Petition aims to hold Purdue Pharma accountable
Summary and Analysis…
A change.org petition was started recently to hold Purdue Pharma, and the Sackler family behind it, accountable for their part in creating the opioid crisis. The petition is directed to public and cultural institutions that have added the Sackler family name to buildings and other landmarks because of family donations.
The petition argues that “Purdue’s pills helped create a national health crisis that kills one person every four minutes. Now, the Sackler family, who took huge profits from OxyContin, is trying to buy our cultural institutions. Huge donations to galleries, theaters, and museums are intended to cover up the Sackler’s shame and make them look like heroes. They’re not.”
Excerpted from change.org
The Sackler Family founded Purdue Pharma, the company that manufactured OxyContin. You may not have heard of them, but you’ve definitely heard of Oxy. That’s the opioid painkiller that has decimated American families, towns, and communities. Purdue Pharma pumped Oxy into doctor’s offices and pharmacies. They lied about how addictive the drug was, recruited doctors to give more pills, and tried to cover up the devastating effects of their greed.
Purdue pled guilty in 2007 to criminal charges for knowingly misrepresenting the risks of OxyContin and lying to the medical community. They paid over $630 million in fines and three top executives were convicted of criminal charges. Yet, they continued to push OxyContin to doctors and flood the market with highly addictive, lethal pills. And the Sacklers keep pretending that they have nothing to do with it.
