OxyContin isn’t a bad drug, it’s a highly addictive drug and the company knew it was highly addictive & not only didn’t do enough due diligence to make sure prescribers didn’t over prescribe it but also intentionally encourage that behavior which has led to an epidemic.
However, food for thought on that same subject is the over prescribing of amoxicillin and other similar class of drugs for viruses. The doctor is operating a business and his/her clients want a solution to their problem, so they write a script as they want to keep their customer happy and it “can’t be too bad”.
There’s a case to be made that a certain amount of immediate gratification expected on the part of the consumer is a large contributing factor to overprescribing in general.
However, in this case, Purdue was very much in the wrong and should not have been encouraging over prescription of a highly addictive drug.
However, food for thought on that same subject is the over prescribing of amoxicillin and other similar class of drugs for viruses. The doctor is operating a business and his/her clients want a solution to their problem, so they write a script as they want to keep their customer happy and it “can’t be too bad”.
There’s a case to be made that a certain amount of immediate gratification expected on the part of the consumer is a large contributing factor to overprescribing in general.
However, in this case, Purdue was very much in the wrong and should not have been encouraging over prescription of a highly addictive drug.