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Big Pharma Channeled Opioids to Black Market
April 6th, 2017
Contributing writer for Wake Up World
The opioid overdose epidemic in the U.S. killed more than 33,000 people in 2015, which is more than any other year on record, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While the opioids referenced include both heroin and prescription opioids, nearly half of overdose deaths involve prescription drugs.1
Prescription opioids such as oxycodone (OxyContin), hydrocodone (Vicodin), morphine and methadone are widely prescribed for pain relief. Initially, they were intended to treat severe pain following surgery or injury or due to illnesses such as cancer. However, they’re now increasingly prescribed for many types of pain, including chronic back pain or pain from osteoarthritis.
Between 1999 and 2015, opioid prescriptions nearly quadrupled in the U.S. despite reported pain levels remaining stagnant. Overdose deaths involving prescription opioids similarly quadrupled, killing more than 183,000 Americans. By 2014 nearly 2 million Americans were dependent on or had abused the drugs2 — and the situation is only getting worse, with reports that opioid maker Purdue Pharma knowingly allowed its drugs to be funneled into the black market.
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