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Sunday, February 25, 2018

How To Kill 300,000 Americans (And Get Away With It)

If someone wanted to kill 300,000 Americans and get away with it, they could not have accomplished it more effectively than our government has accomplished it with the opioid epidemic.

If someone— let's say good old Uncle Sam—wanted to kill 300,000 Americans, they would go about it as detailed in this step-by-step guide. This also just so happens to be precisely how our government did go about it.

Step 1 – In 1996, Uncle Sam would award a 17-year government patent monopoly to Purdue Pharma to be the exclusive supplier of OxyContin, an addictive and potentially deadly opioid painkiller. This would ensure that they had a massive multi-billion-dollar profit incentive to get as many people addicted as possible without any generic competition to keep this profit motive in check.

Step 2 – To further fuel the use of OxyContin, Uncle Sam would cover the cost of it through Medicaid and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). This would ensure that there were billions of dollars available to fund the purchase of massive quantities of the addictive and potentially deadly substance.

Step 3- For further assurance more people become dependent on opioids, Uncle Sam would enact growth-retardant public policies such as mountains of regulation and exorbitant taxation, exacerbating the link between depression, poverty, and opioid dependence.

Step 4 – Uncle Sam would make pain the “fifth vital sign” and financially penalize any hospital that got poor reviews or ratings for not adequately treating pain, encouraging hospitals to hand out opioids like candy.

Step 5 – Uncle Sam would ban medical marijuana, depriving those in pain of a viable non-opioid alternative.

Step 6 – Uncle Sam would allow doctors to be sued for medical malpractice for not adequately treating pain,ensuring they prescribed even more opioids.

Step 7 – Uncle Sam would then move many opioid painkillers to Schedule 2, which would prohibit refills. This would ensure that doctors prescribed a 30-day supply for patients that needed a 3-days’ supply, just to “keep the patient from having to come back to get a new prescription if they need it.”

Step 8 – Uncle Sam would then allow the profit motive of the patent monopoly, the free money of Medicaid and SSDI, the “fifth vital sign,” and the fear of being sued for medical malpractice to continue to fuel an increase in OxyContin prescriptions until the year 2010, leaving many millions of Americans addicted to opioids.

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23 comments:

Anonymous said...

They've been doing the same thing with the nicotine poison. Back the big companies and allow them to market their poison to military and people with anxiety depression illnesses.

Anonymous said...

Yep all because a harmless plant is in competion. Can grow your own medicine and WE DONT NEED BIG PHARMA. Therein lies the problem.
Suicide rates up, physcho shooters, bad side effects. Admit it big pharma you failed us.

Anonymous said...

Believe it.

Anonymous said...

Add in abortion centers strategically located in minority neighborhoods.

Anonymous said...

I am a person of 60 and it was about 20 years ago I heard and read of a few incidents where the government actually sickened and murdered people. Syphillis to black men in Tuskegee. Pertusis over northern New York and off the top of my head there was something over Washington State (can't remember the substance)that was dropped.
So absolutely let the buyer beware. and make no mistake this opioid crisis is government made by the Obama administration.

Anonymous said...

300,000 is a very low estimate.

Concerned Retiree said...

Blame the FDA, AMA and Pharmaceutical companies they are the ones that approve these medications that are so addictive.

Anonymous said...

I call complete BS!!!! Just where is any responsibility to the end user? As a doctor for 34 years, I have seen hundreds, if not thousands of patients utilize these opioids when needed, and return to normal much quicker, with tolerable pain. I have also not seen ONE "child" become an abuser with interactive, responsible parents. Go ahead, eliminate pain control, until YOU have a serious injury or cancer.

Anonymous said...

The pills didn't kill the people, people killed them. I've never seen a pill jump into a person's mouth or crush itself up to and inject itself into a vein.

Anonymous said...


Step 1. is a standard patent award. It means you've invented something unique or come up with a better mousetrap. You get a 17 year exclusive before others can copy your idea and reduce your sales and profits.

Profit is not a dirty word. It allows Joe the luxury to run the blog, and all of the endowed schools at SU, for example, owe their endowments to successful people who elected to share with others.

