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twilightfog | 9 years ago

Statements like that immediately make me suspect the integrity of the article. Instead of reporting the actual figures of Oxycontin related overdoses, they bundle it with ALL overdoses over a year (which obviously would be a large enough number). Why didn't they mention the % of overdoses directly related to Oxy ? My assumption is that it would be significantly smaller number which didn't serve the article's purpose. Personally, I don't think its the Pharma's job to track if the pills are illegally prescribed. Just like its not an ISP's job to track if the internet is getting used for illegal downloads. They are absolutely right to assert that they "at all times complied with the law." and any conduct "did not interfere with legitimate patients getting medication". Moral arguments apart, they are simply not in the business of reporting their patients to law enforcement, nor they ever should.

discuss

order

danso|9 years ago

Are there official numbers that break it down by drug? I didn't see it on the CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/overdose.html

In this spreadsheet, the most granular category is Opoid Pain Relievers: https://www.drugabuse.gov/sites/default/files/overdose_data1...

Oxycontin's market share seems to be around 20%: http://www.jefferies.com/CMSFiles/Jefferies.com/files/Confer...

I don't think drug companies are held to account on whether doctors prescribe illegally...however they do get criticized/prosecuted for how they market their drugs: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2622774/#__ffn_s...

sehugg|9 years ago

Personally, I don't think its the Pharma's job to track if the pills are illegally prescribed.

Federal law, namely 21 CFR 1301.74(a) disagrees with you. And they're not reporting patients, they're reporting doctors that that are humongous outliers for prescribing certain painkillers.

jonknee|9 years ago

> Why didn't they mention the % of overdoses directly related to Oxy ? My assumption is that it would be significantly smaller number which didn't serve the article's purpose.

Most likely because the statistics aren't available.

> Moral arguments apart, they are simply not in the business of reporting their patients to law enforcement, nor they ever should.

Why should they be allowed to be in business at all when their product is so destructive?

dave_sullivan|9 years ago

> Why should they be allowed to be in business at all when their product is so destructive?

I don't think it's that simple.

If you're going to start doing heroin--which you shouldn't--oxy is a much safer form than street level heroin where you have no idea what you're getting.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman ODed and died because he didn't know what he was getting. Heroin is actually pretty safe, but it destroys your soul and you never really "cure" the addiction. Even still, I'd rather have oxy out there than tar heroin from Mexican drug cartels. And I'd rather spend government resources on something else.

eli|9 years ago

More than twice as many people are killed by automobiles every year.

DanBC|9 years ago

> Why didn't they mention the % of overdoses directly related to Oxy ?

When someone dies of an opioid overdose how do you know which opioid they overdosed on? How do you know they were using oxycontin or oxycodone?

oxide|9 years ago

Oxycontin was simply a massive dose of oxycodone, enough to kill an opiate-naive individual, wrapped in what might has well have been a candy shell.

Technically a time-release mechanism, it was easily defeated by anyone with a razor blade or a wet paper towel.

They aren't different drugs, and I'm sure Purdue has a finger in the oxycodone pie other than simply brand-name Oxycontin.

A little bit of old-fashioned police work would easily reveal what prescriptions a person was prescribed, a search of their personal property would reveal paraphenilia related to their drug use. Empty oxycontin bottles would indicated an oxycontin overdose. An empty syringe would indicate heroin abuse. Spent patches would indicate fentanyl abuse. etc

gozur88|9 years ago

It's worse than that. When a serious drug user ODs and the tox screen comes back with opioids, cocaine, and barbituates, how could you possibly assign a particular drug to the death?

CPLX|9 years ago

Perhaps the problem with breaking out the data involves not being able to read the manufacturers label on the side of the pill during an autopsy, and the unfortunate sudden unavailability of the lone reliable eyewitness.

grkvlt|9 years ago

Yes, I'd be willing to bet that the vast majority of that headline OD number are heroin plus alcohol or benzos deaths. It's actually pretty hard to overdose on just Oxy pills...