Category: Dangerous Drugs

The opioid epidemic has hurt many people in the U.S. Opioid drugs are highly addictive and many people developed an addiction that lasted past their prescriptions. People may have turned to other forms of drugs to deal with the addiction, where they run the risk of overdosing. Opioids are strong painkillers, which is why so many were prescribed.

Dangerous drugs have been putting the lives of U.S. citizens at risk for years. When people are prescribed opioids, they may not fully understand the risks or they may already have pre-existing conditions that have adverse reactions to the drugs. This can make people extremely sick and develop more health issues. Consider the following opioid statistics:

• About 21-29 percent of patients misuse the opioids.
• 19,000 Americans died from overdosing on opioids in 2015.
• The opioid death rate is higher than motor vehicle accident fatalities.

The opioid crisis has caused many Americans to become addicted to dangerous drugs that alter your brain and can sometimes be fatal. Heavy scrutiny lies with major pharmaceutical companies that pumped numerous small towns across the country full of these dangerous drugs to make a considerable profit. While many pharmaceutical companies have come under fire for being at the root of America’s opioid problem, most have claimed they had no idea of opioid’s addictive qualities.

Now it’s come to light that at least one pharmaceutical company knew about the effects of their opioids. There’s a report from the Justice Department that Purdue Pharma had knowledge about how their drug, OxyContin, was being widely abused from its start in 1996, kept the information quiet, and continued to sell their drug as a “safer” opioid.

It’s no secret that opioid painkillers are destroying American lives every day. Our nation’s opioid crisis has been declared a national public health emergency, and more and more cities, counties, and states are filing major lawsuits against the manufacturers and distributors of prescription painkillers every week.

The drugs being targeted by these opioid lawsuits are the ones that get commonly prescribed every day. They’re names we’re all familiar with—oxycodone (OxyContin and Percocet), hydrocodone (Vicodin), morphine, and fentanyl. All are legal and heavily controlled, but still widely available. Some, like fentanyl, are even illegally manufactured and traded.

When most of us think about the consequences of becoming addicted to opioid painkillers, we think about life-altering withdrawal symptoms, dangerous side effects, the inability to get relief from chronic pain, and the possibility of relapse. The risk of relapse, especially, is extremely dangerous when it comes to opioids since it’s estimated that 3 out of 4 heroin users start out using prescription opioids.

On Tuesday, January 23, New York City joined the U.S. cities and counties that are actively suing the makers of prescription opioid painkillers like OxyContin, fentanyl, morphine, hydrocodone, and Percocet that have played a major role in killing thousands of people across the nation. New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced a $500m lawsuit that was filed in state supreme court.

“More New Yorkers have died from opioid overdoses than car crashes and homicides combined in recent years,” De Blasio said. “‘Big pharma’ helped to fuel this epidemic by deceptively peddling these dangerous drugs and hooking millions.” The mayor said that more than 1,000 New York residents alone died from opioid-related overdoses in 2016.

People have always wanted someone to tell them there’s another way to lose weight that doesn’t involve diet and exercise. So, in the 90s when Fen-Phen the miracle weight loss drug reached the market, people were eager to give it a try. Fen-Phen is the combination of fenfluramine and phentermine. Pharmaceutical companies made similar versions of Fen-Phen, like Redux. As more people tried these drugs, it became apparent that they might not be the miracle drug everyone had hoped for.

Dangerous drugs can severely harm a person physically and mentally. It’s not fair for a person to have these experiences when they’ve been told the drugs were safe. In situations like this, you have the right to seek legal action. Thomas Law Offices handles dangerous drugs cases in Kentucky and we might be able to help you.