BIG pHARMa Behind Opioid Epidemic & Drug War
The investigation into Trump’s choice for “Drug Czar”, Tom Marino, shows how Big Pharma is escaping oversight during the opioid epidemic. It’s just the tip of the Drug Prohibition iceberg.
https://www.infowars.com/big-pharma-...emic-drug-war/
“The spirits of darkness are now among us. We have to be on guard so that we may realize what is happening when we encounter them and gain a real idea of where they are to be found. The most dangerous thing you can do in the immediate future will be to give yourself up unconsciously to the influences which are definitely present.” ~ Rudolf Steiner
http://www.collective-evolution.com/...oblem-worsens/BIG PHARMA’S BIG CONNECTIONS: CONGRESS EXPOSED AS PROTECTING DRUG COMPANIES WHILE OPIOID PROBLEM WORSENS
KALEE BROWN OCTOBER 19, 2017
Many people often picture drug dealers as these scary individuals selling pills on street corners, but when it comes to the opioid epidemic, these drug pushers don’t exactly fit the stereotype. The true “drug dealers” largely responsible for America’s opioid epidemic aren’t thugs, they’re doctors and members of the U.S. government.
As former DEA agent Joe Rannazzisi put it, “They weren’t slinging crack on the corner… These were professionals who were doing it. They were just drug dealers in lab coats.”
You have physicians heavily pushing and marketing opioids, you’ve got countless doctors being paid by Big Pharma to prescribe opioids, and then you have the U.S. government overseeing the opium trade. This isn’t news to many people, as the reality of America’s war on drugs has lain exposed for decades, but mainstream media has been honing in on the deep ties the people we’re expected to trust share with Big Pharma.
An in-depth investigation into the opioid epidemic and the U.S. government’s ties to it was recently conducted by The Washington Post and 60 Minutes, revealing how U.S. Congress effectively weakened the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) ability to go after drug distributors, despite the worsening opioid epidemic.
The Bill That Protected Drug Companies and Fuelled the Opioid Epidemic
The Washington Post‘s report on the opioid epidemic focused on one bill in particular that protected some major drug companies, allowing the flow of opioids to reach more people and creating more profit for their producers in turn. The law was presented as a more “industry-friendly” approach to law enforcement, but it undermined the DEA’s ability to monitor the flow of opioids.
So, corrupt doctors and pharmacists were able to effectively prescribe more pain killers and introduce them into the black market. Big Pharma funded this through lobbying efforts, worked closely with a handful of Congressmen, and even made some hefty donations to political campaigns (to the tune of millions of dollars) to ensure this bill came into fruition.
The Washington Post stated that the key member of Congress who paved the path for this bill was Pennsylvania Republican Tom Marino, as he allegedly spent years attempting to push this bill. The law Marino so desperately wanted to succeed basically acts as a protective barrier between Big Pharma and the DEA, preventing the DEA from freezing suspicious shipments from companies.
Why was Marino so supportive of this particular bill? Though we clearly do not have the full picture, we do know that he received $100,000 by “political actions committees representing the industry” for his efforts. Marino wasn’t the only lawmaker to accept payments though, as the industry paid a collective $1.5 million to 23 lawmakers who sponsored or co-sponsored the bill (and these are only the known amounts).
“The drug industry, the manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and chain drugstores, have an influence over Congress that has never been seen before,” explained the former head of the DEA’s division responsible for regulating the drug industry, Joseph T. Rannazzisi. “I mean, to get Congress to pass a bill to protect their interests in the height of an opioid epidemic just shows me how much influence they have.”
As per how this bill truly got passed, it remains a mystery. Yes, Big Pharma and Congressman Marino clearly played a huge role, but how did the DEA and Department of Justice accept this? Were they unaware of the effects this would have on the opioid epidemic? Former President Barack Obama, who was responsible for the final sign-off of the bill in 2016, and multiple DEA officials declined to comment on this matter to the Post.
In addition, the DEA and Justice Department refused or delayed requests made by the Post and 60 Minutes for files under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that could provide more information on the law that passed. A number of these FOIA requests have been pending for a year and a half, and so the Post is now suing the Justice Department in hopes of obtaining these files.
DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge John J. Mulrooney II commented on the law, stating that because of it being passed, it’s “all but logically impossible” for the DEA to suspend a Big Pharma company’s operations even when they do not comply with federal law. How can drug companies continue to operate when they’re not even operating under federal law? This is the power that Big Pharma holds over the U.S. government.
The DEA has cracked down far more in the past decade on pharmaceutical companies selling opioids, but Big Pharma has discovered a secret weapon. During this time, pharmaceutical companies and the law firms that represent them have poached 46 DEA officials, hiring them to transition from protecting citizens from drugs to pushing them.
