only given for acute trauma or hospitalization, for things like terminal illnesses and cancer.
The top five opioid painkillers makers based on 2015 sales were Purdue Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Insys Therapeutics, Mylan and Depomed, CNBC reported earlier this year.
Although there has been more awareness of the addictive properties of opioid painkillers in countries like the U.S. and Canada, the disparity between these countries and others is noteworthy.
Pharmaceutical companies have built a “false framework,” for the opioid epidemic across North America, where the blame is placed on diversion rather than overprescription, according to Dr. Andrew Kolodny, executive director of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing.
As a result, he concluded, the focus has been on why kids are getting into their grandparents’ medicine cabinet, rather than why every grandparent suddenly has opioids in their medicine cabinet.
Author: Livia Areas-Holmblad
Livia Holmblad is an editor at Addiction Now and covers breaking news, features and everything in between. She moved to SoCal after living in NYC for about 10 years, where she worked for VICE and SinoVision as a writer, editor, host, producer, and director. Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro. Contact Livia at liviah@addictionnow.com
