Opiod Crisis and The IBT Fight

[ABFwife]

A background story on the opioid epidemic and those that have profited billions from the sale of those products.

How an American billionaire predicted — and then profited from — the U.S. opioid epidemic



https://finance.yahoo.com/news/opioi...l&uh_test=1_06

And now we have a nation of drug addicts. Another thing we can thank corporate America for.

[fxstc07]

I will place this in the New Jersey thread too.
This is for today only, Tuesday June 18.

With overdose deaths spiraling, N.J. will give out free Narcan. Here’s where and when to get it.

Last year, New Jersey first responders used the overdose reversal drug naloxone more than 16,000 times in their efforts to bring back heroin and opioid users from the brink of death, authorities say.
The one-day pilot program, planned for June 18, was approved by the state Board of Pharmacy and is being run by the Department of Human Services.
People who visit any of 175 participating pharmacies that day will receive a single dose of naloxone on a first-come, first-serve basis, state officials said. They will also get information on addiction and recovery options.

https://www.nj.com/politics/2019/06/...to-get-it.html

[ABFwife]

I will place this in the New Jersey thread too.
This is for today only, Tuesday June 18.

With overdose deaths spiraling, N.J. will give out free Narcan. Here’s where and when to get it.


https://www.nj.com/politics/2019/06/...to-get-it.html

What has this country come to?

[fxstc07]

What has this country come to?

This country has realized that some deaths can be prevented by simply distributing Narcan free of charge.
Before, you either needed a prescription for Narcan, or hoped the police / EMT's had a dose to provide.
I view this as a necessity in the home or medicine cabinet.
My reasons are this. I have had a family member overdose. I know of several friends, and friends family members that have died as a result of an O/D.
I was told by a person that attends "Drug Court" that New Jersey was picked as the roll out trial for this program, and soon it will expand to every state.
Sorry I don't have, and couldn't find that info on the internet. I will keep trying to find it.

Why Narcan Should Be In Every Household

The prohibition of opioids in the United States has been raging for almost a century. The Anti-Heroin Act of 1924 began the criminalization of importing and possessing opioids. Now, after countless people have been imprisoned and an immeasurable amount of money and resources have spent, we are in the midst of an opioid epidemic. Each year, the number of fatal opioid overdoses rises, with the CDC’s estimates for 2017 reaching a record 72,000 deaths. Let us be very clear: these are preventable deaths. Through legislative change and the implementation of proven harm reduction strategies, we have the option to adopt a drug policy based on compassion and evidence-based results rather than on punishment and propaganda.

https://sachr.org/blog/narcan-in-every-household/

[ABFwife]

Teamsters Score Critical Legal Victory as First Step in Reversing Rising Tide of Deadly Opioid Crisis

We are quickly becoming a nation of drug addicts. And with that there are huge family, health and societal issues. The crime rate in Albuquerque is immense and jumped very quickly with the addiction numbers.

(CLEVELAND) - A U.S. District Court order takes strong first steps to address the opioid crisis, setting common sense lower limits for opioid prescriptions offered by the nation’s three largest pharmacy benefit plan managers: Optum, CVS Caremark and Express Scripts. Together the three pharmacy benefit plan managers (PBMs) combined control over 90% of the U.S. opioid market. The reforms are aimed at dramatically reducing the number of those at risk of addiction and offering help for those already in addiction’s throes.

U.S. District Court Judge Dan Polster issued the order in response to a September 2018 motion filed in the national opioid litigation by Webb County, Texas and West Virginia-based Teamsters Locals 175 & 505 Health & Welfare Fund. The motion sought leave of Court to file a motion for preliminary injunction directing the PBMs to take immediate steps to align their standard national formularies to the 2016 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guideline to dramatically reduce the escalating distribution and abuse of prescription opioids. Judge Polster denied the motion without prejudice when the parties reached agreement regarding what immediate steps would be required.

The Teamsters’ focus on stemming the rising tide of the Opioid crisis began at the Teamsters’ 29th International Convention in 2016, where a Teamster official from Ohio shared the tragic story of losing his son — a talented high school athlete — to a heroin overdose after he became addicted to the painkillers he was prescribed following a routine surgery.

Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 50, and 134 Americans are dying on a daily basis because of the opioid epidemic. The number of Americans who died of drug overdose in 2017 was roughly equal to the number of Americans who died in the Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan wars combined. According to the CDC, the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement due to opioid misuse alone is $78.5 billion a year.

https://teamster.org/news/2019/07/te...-deadly-opioid

[fxstc07]

The lawsuits continue and the wealthy Sackler family doesn't like the settlement that was offered to them.

Sacklers Reject Demand That They Surrender Personal Wealth To Settle Opioid Claims

The family that owns Purdue Pharma, maker of Oxycontin, has rejected a demand that they give up $4.5 billion of their personal wealth to settle opioid claims against the company, according to state attorneys general negotiating with the company.
As a consequence, talks toward a national settlement with members of the Sackler family reached an impasse over the weekend, according to an email obtained by NPR.
Two attorneys general directly involved in the talks predicted in the email that the company will now file for bankruptcy "imminently."

Over two decades, opioid sales generated billions of dollars in profits for the company, making the Sacklers one of the richest families in the U.S.

https://www.npr.org/2019/09/09/75892...-opioid-claims

[ABFwife]

The lawsuits continue and the wealthy Sackler family doesn't like the settlement that was offered to them.

Sacklers Reject Demand That They Surrender Personal Wealth To Settle Opioid Claims



https://www.npr.org/2019/09/09/75892...-opioid-claims

That's the way for corporate America now. You never have to take responsibility for anything, just file for bankruptcy.

[ABFwife]

That Teamsters are still going after these companies.

Teamsters take aim at executive bonuses at drug distributor AmerisourceBergen

Steve Collis, CEO of a major drug distributor, was paid $11.3 million last year. Shareholders who have criticized the company’s role in the opioid supply chain would like part of his future paychecks to be delayed.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a cosponsor of a “bonus deferral” shareholder proposal to be voted on at AmerisourceBergen’s annual meeting on Thursday at the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia — an event that members of the labor union protested in 2017 when it was held at the Sofitel Hotel.


Since then, Chesterbrook-based AmerisourceBergen and other opioid distributors and manufacturers have come to face a mountain of lawsuits by cities, counties and state attorneys general, accusing the companies of fueling the national opioid epidemic. Most of the suits are consolidated in federal court in Cleveland. Meanwhile, a trial scheduled for later this month in New York is adding to pressure on the parties to reach a global settlement, potentially worth billions of dollars.

https://www.inquirer.com/business/he...-20200304.html