2008 sales of pharmaceutical drugs — $724.4 billion dollars.
The industry as a whole is the second most profitable in the world,
reflective of how people value their health. Illicit drug abuse is on the
decline but people are not doing fewer drugs. There is a documented paradigm
shift from illegal drug use to pharmaceutical abuse. What is fueling this
engine?
Purdue Pharma sells over $1 billion dollars of OxyContin, a time released,
opiate-based narcotic. In 1996 the FDA approved Oxy use for cancer patients
which now accounts for only 3% of sales.
In 2006, Purdue Pharma settled one lawsuit (of many) in Virginia totaling
$634.5 million dollars. The company was found guilty of illegally marketing
the product claiming that “OxyContin is addictive in less than 1% of
patients”. The FDA approved this statement.
Adderall, an amphetamine manufactured by Shire Pharmaceuticals is at the
other end of the spectrum - fueling the collegiate youth long into the night
and sometimes into the next day, without a wink of sleep to cram for tests.
Its value on campuses skyrockets during finals. This drug is literally being
sold as a commodity.
New markets abound. Business is good.
The biggest problem the DEA has ever faced is the abuse and misuse of
pharmaceutical drugs. As drugs intensify in power and addictive potential,
the misperception that they are “safe” makes them the easiest sale a drug
dealer could imagine — legal or illegal.
All judgment aside, is this what we want for ourselves? Do we propagate
this? Is it human nature to look for euphoric breaks from reality? And,
going forward, what kind of society will we build if the majority is...
Numb to Life.