Oxy News And It Ticks Me Right Off

[iloveoxys03]

OxyContin Maker, 3 Execs Fined $634.5M

ABINGDON, Va. -
Purdue Pharma L.P., the maker of OxyContin, and three of its executives were ordered Friday to pay a $634.5 million fine for misleading the public about the painkiller's risk of addiction.
U.S. District Judge James Jones levied the fine on Purdue, its top lawyer and former president and former chief medical officer after a hearing that lasted about three-and-a-half hours. The hearing included statements by numerous people who said their lives were changed forever by addiction to OxyContin, a trade name for a long-acting form of the painkiller oxycodone.
Designed to be swallowed whole and digested over 12 hours, the pills can produce a heroin-like high if crushed and then swallowed, snorted or injected.
From 1996 to 2001, the number of oxycodone-related deaths nationwide increased fivefold while the annual number of OxyContin prescriptions increased nearly 20-fold, according to a report by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. In 2002, the DEA said the drug caused 146 deaths and contributed to another 318.
Purdue, its top lawyer and former president and former chief medical officer pleaded guilty in May to claiming to doctors that OxyContin was less addictive and less subject to abuse than other pain medications. The sentencing Friday ends the national case.
Michael Friedman, who retired in June as Purdue's president, general counsel Howard Udell and former chief medical officer Paul Goldenheim each pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of misbranding the drug. Of the total fine, $34.5 million was levied on those three.
Jones placed the company on probation for five years and each of the executives on probation for three years. He also ordered the three to perform 400 hours of community service related to prevention of prescription drug abuse.
Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani played a central role in negotiating on behalf of Purdue with federal prosecutors, but Jones said "I completely reject" suggestions that political influence resulted in a lesser punishment for Purdue.
Many of the nearly 20 speakers called for jail terms for Friedman, Udell and Goldenheim, saying the fines were a small price for the devastation to lives from OxyContin addiction.
"Money can't buy all the lives that are lost," said Robert Palmisano, 23, who said he was addicted to OxyContin for four years but has been off the drug for 17 months.
Attorneys for the three executives said giving them criminal convictions was punishment enough, and noted they were charged because of their job titles, not because they themselves promoted OxyContin as a drug with little addiction potential.
"They are not here today because of any acts of misconduct on their part," defense attorney Howard Shapiro said. "They are good men."
The speakers, many of whose children died after trying the drug only once, disagreed.
"I feel you are legal drug users, nothing more than a large corporate drug cartel," Lee Nuss of Palm (nasdaq: PALM - news - people ) Coast, Fla., said as she addressed the Purdue Pharma contingent.
Nuss held up a stone urn slightly larger than a pill bottle that she said contained her 18-year-old son's ashes.
Attorneys for both sides acknowledged the pain of those who had lost loved ones, but urged Jones to accept the plea agreement.
"By pleading guilty they acknowledged that doing nothing was not good enough," Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Ramseyer said. "We cannot bring those people back. It's not something this case can do."
Dillie Walker and his wife Joyce of Bay City, Mich., testified on behalf of Purdue that OxyContin has enabled them to function again despite chronic pain.
"I don't get high from it. It goes straight to my pain," Dillie Walker said.
But Kenny Keith of Roanoke said it took very little time for him to get addicted after he was prescribed OxyContin.
"The withdrawals were worse than the pain I was having," he said.
Jones said he would have preferred to have the plea agreements call for spending money on education of those at risk of drug abuse and treatment of those who are addicted to OxyContin. But Jones said he would not reject the agreement

you know why this tiks me right off is the fAct that most people who suffer from chronic pain like me i have 2 sliped disks and a bulge and many others who have been on oxy for a while have to change there meds cause of all the negative press about oxycontin makes your doctors not want to perscribe it any longer and it really upsets me with these so called victims of the evil pill they had pain or were in severe pAIN and there drs told them the risks of opiates and not to take more than perscribed and end up snorting the whole bottle i hope i dont need to use swim cause im just making comments and one more thing most of the case where people or teens ODed 79% purchased there oxys from the street ............

[keats]

This is one of the few instances in which drug abuse can be justifiably demonized. The illegal use of painkillers like oxycodone, resulting in injuries and deaths among inexperienced users, end up fucking over legitimate pain sufferers. Of course purdue pharma is at least partially to blame here, it seems pretty clear they continued to market oxycodone as safe when it clearly wasn't (something any painkiller user knew years ago). Of course it could also be argued by legalizing by regulating (with age restrictions and extreme warnings) and legalizing the sale of these drugs to begin with these sort of deaths wouldn't happen, and all pain sufferers could get treated.

[OccularFantasm]

Its not just oxys though. doctors hate to perscribe any painkiller for fear of lawsuit or whatever. Its truly pathetic. When i had my wisdom teeth out, they damaged the roots and some of the nerves in my jaw. they refused to give me anything to help with the pain. Well they gave me 7.5 hydrocodone for a week, which didn't touch the pain when i was on it, and certainly didn't when off of it. The only drug they were willing to give me was some tylenol 3, which is hardly even a real drug. All in all, fuck those pussy ass bitch doctors. In retrospect, i should have taken that fuck to court. For some reason docotrs think they have a right to tell us what we can and cannot have. Their lcense is to know what could help or not help, not to restirc our access to very much needed medicine. If your doctor fucks with you like this, take him to court, and get his medical license revoked. Those xxxxxxxxxxx won't know what hit em.

[iloveoxys03]

I agree with both of you keats your right an occular i am so pist at these so called pain manegement dr who are now treating pain with anti deressents have any of you herd about this yet? i hate all the negative media about oxy purdue pharma is being victimized by people who say oh i didnt know a opiate was habbit forming or those dumb asses who OD from there street oxys who to blame in my view the drug abuser not the pharmacutical company and because they target purdue my dr wont give me any oxy any more she rathher give me fenanyln patch and oxymorphone that makes perfect sense

[iloveoxys03]

[top]Ravenna pair indicted for selling painkiller Oxycontin

Marci Piltz
July 27, 2007

Bond remains at $500,000 cash for a Ravenna Township couple indicted Thursday following their arrests last week on charges of selling the powerful painkiller Oxycontin.
Carlos Brown, 77, and Brenda Brown, 54, were arraigned Friday before Judge Laurie Pittman in Portage County Common Pleas Court.
Carlos Brown was indicted Thursday by a Portage County grand jury on one count of aggravated possession of drugs, a first-degree felony; 12 counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs, all third-degree felonies; three counts of permitting drug abuse, all fifth-degree felonies; and four counts of child endangering, all first-degree misdemeanors, according to court records.
Brenda Brown was indicted on one count of aggravated possession of drugs; three counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs; three counts of complicity to aggravated trafficking in drugs, all third-degree felonies; 12 counts of permitting drug abuse; and four counts of child endangering.
A trial date of Sept. 25 has been set for each in Pittman's courtroom.
See Saturday's Record-Courier for complete coverage of this story

[Rio Fantastic]

This is what happens when good drugs get a reputation. If so many people didn't make such a song and dance about Oxycodone, this may have never happened. But, then again, can be a very dangerous thing to do. Claiming OxyContin is less addictive then other painkilling opiates is just a downright lie, and they knew they'd have to suffer for that kind of outrageous claim.