Despite Marino’s history of being “tight” with Big Pharma companies, President Trump hand picked him to lead the Office of National Drug Control Policy. This position is often referred to as the White House’s “drug czar.” However, given the recent controversy fuelled by The Washington Post‘s report, Marino decided to withdraw his nomination.
Of course, his decision was supported by many who were familiar with his role in passing this bill. West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, whose state is no stranger to the devastating effects of the opioid epidemic, sent a letter to President Trump requesting that Marino’s nomination be withdrawn prior to his announcement.
“During the biggest public health crisis since HIV/Aids, we need someone leading the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy who believes we must protect our people, not the pharmaceutical industry,” Manchin said in a statement.
People die every single day from an opioid or heroin overdose, and this problem won’t go away unless we break it wide open and expose what’s going on. This story runs deep, and I encourage you to read the entire Washington Post report.
Further Information on the U.S. Government’s and Doctors’ Ties to the Opium Industry
To clarify, let’s go over what opium is and how it can be made into drugs such as opioids and heroin. Opium is first removed from the poppy plant, which is then refined into morphine, and can then be further refined into heroin. So, if you’re an opium supplier, you could also be contributing to the supply of heroin. This is an important fact to remember when it comes to the role the U.S. government has played in the opioid epidemic.
The term opioid refers to any substance that binds to our opioid receptor sites, and so both heroin and morphine qualify as opioids and opiates. Opiates are made from those same poppy plants as well, though not all opioids are; for example, some are entirely synthetic, and others are semi-synthetic (such as Oxycodone, which is made from both chemicals and opium).
The U.S. government is heavily involved in the opium drug trade. In Southeast Asia (SEA) during the Vietnam War, the CIA worked alongside Laotian general Vang Pao in an effort to help make Laos the world’s largest exporter of heroin.
In fact, the CIA owned and operated a covert drug smuggling airline, referred to as Air America, which was used to transport numerous goods, including heroin. The CIA then flew drugs all over SEA, allowing the Golden Triangle (parts of Burma, Thailand, and Laos) to become the world hub for heroin. You can read more about Air America in our CE article here.
However, the CIA’s “heroin problem” didn’t start nor end in SEA.
Afghanistan is another country with a complicated history of involvement in the opium and heroin industries, much of which implicates the CIA. In the 1980s, CIA-supported Moujahedeen rebels were heavily involved in drug trafficking heroin. The CIA supplied trucks and mules, which were used to transport opium. Many of the individuals trafficking the drugs in Afghanistan were actually trained, armed, and funded by the CIA at the time.
Fast forward to when the Taliban started to rule, and all of a sudden the opium trade plummeted, practically eradicating 90% of the world’s heroin. However, after 9/11 occurred and the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, opium production suddenly skyrocketed, as the U.S. started “protecting” the opium fields there.
The U.S. government’s link to heroin/opium/opioids runs deep, and I encourage you to read the following CE article to learn more:
How The CIA-Operated A “Drug Smuggling Airline” For Heroin & The 9/11 Connection
To make matters even more interesting, the government is even using taxpayers’ dollars to create a heroin vaccine, which is ironic given their relationship to the drug trade. You can read more about that in our CE article here.
So, how does Big Pharma relate to all of this?
When you think about it, Big Pharma companies are just like any other business: Their main goal is to provide consumers with products they want or need, and in turn make a profit. Well, how can Big Pharma companies ensure that their market grows and demand increases? By creating products that are not only addictive, but that have negative side effects as well, so they can keep people sick and encourage them to take more drugs.
Final Thoughts
It’s clear that the opioid problem runs deep in the U.S. and those fuelling it are the people you may least expect, from the government to Big Pharma to physicians. It seems strange that medical practitioners get paid to sell you drugs rather than help you stop taking them. Shouldn’t doctors get paid when you’re actually better, not when you’re sick?
“The spirits of darkness are now among us. We have to be on guard so that we may realize what is happening when we encounter them and gain a real idea of where they are to be found. The most dangerous thing you can do in the immediate future will be to give yourself up unconsciously to the influences which are definitely present.” ~ Rudolf Steiner
The only problem with opioids, all of them including heroin, is laws/lawyers-n-courts...
Opium and it's derivatives and analogs are effective and/or fun depending on the individuals need.....Government on the other hand is neither effective or fun.
This is what happens when government protects these mega conglomerates. It's all about the money, domination and control.Originally Posted by tod evans
“The spirits of darkness are now among us. We have to be on guard so that we may realize what is happening when we encounter them and gain a real idea of where they are to be found. The most dangerous thing you can do in the immediate future will be to give yourself up unconsciously to the influences which are definitely present.” ~ Rudolf Steiner
When the legal consequences of any substance are far more severe than the medical consequences of that same substance, you have injustice.
