What is the Opioid Epidemic’s Origin?

(Summer 2018) When OxyContin® was approved in late 1995, the drug was viewed as a major step forward in chronic pain management. The pill was a time-release version of oxycodone and could provide 12 hours of consistent pain relief. However, it wasn’t long before some users found that crushing and snorting the pills or injecting the dose produced a high similar to heroin. To rectify this problem, drug maker Purdue Pharma developed a crush-resistant version and ceased sales of the initial formulation by 2010.

Over time Purdue admitted that its marketing downplayed an OxyContin® user’s chances of addiction. Following federal inquiries, in 2007 Purdue Pharma and three of its executives pleaded guilty and agreed to pay over $600 million for making false claims about OxyContin’s potential for addiction.

However, the drug was still being widely prescribed. One physician who advocates for more control of opioids said these drugs can be beneficial for cancer patients who are experiencing intense pain and for individuals who only require acute pain management. However, opioid drug makers marketed them as a solution for long-term pain, a situation in which he believes they do more harm than good. Purdue Pharma’s influence, though, goes beyond that of just physicians. The company was one of the five largest opioid makers that doled out of over $10 million to patient advocacy groups, professional medical societies and other individuals from 2012 to 2017, all of which vocally backed the use of these drugs and helped pave the way for the opioid crisis.

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