Timeline of the Opiate Crisis
The opioid crisis in America has been gaining increased awareness during the last few years and especially throughout the past year. With so many Americans addicted to the drugs and dying from overdoses, media, scientific, departmental, and government attention has continually focused more on the growing problem. Stern Law is actively pursuing litigation against prescription opioid manufacturers, and we are closely following developments on these issues to create a timeline of the opiate crisis.
According to the CDC, over 625,000 people died from a drug overdoses between 1999 and 2016. Of that subset, approximately 350,000 are believed to be opiate overdoses. While the timeline of the opiate crisis does not simply begin in 1999, nor does it end in 2018 sadly, important events and work are occurring that can hopefully create change.
Read below for some of the latest news and information surrounding the timeline of the opioid crisis, and contact our firm today if you believe you might have a potential claim for damages regarding prescription opioid use.
Timeline of the Opiate Crisis
FDA Approves Injection to Assist in Opioid Crisis
-November 30, 2017
On November 30, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it had approved a new injectable drug in an effort to curb the opioid crisis in America. The drug, Sublocade (buprenorphine), is a monthly injection intended for treatment of moderate-to-severe opioid use in adults who have already begun treatment therapy with a buprenorphine product.
Buprenorphine had previously been approved in tablet and pill form, but the thinking behind this new injection was it would create an easier, less burdensome treatment option for people struggling with opioid use. In a statement released with the FDA’s announcement of the drug’s approval, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., said: “Given the scale of the opioid crisis, with millions of Americans already affected, the FDA is committed to expanding access to treatments that can help people pursue lives of sobriety. Everyone who seeks treatment for opioid use disorder deserves the opportunity to be offered the treatment best suited to the needs of each individual patient, in combination with counseling and psychosocial support, as part of a comprehensive recovery plan.”
Gottlieb went on to say that the FDA would continue working to facilitate widespread use of safe and effective methods for treating addiction, making this an important part of the timeline of the opiate crisis.
President Trump Donating Salary for Opioid Awareness
-November 30, 2017
The Trump Administration announced November 30, 2017, that the President would be donating his third-quarter salary as president to government programs to raise awareness to opioid addition in the United States. The salary amounts to about $100,000, and the Department of Health and Human Services pledged to work with the White House in order to use the money and spread awareness regarding increasing problems with opioid use and addiction in the country.
Justice Department Turns Focus to Opioid Problems
-November 29, 2017
On November 29, 2017, the United States Justice Department announced that it would increase enforcement in the way of opioid use. Attorney General Jeff Sessions stated that the agency would be dedicating $12 million in grants to assist law enforcement in targeting makers of illegal opioids like heroin, as well as sellers of prescription opioids and methamphetamines.
At the same time, the Justice Department directed all United States Attorneys to designate “opioid coordinators” in their offices and announced that the Drug Enforcement Agency would be opening a new field division in Louisville, Kentucky, to address opioid issues in states and communities particularly affected by the drug crisis, like Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
White House Economy Report Estimates Opioid Cost at $504 Billion in 2015
-November 19, 2017
In a report released on November 19, 2017, White House economists state that the total economic cost of opioid drug abuse in the United States was as high as $504 billion just for the year 2015. In its report, the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) said that this sum represented 2.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) during that same year.
The dollar figure was the result of analyzing the lost economic output from losing so many Americans to opioid overdose deaths (more than 30,000 people that year), combined with the estimated cost of addressing non-fatal overdoses and addiction. Costs associated with non-fatal overdoses and addiction include medical treatment, lost work productivity, and judicial system expenses. The CEA’s report depicted a U.S. economic impact higher than was previously estimated along the far-reaching timeline of the opiate crisis.
President Trump Declares Opioid Crisis ‘Public Health Emergency’
-October 26, 2017
On October 26, 2017, President Trump directed the Department of Health and Human Services to declare a “Public Health Emergency” in America regarding opioid use. The declaration allows for some grant money to be expended on opioid abuse matters, as well for hiring specialists to address the problem and dispatching medical services to rural areas affected by opioid abuse but having few doctors to treat people.
President Trump stated during his announcement at the White House that federally employed prescribers would be required to receive training in safe opioid prescription practices, and that efforts to develop alternative, non-addictive pain medications would be increased. He also stated that the government would work to prevent large imports of fentanyl from China and would suspend a rule blocking Medicaid payments for addiction treatment.
