That is beyond disgusting.

Batman:

 

 

You have good doctors, not so good ones.

 

 

 

responsible doctor will advice you about all the pros and cons of a medication, not so good one maybe not even aware of the implications of prescribing the oxys.

 

 

 

I've never had one that does that. Ever. Had quite a few.

The good ones do allow you to refuse, or accept a medication without packing a snot.

I take codeine. 15mg. I don't take as per bottle instructions,m which my old GP prescribed, as I might take that much. I try to keep it to only when I have to.

For obvious reasons, ditto the 15mg.

But many GPs won't give it to you at all and push paracetamol (useless and bad for the liver) or Ibuprofen (which I can't take)

Because a few idiots in the US take opiates recreationally. Not codeine either it's either Oxy or Fentanyl.

Like psuedoephidrine, this is now banned from over the counter cold medication, it worked, the new stuff doesn't, even the researchers and drs admit that.

Why? Because you can make P from it. And did it stop it? No. As if the P makers made profitable amounts from breaking down Coldrex, no, they did and still get the main ingredient, usually from China and the like.

Same hysteria over codiene in NZ.

It works for me, I have severe arthritis, I have tried not using it, and no.

But like I said, I keep it to a minimum, as required and have gone days with none on occasion, no nasty withdrawal effects.

Friend has nerve pain, disabling nerve pain, won't detail her conditions, but she was taking morphine.

She is now on cannabis drops, a swiss firm makes it. 10mg, and she says it does help. She still needs to be careful, but it has allowed her to drop the morphine to not very often.

It's not funded, chemist charges vary, the Whanau chemist is cheapest $107 for a bottle that lasts a month.

Prescription only.

But it is nerve pain, doesn't work for everything.

I heard this on the NPR news this morning:

 

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."

 

https://www.npr.org/2019/09/09/758927743/sacklers-reject-demand-they-surrender-personal-wealth-to-settle-opioid-claims)

More generally, on Saturday Kim Hill interviewed a WP journalist on the US opioid epidemic; he mentioned that there were a number of other companies that stepped up Oxy production when Purdue pulled back from (out of?) producing it.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2018712265/scott-higham-big-pharma-s-role-in-the-us-opioid-crisis

Purdue Pharma reaches tentative deal in federal opioid lawsuits

Washington Post, By Aaron C. Davisn, Lenny Bernstein, Joel Achenbach and Scott Higham

Purdue Pharma, manufacturer of blockbuster painkiller OxyContin, has reached a tentative settlement with 22 states and more than 2,000 cities and counties that sued the company over its role in the opioid crisis of the past two decades, people close to the deal said Wednesday.

The executive committee of lawyers representing cities, counties and other groups in a federal lawsuit against Purdue and other drug companies is recommending the deal be accepted. But some state attorneys general, who sued Purdue and its owners, the Sackler family, in state courts are still opposed to a deal.

Under terms of a plan negotiated for months, the Sacklers would relinquish control of Stamford, Conn.-based Purdue Pharma. The company would declare bankruptcy and be resurrected as a trust whose main purpose would be to combat the opioid epidemic.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/purdue-pharma-reaches-tentative-settlement-in-federal-lawsuit-and-some-state-litigation/2019/09/11/ce6cb942-d4b8-11e9-9343-40db57cf6abd_story.html

When the press and other folk get the effective pain relief banned or as good as banned what next for those who suffer chronic severe pain? I can see this going the the same shortsighted pointless route pseudoephedrine took. The problem with so many of these crusades is there are far too many do gooders and not enough folk doing good.

MikeB4:

 

When the press and other folk get the effective pain relief banned or as good as banned what next for those who suffer chronic severe pain? I can see this going the the same shortsighted pointless route pseudoephedrine took. The problem with so many of these crusades is there are far too many do gooders and not enough folk doing good.

 

 

No - I think you'll be okay if you need strong pain relief - you'll still be able to get it.

There were specific reasons why the formulations sold by Purdue etc, combined with the prescribing information they gave doctors, was deliberately wrong and they acted deliberately to increase sales  of what they damned well knew was "extra addictive" in terms of release rate and dosing regimen.  They should be locked up - not just fined hundreds of millions, they weren't much better than El Chapo in using greedy methods to increase sales - and showing no remorse for the deaths they've caused.

Wait 'til carfentanil hits the illicit market here.

100 times stronger than fentanyl, the amount able to smuggled in one swallowed condom would be equivalent - when cut - to pallet loads of heroin.

I expect it (or similar synthetic opiates) will eventually arrive, and because it's so concentrated thus quantities so small, the chance of intercepting it all is zero.

And the local gangsters we already have no hope of winning the war against,  who are trying to sell your kids methamphetamine when all they want to buy is a tinnie will be there, reaping the profits.