The War on Normal People: on Drugs

Drug companies and medical system produces opioid addicts

People often think of opioid addiction as originating with prescription painkiller use. OxyContin hit the market in 1996 as a "wonder drug," and Purdue Pharma, which was fined $635 million in 2007 for misbranding the drug and downplaying the possibility of addiction, sold $1.1 billion of painkillers on 2000. An army of drug dealers in suits marketed addictive opioids to doctors, getting paid thousands to do it.

Now many opioid users have graduated to heroin. One common pattern of addiction is that people use prescription painkillers for pain relief or recreationally as a party drug--they grind them up and sniff them for a euphoric high that lasts for hours.

Our drug companies and medical system have produced hundreds of thousands of opioid addicts who are now heroin users buying from dealers. Heroin dealers have become ubiquitous.

Drug companies and medical system produces opioid addicts

People often think of opioid addiction as originating with prescription painkiller use. OxyContin hit the market in 1996 as a "wonder drug," and Purdue Pharma, which was fined $635 million in 2007 for misbranding the drug and downplaying the possibility of addiction, sold $1.1 billion of painkillers on 2000. An army of drug dealers in suits marketed addictive opioids to doctors, getting paid to do it.

Now many opioid users have graduated to heroin. One common pattern of addiction is that people use prescription painkillers for pain relief or recreationally as a party drug--they grind them up and sniff them for a euphoric high that lasts for hours.

Our drug companies and medical system have produced hundreds of thousands of opioid addicts who are now heroin users buying from dealers. Heroin dealers have become ubiquitous.