The New Opiate epidemic (Oxycontin)

The most prevalent narcotic used today is OxyContin. We know that Purdue Pharma paid a $680 million fine and pled guilty to criminal charges of lying to doctors about OxyContin. However, there continues to be a strong effort by Purdue Pharma to market OxyContin, but they still don't tell doctors or the public the truth. Larry Golbom, a good friend to all who want the truth about prescription drugs revealed and the host of the Prescription Addiction Radio show, has written an excellent article about OxyContin and what it really is. This article is published at http://www.usrecallnews.com/index.php?s=golbom and the author and publisher have graciously allowed us to reprint the article.OxyContin and the Opium Epidemic of the 21st CenturyJanuary 2, 2009 Beginning over two hundred years ago, the opium plant was credited with being implicated in destroying the Chinese dynasties that had ruled China for thousands of years prior to The Republic of China being created in 1912. With opium reaching China's shores in increasing amounts, the Chinese Emperor, Ch'ien Chieh, has been attributed to the following quote in 1811: "This item, opium, spreads deadly poison. Rascals and bandits indulge in it and cannot do without it even for a second. They do not save their own earnings for food and clothes, but instead exchange their money for the pleasure of this narcotic. Not only do they willingly bring ruin upon their own lives, but they also persuade friends to follow their example. Previously, we decreed its prohibition, yet treacherous merchants still buy and sell it. When people smoke it, they may be incited to do all sorts of evil. When smoking becomes a habit, then they cannot stop even though they want to. Thus they bankrupt themselves and even lose their lives". It is my contention that we presently are well into the first 12 years of what future historians will refer to as the "opium epidemic of the 21st century". From a historical perspective, in the beginning of the 20th century it is reported that 27% of the adult male population in China was estimated to be addicted to opium. With the recent dramatic increase in raw opium being imported into our country to make oxycodone (OxyContin), hydrocodone (Vicodin), and all the legal opium derivatives, the statistics available from a number of government agencies can help surmise the number of addicts that have been created since the introduction of OxyContin by the FDA in 1996.