So how many people are in prison because they were duped by the medical industry and got addicted to opiates, then had to buy them on the street? What was that stat? The US has 5% of the worlds population but 25% of the worlds prison population.
1776 > 1984
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Trump is on this. No worries.
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So, how if I may I ask, is eliminating legal narcotics going to have a positive effect on the problem of overdosing on "illegal ones" when the vast majority of those individuals never received their taste for drugs through the legal avenues in the first place? In other words, I am calling BS on the premise that legal scrips for pain management has led to mass addiction and that those addictions, and in some cases the resulting od deaths, are from the direct ingestion of legally manufactured substances. BS say I!
Dr's used to prescribe pain meds that worked, unfortunately they were addictive....
Then the feds came along and told these Dr's that they couldn't write scripts any more or they'd be tossed in jail.
This of course leaves the patient hanging............Probably still in pain and an addiction gnawing at their very core...
On the street prescription pain pills are astronomically priced whereas heroin (a damn effective pain reliever) is pennies in comparison...
See how that works?
I liked Greg Gutfelds take on this. Like many of us, he doesn't believe this war on opioids is going to be any more successful than the half century war on drugs has been. And, will in fact cause much more harm and misery, especially for those in pain from cancer etc. He also suspects that the biggest driver behind this major addiction epidemic that we are seeing, has been the result of a lack of satisfaction in life and a general feeling of hopelessness in many of those who have turned to drugs as a means of finding fulfillment and happiness.
So you believe that the users of the drugs on the street are folks who became addicted from taking pain meds for toothaches and kidney stones etc?
And not so much from those seeking euphoria and escape from this crazy World?
I took em for several very big and painful kidney stones and I have taken them for open heart surgery and again for an abdominal aortic aneurysm. No addiction here.
Does it matter why people do drugs?
As for "what I believe" as to why people do dope, I believe it varies from one person to the next, and I also believe it's not something government agents should be involved in at all, in any capacity.
The herb, kratom, is probably the best option for both avoiding and breaking an opioid addiction.
...
Well, I'm not trying to be disrespectful but you might be a little insulated from what's going on. I personally know multiple people who spend quite a bit of effort getting pharmaceutical heroin, and if they ever got cut off I have no doubt they would turn to street drugs.
Uh...yes. Not all, but a rather large percentage of them.
Here is part of the problem...
Billionaire drug mogul is charged with racketeering and corruption after company he founded 'pushed powerful opioid-based painkiller spray to patients who didn't have cancer'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz4wfMqFBaH
“The spirits of darkness are now among us. We have to be on guard so that we may realize what is happening when we encounter them and gain a real idea of where they are to be found. The most dangerous thing you can do in the immediate future will be to give yourself up unconsciously to the influences which are definitely present.” ~ Rudolf Steiner
I have known many folks over the years who used various narcotics, hallucinogenics like LSD and shrooms, cocaine, etc. and all for recreational purposes. And responsibly too. They held down good jobs without any problems. I am not advocating for control or prohibition. I was just curious is all, and didn't mean to upset or insult anyone.
Not upset, or insulted. Sorry if you took it that way navy.
Not you original. I didn't feel offense from you.
There's something lost in communications sometimes when texting, like intent and context, I guess. I don't mean to step on toes.
I think we are on the same team here for the most part anyway. I sure hope so.
It doesn't really matter why people do drugs the really big liberty message is:
What the Hell business is it of the government what people do with their own body? The stats on addiction have actually gone up since the government and big pharma intervened in trying to control addiction . I don't take opioids but, I do know that since the government in the past few year have put restriction on doctors prescribing the the opioid death rate have gone way up.
Unfortunately, I think that has been the agenda for a long time. Hard to have a population resist when they are drugged up, IMHO.
“The spirits of darkness are now among us. We have to be on guard so that we may realize what is happening when we encounter them and gain a real idea of where they are to be found. The most dangerous thing you can do in the immediate future will be to give yourself up unconsciously to the influences which are definitely present.” ~ Rudolf Steiner
I agree.
Interesting article. http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed...112-story.html
Here’s the first story. It has been endorsed by some excellent journalists and broadcasters, from Sam Quinones to HBO’s John Oliver. It goes, in crude summary, like this: Starting in the late 1990s, a handful of pharmaceutical corporations promoted prescription opiates as the solution to America’s physical pain. Large numbers of people then started to take these drugs — and because Oxycontin and Percocet and the rest have such powerful chemical hooks, many found themselves addicted. Big Pharma is like the drug-pusher in a Reagan-era public service announcement, waiting at America’s metaphorical playground gate with a drug you can’t resist.
This narrative leads to a clear solution: Restrict prescription opiates and prevent addicts from taking them. Since the drug caused the problem, ending access to the drug humanely will end the problem.
