Drug Pushers, June 28, 17

What do you think of when you hear the words, Just say no, and perhaps the words, “Drug war”? Do you feel there are some contradictions and deception going on?

To me, the war is being fought against our very citizens, by the Pharmaceutical companies. The war is more about drugging our citizens to make obscene amounts of money off of us as well as to keep us drugged and scared and vulnerable. How does one who is hurt, beaten down, scared and vulnerable just say no?

Today, 2 million Americans are addicted to prescription pain killers called opioids. Overdoses of prescription painkillers killed over 60,000 Americans in 2016, a jump of 50% from the previous year. But terrorism is the big threat no? Well, we are losing our citizens at a rate equivalent to 20 9/11 massacres every year to overdoses of prescription drugs! You can build all the walls you want, raise the military budget to obscene amounts, but the true war is being waged against we the people.

Fortunately, some are finding the courage to say no, to the drug dealing pharmaceutical industry. Over a dozen states are finally stepping up, with lawsuits against at least 5 pharmaceutical companies, charging that the companies are using dishonest and manipulative practices to convince both doctors and consumers to turn powerful opioids into a mass consumer product. For example, Purdue Pharma has told doctors that the risk of addiction to OxyContin was “less than 1%”. For two decades, the pharmaceutical companies have had tremendous success, killed tens of thousands, and caused unfathomable suffering in countless families and communities. Enough.

Some of you may recall when I mentioned over a year ago that big pharma is going to be get busted very soon. The truth will come out more and more about how insidious most of these companies are, how manipulative they have been, and how much damage has resulted from their terrible practices. Again, there is more light on Earth than in a long time, and there are fewer dark places for the bad boys to hide. And for this, I give thanks.

In the meantime, we must stop seeing drug addicts as horrid criminals, locking them away in another for profit enterprise, the prison system. Most people in prison for drug related offenses will benefit more from compassion, training and opportunity, not punishment. Maybe we need to release a few of the prisoners and make room for some white collar leaders of the pharmaceutical companies. But I digress.

I conclude by saying that there are positive changes and signs. Aside from the lawsuits, the FDA is finally making changes in the legality of opioid sales. Let’s keep our eyes and hearts open, and just say no, to big pharma.