Depending upon the market reception for your idea, and your ability to find customers while manufacturing and distributing it you might make bank, break even or lose your shirt.

Opoid abuse, and deaths due to abuse are sad. But there are obviously many legitimate uses for the products in question.

Not tied to any of those making a buck from this topic, so useful product in too many of the wrong hands.

Concerned Retiree said...

2:51 it is a shame that rational does not work with mass shootings just Liberals screaming gun control. Are you one of those who believes your comment does not apply to everything just selected circumstances.

Anonymous said...

I couldn't agree more! A few with no self discipline are going to really hurt those that will suffer needlessly. Spot on!

Doug W. said...

Well from the deaths I have read about, were not losing any good people, just drug addicts. It isn't like fireman, cops, doctors, are dying, it seems to be losers.

Anonymous said...

Doug W. @ 6:19 PM I hope my comment finds it's way to you. YOU are a LOSER and a heartless piece of s*it A-hole to make such an IGNORANT comment. You better hope none of those "just drug addicts" turn up in YOUR circle. Yes, I who have never so much as taken a hit off a joint lost a young family member who was an Iraq veteran that returned with PTSD. VA not worth a damn-didn't help him. He was good enough to fight for YOUR worthless ass to have the right to spew your ignorant opinions. You aren't good enough to wipe his ass...go to HELL!

Anonymous said...

YES.

You know what causes illegal use? The under prescription of effective pain medicine. Pain is an extremely powerful, horrific motivator. Desperate patients, in unrelieved agony from legitimate injuries or serious illness, turned away by those who hold the power to stop the torment that destroys lives.

If legal, medically prescribed relief is denied, a desperate, suffering human will do whatever it takes to end the physical horror. Even if that means taking measures otherwise unthinkable.

Bob said...

Geez, 7:14 you need a chill pill, Doug is really just stating a fact that was said by an Obama staffer in 2016.
The statistics agree, 90% of the overdoses are from chronic users.
Very few of the dead have been what society considers, "Good People".
Does something need to be done? Well, until more "Good People" die, not much will change.

You realise since Nixon was president we have been "Fighting a war on Drugs", and it has drained Trillions out of our economy.

It is time I think, we call it quits, and let them do what they are going to do.
From my experience, drug users are the weaker minded people, so IMO, it is culling the herd.

As for the Vet, well, the VA has loads of programs for those whom have mental problems, maybe you should have encouraged him to join one.

Anonymous said...

Seems most agree, the users should be held far more accountable, to easy to blame everyone else. Same with part time parents that swear it wasn't thier fault, never is :(

Anonymous said...

Marajuana Legal / Cocaine next / then ??? anything Govt
can TAX !!!!

Anonymous said...

Wow Bob @ 9:33 PM ... so you're a PILL PUSHER huh? Shame on you! You might be able to get yourself a high paying job with BIG PHARMA! I don't depend on pills to get me through life...I DEAL WITH IT...you should too! There was nothing "weak minded" about the young man - he was actually quite intelligent. In case you haven't noticed, when GOVERNMENT becomes involved it's ALWAYS a "war" on something...be it drugs, insurance, taxes, healthcare...pay attention! You sound like one of those that should be "culled from the herd" in some way ;) As for the VA, programs, etc. what he did or DID not do or "join"...more ignorance rearing it's head...YOU are clueless...SAD!

Old Vet said...

I agree with Bob, vet needed to ask for help, he would have received it. If he was to wasted to ask for it, than that dear uncle should have stepped up and helped.

Larry said...

I will chime in here and say, maybe the OD death of that vet saved a bunch of lives. He could have gone and shot a bunch of innocent people, or kids. His uncle said he was mental, and needed help.
God works in mysterious ways, just sayn.

Anonymous said...

it seems that the move to legalize marijuana has unintended consequences. without the profit from illegal pot the drug lords are moving all their efforts into highly addictive opiates where profits far exceed pot profits our society is being ripped apart by policies of progressives

Anonymous said...

The VA does nothing to help veterans. When you actually try to get treatment properly and use meds properly you have to fight the stigma and accusations of wanting to get high. PTSD is a mother****** and the garbage SSRI they're pushing now only makes it worse