Although this is a coherent story, put forward by serious and thoughtful people, there are some key facts that don’t fit. Here’s one: Doctors in many parts of the world — including Canada and some European countries — prescribe more powerful opiates than their peers in the United States. In England, if, say, you get hit by a car, you may be given diamorphine (the medical name for heroin) to manage your pain. Some people take it for long periods. If what we’ve been told is right, they should become addicted in huge numbers.
But this doesn’t occur. The Canadian physician Gabor Maté argues in his book “In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts” that studies examining the medicinal use of narcotics for pain relief find no significant risk of addiction. I’ve talked with doctors in Canada and Europe about this very issue. They say it’s vanishingly rare for a patient given diamorphine or a comparably strong painkiller in a hospital setting to develop an addiction.
Given that really powerful opiates do not appear to systematically cause addiction when administered by doctors, we should doubt that milder ones do. In fact only 1 in 130 prescriptions for an opiate such as Oxycontin or Percocet in the United States results in addiction, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Heath.
So what’s really happening? The second, clashing story goes, again, crudely, like this: Opiate use is climbing because people feel more distressed and disconnected, and are turning to anesthetics to cope with their psychological pain.
Addiction rates are not spread evenly across the United States, as you would expect if chemical hooks were the primary cause. On the contrary, addiction is soaring in areas such as the Rust Belt, the South Bronx and the forgotten towns of New England, where people there say they are lonelier and more insecure than they have been in living memory.
This phenomenon isn’t new. After a collapse in people’s sense of status, meaning or community, an addiction epidemic often follows. In England in the 18th century, for example, huge numbers were driven out of the countryside into urban slums. Then came a mass outbreak of alcoholism — it was called the Gin Craze — and many drank themselves to death. At the time, commentators blamed the evil booze peddlers. If only they hadn’t sold the gin in the first place, they said, none of this would have happened; gin hijacks people and destroys them.
When we look back, we can see that gin couldn’t have been the true source of the problem. Gin is legal today, and it is not causing social collapse. It was a symptom, a way of trying to survive in an unbearable environment. Gin caused problems, certainly. But if gin hadn’t been invented, people would have turned to another intoxicant, or simply been suicidally depressed.
It might seem as if these two stories are compatible. Can’t we argue that distress has made more people vulnerable to addiction — and that Big Pharma was responsible for stepping in with a dangerous drug?
But acting on the drug pusher story will only make things worse. The first victims would be the vast majority of users who do not develop an addiction, and who would be plunged into needless pain.
If, however, you act on the second story, you come to a different solution — one that has been tried with remarkable success.
In the 1980s and ‘90s, the Swiss had a serious opiate epidemic. They tried harsh crackdowns on sellers, and the problem got worse. They tried herding addicted people into a park and letting them use street drugs there, which produced scenes of chaos.
Then, starting in the early 2000s, Switzerland assigned addicted people to clinics where they were given opiates under supervision by a nurse. Crucially, they were also given extensive social support to turn their lives around, including therapy and help finding a job or housing. They gave you the drug, and at the same time, they dealt with the underlying pain that made you feel you needed the drug in the first place.
Patients can stay on that program for as long as they like, there’s no pressure to cut back, but almost everyone chooses to stop after a few years. One of the psychiatrists in the clinic in Geneva told me why. It’s because their lives get better, so they are in less psychological distress. Since the program began, there have been zero overdose deaths on legal opiates in Switzerland. None. That’s why 70 % of Swiss people voted to keep this approach.
We can’t solve the opioid crisis if we continue to simplistically blame the drugs, or the people who supply them. That’s a misunderstanding of what is really going wrong. Every day that we refuse to act on the second, more sophisticated story, another 78 Americans overdose on opiates.
o_O
Pharma Execs Made A Rap Video In Which They Danced With A Giant Bottle Of Fentanyl Spray
...
“Throughout the video, Company employees danced with a life size, 1600 mcg bottle of the Fentanyl Spray, the largest dosage of the drug available for sale in the United States,” the superseding indictment alleged. The video ended with the company’s vice president of sales removing the Fentanyl Spray costume, revealing his identity.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...ction=politics
There is hard evidence that as part of the infamous MKULTRA program, the CIA started the psychedelic drugs boom.
The CIA was also instrumental in pushing psychiatric brain washing experiments: http://www.ronpaulforums.com/entry.p...ed-Individuals
You have probably heard of Iran-Contra scandal.
In reality Iran-Contra was the cover-up for the scandal that the CIA was using the Contras to import cocaine and in effect started the crack epidemic of the 1980s: http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...=1#post6451729
In the topic health care an often overlooked topic is the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS), the health care CIA: http://www.virusmyth.com/aids/hiv/beeis.htm
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