The U.S. opioid crisis is something the country has been dealing with for years now, and it’s only worsening with time. If you are from the Greater Boston area, you know about the stretch of people on Massachusetts Avenue who are homeless and struggling with addiction as a result of this epidemic.
Known as the “Methadone Mile,” the state of this street is a direct result of increased access to opioids. Many people become addicted from their first use and begin searching for stronger options, such as heroin, not soon after.
Purdue Pharma is shutting down after pleading guilty to federal criminal charges Wednesday, and will pay more than $8 billion toward treatment programs.
Purdue Pharma is one of the companies that has been blamed for much of the opioid epidemic because it offered doctors monetary incentives to prescribe its opioid drug, OxyContin, to patients. As a result, people began taking the pain medication at higher rates and became addicted.
In the 1990s when OxyContin was first developed, Purdue Pharma marketed the drug as less addictive than other pain medications. This claim is false, and it has been proven that many of the people prescribed the drug have turned to taking it illicitly after their prescription ended or started using more dangerous drugs that are easier to get off the street.
More than 47,000 Americans died from opioid overdose in 2017, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The same year, an estimated 1.7 million Americans suffered from addiction to prescription opioid painkillers. And in 2018, an average of around 128 Americans died every day from an opioid overdose.
This is a national health crisis that has taken and ruined the lives of millions of people. While it is nice to see Purdue Pharma finally paying up and shutting down, the irreversible damage has been done. So many other guilty parties, such as the doctors who accepted payment in return for recommending these life-running drugs, are still free.
Additionally, the $8 billion and other fines the company will pay does not even begin to cover the effects of the opioid epidemic on our economy — the crisis has cost the country somewhere around $2 trillion.
The fight against the opioid crisis does not end with Purdue Pharma and its admittance to guilt. Look at all the people suffering on Methadone Mile. This lawsuit is not doing anything to help them, is it?
And the case does nothing to prevent other companies from doing this again. A serious lockdown on pharmaceuticals is imperative. We also need much more funding for robust rehabilitation programs and more people tasked with helping those living on the street.
We must also erase the stigma surrounding those suffering with addiction. Many people in this country believe that addicts ought to deal with the consequences of their decision to take drugs. To that I say, where is your compassion?
People are dying on the streets, trying to fight a demon that the average person cannot beat on their own. It takes a support system, a safe living environment and incredible strength. How do you expect them to fix this on their own with no money, home or food?
Drug addiction is an illness. You would not deprive someone with pneumonia of their medication because it is “their fault they caught germs from someone else.” Addiction is never a choice someone makes, so stop treating it as if they woke up one day and decided to become addicted to drugs.
It is no one’s fault if they were prescribed some of the most addictive legal drugs and their body had a natural response — that is the fault of doctors and pharmaceutical companies.
We are punishing people for being victimized by unethical drug distribution, but we must help those still suffering before we lose even more lives to this crisis.
