Article on the Opiod Crisis and ties to the Sackler Family

[CaptainCrunch]

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2...empire-of-pain

A long but interesting look at the Sackler family, medical advertising and OxyContin

[Itse]

A private health care system where doctors who can legally prescribe strong opioids are financially incentivized to keep their customers happy was a disaster waiting to happen.

I'm not against bringing to light the people who took advantage of that system for huge personal gains, but ultimately blaming the (admittedly shady) drug dealers for the drug problem isn't going to make the problem go away.

[CaptainCrunch]

Didn't know where to put this.


https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/phar...ioid-1.4406409


Good!

[rubecube]

Sure would be nice if the media would do their jobs and also go after the greasy politicians who turned a blind eye to the fentanyl-related, money-laundering schemes being perpetrated in this country through casinos and real estate. Say what you will about John Horgan, but at least the current government and AG here are attempting to get to the bottom of an issue that the previous government knew of and did nothing about. Both federal parties have been content to sit on their hands, too. But hey, what's a few thousand overdose deaths when they can provide the perception that you're managing the economy well?

[The Yen Man]

Its so crazy how corporate greed and government corruption basically got regular citizens going to the doctor addicted to opiods. We put a lot of trust in our doctors, and it sickens me that they also played a willing part in getting people hooked on this stuff. If I were a religious person, I would sure hope there's a special place in hell for people like the Sacklers and their ilk.

[blankall]

A perfect storm really. Combine a medical system pushing drugs and a flood of dirt cheap fentanyl from China, and here we are.

[curves2000]

One aspect that isn't talked about nearly enough in Canada is the type of health care system we have and the wait times for timely treatment.

When people get injured or are hurt, it's not unusual for people waiting months and months and sometimes even years for treatment. By the time a proper diagnoses happens something like a back, hip, knee, shoulder injury etc, SOME and a lot of people have been taking strong pain killers for far too long.

Waiting months for MRI's and than months and months for surgical appointments is BS. People in extreme pain need to have that pain dealt with before their 2 year finale with our health care system.

I will never forget what 2 different banking clients I had once said to me. One was taking out $10k for a surgery that was needed in the US because of their timely treatment vs the year long adventure in Alberta. He said he had waited so long for surgery that his golfing friends had left him off the foursome of regular play and he had lost an important part of his social circle and was lonely and depressed during spring and summer. He was hoping to be part of that again once he rehabbed.

Another talked about the platinum level of service she was getting for $15k for something that in Alberta was taking forever. She made it a tax deductible Florida vacation for her.

Health care delayed is health care denied and the government and their policies with regards to wait times also have a serious hand in this entire mess for a lot of people.

[Reaper]

Just remember, in the United States, your doctor probably made their decision on what opiod to prescribe based on how much the office enjoyed the lunch that was given to them by the sales representative in a business miniskirt and high heels.

[Jason14h]

The only question is the over / under for lawsuits for this vs the Cigarette companies

[CaptainCrunch]

Bump breaking news

https://twitter.com/user/status/1166092419156328453

An Oklahoma judge has found Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries helped fuel the state's opioid drug crisis and ordered the consumer products giant to pay $572 million US to help address the problem.

It sounds like a lot of money, but I'm betting the damage done to people in Oklahoma outweighs the $572 million.

[FlameOn]

Johnson and Johnson makes more than $20B per quarter, that is hardly a slap on the wrist. There needs to be farm more penalties including jail time for the executives involved.

[CaptainCrunch]

I agree, however this is one States challenge, and it was settled, I doubt that J+J wants this to get anywhere near an actual courtroom with an actual judge or jury, so hopefully this opens the flood gates. J+J needs to be hammered for this as do other companies with the same practices in terms of drug marketing.

[CaptainCrunch]

Offer to settle for $10 to 12 billion dollars by Purdue to settle 2000 lawsuits.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1166447816337698816

[CaptainCrunch]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/purdu...ment-1.5284827

Purdue Pharma, the company that made billions selling the prescription painkiller OxyContin, filed for bankruptcy in White Plains, N.Y., days after reaching a tentative settlement with many of the state and local governments suing it over the toll of opioids.
The filing was anticipated before and after the tentative deal, which could be worth up to $12 billion US over time, was struck.

[troutman]

N.Y. AG: We found $1 billion in Sackler wire transfers, Purdue Pharma owners are 'lowballing' opioid victims

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...sfers-n1054401

New York Attorney General Letitia James has subpoenaed 33 financial institutions for information about the Sackler family's wealth, and Friday's filing represents the response of just one unnamed institution.

The Oregon attorney general’s office said the Sacklers took $11 billion from the company from 2008 through 2018. The Oregon AG alleges those transfers were made to protect the family from a growing number of lawsuits and “starved” the company, leaving it with no other option but to file for bankruptcy.

[JohnnyB]

Necrobump

The appeal ruling for Purdue and the Sacklers came out a few days ago with as much as $6 billion to be paid out by the family over a period of 18 years, and the Sacklers have been given immunity from civil liability.

Under the plan approved Tuesday by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, members of the wealthy Sackler family would give up ownership of Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue, which would become a new company known as Knoa, with its profits being sent to a fund to prevent and treat addiction.

Family members would also contribute $5.5 billion to $6 billion in cash over time, or around half of what the court found to be their collective fortune, much of it held offshore. A chunk of that money — at least $750 million — is to go to individual victims of the opioid crisis and their survivors. Payments are expected to range from about $3,500 to $48,000.

Tuesday’s decision also protects members of the Sackler family from lawsuits over the toll of opioids, even though they did not file for bankruptcy.

The court’s ruling reversed a 2021 ruling that found bankruptcy court judges did not have the authority to approve a settlement that would offer bankruptcy protections for those who have not filed for bankruptcy.

Those protections are at the heart of the proposed deal that would end claims filed by thousands of state, local and Native American tribal governments and other entities. Sackler family members have been clear that without the protections, they won’t hold up their part of the deal.

https://apnews.com/article/opioid-cr...79960d930a5b84

Apparently way back in advance of the first trial, they also abruptly moved their head office to a district with only a single bankruptcy judge in it, and right after the trial that judge retired from the bench and took a position with a law firm that have the Sacklers as a client.

The Sacklers apparently also used as leverage in this that if the deal wasn't accepted with terms favorable to them they would simply not pay as their funds are offshore in Jersey and payment couldn't be enforced by US prosecutors.

So, it seems they drained the money from the company, they moved the money offshore, the company filed for bankruptcy, they very likely corrupted the judicial process, and they ended up with civil liability protection and favorable terms despite not having filed for personal bankruptcy. Meanwhile, people who suffered will receive between $3,500-$48,000, but only if they can actually produce all the required documents to verify harm done to them.

Given the 18-year payment term, the Sackler family wealth will still very likely be much more than it is today by the time they finish paying for the harm they caused. If they get just a 4%-5% return on their assets over the next 18 years, it will be almost like nothing ever happened.