Introduction
This 2012 special report from Global News investigates “Canada’s biggest pharmaceutical coverup” – the overprescribing of medications containing Oxycodone (e.g., Percocet, Oxycontin, Hydromorphone). Trusting their doctors, many Canadians were given these drugs as an alternative to morphine to help with pain management and were told that it is “far less addictive”. However, addiction soon set in and their tolerance began to increase, leading them to need more to have the same effect.
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Quotes
“Michael had been prescribed a cocktail of eight different prescription drugs, resulting in more than 13,000 pills in just 14 months. That works out to more than 30 pills a day.”
“Dr. Dhalla and his research team recently published a study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, noting that drugs like Oxycontin are killing users in Ontario at twice the rate they were in 1991.”
“Known as hillbilly heroin, when the drug is chewed or crushed and inhaled, it produces a rapid heroin-like euphoria. But when Oxycontin was first introduced, it was promoted by its manufacturer Purdue Pharma as a safer, less addictive alternative to morphine.“
“It’s the worst feeling in the world, knowing that you need something to get out of bed. I never had a problem with drugs, alcohol, or anything before I was placed on this. I was put on this medication and became a raging addict.”
“I think it is my duty as a mother who has lost a child to let people know because the government isn’tdgoing that.”
“When Oxycontin hit the market it became an instant success. Finally, a drug that could relieve pain all day long. It became a wonderful alternative to addictive narcotic pain pills. Prescriptions for Oxycontin soared but it wasn’t long before harrowing stories of addiction, abuse and side effects began to surface.”
“It is a wonderful pain medication if it is used properly. Best way to look at it is, think about a knife in the hand of a chef. He would make a wonderful meal with that knife. Give the same knife to a criminal and the outcome is totally different. The problem is not the knife, it’s how and why it was used.”
“A recent survey from the University of Toronto posed this question: Who in Canadian medical schools gets the most training in pain management? Doctors, Nurses, Dentists, Pharmacists, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, or Veterinarians? The answer: Veterinarians … 5x more pain training compared to physicians, who got double what the nurses got.”
“Oxycontin was a big money maker for the pharmaceutical company that developed it, convincing doctors it was a safer, less addictive painkiller. But in the U.S., that company made a shocking admission – it lied purposely, misleading doctors and the public all in the name of pill popping profit.”
“I basically lost two years of my life, I’m just now getting back on track. I will always be a recovering addict, that never goes away.”