2019-08-29 from nyt.com
The decision on Monday by an Oklahoma judge to fine Johnson & Johnson $572 million for its role in the state’s opioid crisis is only the first step in what promises to be years of complex litigation. In ruling that pharmaceutical marketing caused a “public nuisance” by increasing addiction and overdose deaths, Judge Thad Balkman created a strong precedent.
What this decision should not do, however, is further distort our understanding of the causes of the crisis and add to the misery of people in pain.
Drug companies like Johnson & Johnson twisted the truth about the potential risks of these medications. That caused great harm. Nonetheless, for many — including people with chronic pain or at the end of life — opioids are the only drugs that seem to work. Understanding the facts about these drugs is critical to resolving the crisis and making pharma pay for solutions that work.
The reality is this: 80 percent of those who begin misusing prescription opioids are taking drugs obtained illegally — from theft, dealers, friends, relatives, the internet or other people’s medicine cabinets, not from doctors. And nearly three out of four young people who misuse opioids have previously taken cocaine or crack repeatedly. Indeed, researchers say that prior recreational drug use is a much larger risk factor for opioid addiction than medical exposure. That is not to say that there aren’t some whose addictions begin with a prescription — but this group is a decided minority.
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