "over prescribing
to a known drug abuser for sexual favors." This was
not from my complaint but from another lady that had lost
a daughter to addiction. The doctor retired with a party
and was praised for his good work for the community. He
was 82 years old.
After
several complaints and numerous letters I finally had the
pharmacy board write a letter of warning to my sister's
primary pharmacy for dispensing hundreds of narcotics to
her. This took me over a year and a half. And I STILL never
got the profiles from them.
I did get my sister's medical records, however, which indicated
that she receiving hundreds of drugs a month from her two
doctors with little documentation to support the need to
dispense such an amount to her. Most of my sister's drugs
were provided by one pharmacy.
What
I have pieced together from medical and other records is
that in the last few months of her life this one particular
pharmacy dispensed:
8-26-93
Soma 350mg #150
8/26 Xanax 2mg #90
8/18 Oxycontin 80 mg #90
7/25/03
Oxycontin 40mg #90
7/7 Xanax 2mg #90
7/7 Soma 350mg #150
7/2 Oxycontin 40 mg #120
7/2 Percocet 10/325 #60
6/23/03
Hydromorphine #30
6/21 Oxy IR 5mg #60
6/21 Oxycontin 40mg #60
6/20 Xanax 2mg #100
6/9 Soma 350mg #150
5/23/03
Xanax 2mg #100
5/13 Xanax 2mg #90
5/13 Soma 350mg #150
5/9/03 Oxycontin 40mg #120
5/9 Percocet 10/325 #60
5/9 Xanax 2mg #90
All
this and I still have not received the requested records
from her other pharmacy.
I
have now filed a HIPPA complaint with the Department of
Health and Human Services, but have not received reply as
of yet.
I
contacted a couple of attorneys that refused the case due
to the high cost of filling a suit of this nature' and that
it was not worth investing their time and money into a case
that would potentially yield a small claim.
Respectfully,
Darlene Taylor
Austin, Texas
16/9/05
 I
lost my only son (18) due to this dangerous drug that should
NOT be so easily available for experimenting teens to buy
on the street'
Q:
Why do I blame Purdue Pharma for the abuse of their drug?
A:
The trail of addiction and death due to the Oxycontin epidemic
was fueled by the over prescribing and easy street access
to this powerful narcotic.
Instead
of acknowledging the problem, Purdue denied it while aggressively
marketing this powerful narcotic to general practitioners
for moderate pain. They downplayed the risks and exaggerated
the benefits, however they were not selling widgets but
a powerful drug that sometimes causes death and addiction.
Here
are just a few of the many examples of their corporate greed
that have been documented'
*
Sales Reps have come forward to reveal the aggressive marketing
practices that Purdue trained them to use. "Targeting General
Practitioners", telling them that less than 1% of patients
get addicted and it is less abuseable. One Rep claims to
have been fired for refusing to deal with 'pill mill' doctors.
*
Purdue knew which doctors were writing enormous amounts
of Oxycontin scripts but never offered this data to law
enforcement even after all the death reports were coming
in.
*
In 2001 alone, Purdue spent 200 million dollars in advertising
well after several reported deaths.
*
Many of the death and addiction stories are from patients
who never should have been prescribed Oxycontin.
*
Purdue claimed they were shocked that people were crushing
Oxycontin even though there is proof they were warned that
this had happened to their other time-released drug MSContin.
*
A Clinical Researcher for Purdue Pharma alleges in a lawsuit
filed against the company that he informed Purdue of a design
flaw in the drug's timed-release coating. He claims that
he was told not to alert Purdue's in-house Drug Regulators
or those of the government, and shortly thereafter he was
terminated.
*
Purdue Pharma approached the FDA for Oxycontin's approval
with the claim that their "research" indicated
that less than 1% of those using the drug would develop
an addiction. Recent media reports refute that claim, contending
that Purdue Pharma had evidence that the addiction rate
would be much higher.
*
Many Elected and Law Enforcement Officials who once fought
the Oxycontin epidemic have since been hired by Purdue Pharma.
They now tout Oxycontin's "safety and effectiveness",
as paid employees of the company.
*
"Cutting a deal" with then Florida State Attorney
General Bob Butterworth on his last day in office, who accepted
a 2 million dollar donation for a prescription monitoring
program which was engineered by his best friend who Purdue
had hired as a lobbyist to drop the state investigation
into the companies marketing practices.
*
The FDA warning letters to Purdue Pharma, concerning the
"false and misleading" advertising in magazines
and promotional handout materials.
*
The recent ruling by a New York Federal Judge, indicating
that Purdue Pharma misled government officials, in order
to prevent other companies from marketing a generic form
of Oxycontin.
*
Attempting now to get a timed released Dilaudid pill 'Palladone'
approved for moderate pain.
Many
more examples of Purdue Pharma's corporate greed can be
found at www.oxyabusekills.com.
Thanks,
Ed Bisch
RAPP - Relatives Against Purdue Pharma
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