Friday, October 05, 2007

Purdue - Oxycontin: let the feudin' start




Kentucky officials on Thursday sued the manufacturer of OxyContin, the prescription pain reliever dubbed "hillbilly heroin," because of widespread abuse in Appalachia.

A lawsuit filed by Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo and Pike County officials demands millions in compensation from drug maker Purdue Pharma.

"Make no mistake about it _ this is war," said Gary C. Johnson, the county's outside counsel who is handling the case.

The lawsuit seeks reimbursement for costs incurred in drug abuse programs, law enforcement and prescription payments through Medicaid and the Kentucky Pharmaceutical Assistance program.

More at HuffPo

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Apparently Purdue supervisors and employees, marketed OxyContin to medical providers from December 1995 through June 2001 with the intent to defraud or mislead as less addictive, and portrayed the drug as less subject to abuse and less likely to cause tolerance and withdrawal than other pain medications. According to Kentucky Hillbilly's, boy were they wrong.