This event stands as a critical segment in the timeline of the opiate crisis because of the mixed assessment and limited impact it would have amidst the troubling data and information available. The declaration received criticism because it stopped short of declaring the opioid crisis a “National Emergency,” which would have allowed for a stronger and faster response, including more funding. The weaker declaration, which can expire after a short amount of time, coupled with zero additional funding drew criticism of the White House’s response to opioid abuse.
Study Finds Initial Prescription Best Indicator of Long-Term Opioid Use
-July 13, 2017
A study conducted by the University of Arkansas and published in the Journal of Pain in July 2017 found that a patient’s initial opioid prescription was the best indicator of whether that patient would go on to become a long-term opioid user. More specifically, the study concluded that the number of days in the original prescription showed a strong connection with likelihood for ongoing opioid use. This data represents a segment within the timeline of the opiate crisis wherein researchers begin to understand the critical turning points available for change.
For instance, someone with a seven-day prescription for an opioid is twice as likely to keep using the opioid long term than a person with a two-day prescription. According to the study, the number of days on the initial prescription plays a far greater role in determining potential for long-term use than dosage level or type of pain being treated.
America World Leader in Overdose Deaths, Opioid Use
-June 22, 2017
On June 22, 2017, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime issued a press release detailing information in its 2017 World Drug Report. The World Drug Report indicated that America had the highest rate of overdose deaths — about 27 percent of the world’s total rate — and the highest prescription opioid use. America’s opioid use almost doubled the next-closest country (Canada), seeing a particular spike in the 2000s.
Notably, according to data from the UN report, the number of drug overdose deaths in the United States correlated with the rise in prescription opioid use. In having such an important data point within the timeline of the opiate crisis, those looking to turn the tide on this epidemic could begin pointing to excessive prescriptions as an area for improvement and correction.
Health and Human Services Announces Plan to Fight Opioid Crisis
-April 19, 2017
At the National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit on April 19, 2017, then-Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, M.D., announced the Department’s plan for fighting the opioid crisis in America. Price stated that the Trump Administration was “committed to bringing everything the federal government has to bear on this health emergency,” and articulated the Department’s five-point plan for addressing the problem:
- Improving access to treatment and recovery services;
- Promoting use of overdose-reversing drugs;
- Strengthening understanding of the epidemic through better public health surveillance;
- Providing support for cutting edge research on pain and addiction; and
- Advancing better practices for pain management.
At the same time, Price announced that the Department of Health and Human Services was going to send letters to the governors of all 50 states detailing $485 million in grant funding for evidence-based prevention and treatment activities in their states.
FDA Opioid News
In May 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that, in light of the growing opioid problem, it was taking steps to further educate doctors and patients about the potential risks of opioid use. In doing so, it reported that it would require the addition of a “black box” warning on all immediate-release (IR) opioid pain medications to include information about the risks of misuse, abuse, addiction, overdose, and death associated with these drugs. A black box warning is the strongest possible warning for U.S. drugs, featuring serious risk information enclosed in a thick, black border at the top of the drug label. It is meant to alert prescribers that the drug should only be given to patients in limited circumstances when the benefits outweigh the risks of severe injury.
The FDA also created an Opioid Policy Steering Committee and released a statement in September 2017 saying that it was tightening restrictions on 74 manufacturers of IR opioids. These restrictions require the offering of training and education to prescribers about safe opioid practices and opioid alternatives. In the same statement, written by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., the FDA announced it would expand this education and training to nurses and pharmacists.
While the FDA and federal government’s recent actions are undoubtedly steps in the right direction, they do not come close to holding manufacturers, distributers, and prescribers accountable for the epidemic currently facing the country. If you believe you have an opioid claim, do not wait around for a change that might benefit you. The best course of action is to file a lawsuit for the ways you have been physically, emotionally, and financially harmed. Stern Law will take an aggressive stance on your behalf and fight for your rights to compensation.
Opioid Lawsuits
In order to make the highest possible profits in opioid prescriptions, drug manufacturers orchestrated a scheme in which they minimized or hid the dangers and extreme addictiveness of these drugs while exaggerating their safety and effectiveness. They pummeled doctors and consumers with false and misleading information about how opioids safely treated an array of pains and conditions in patients and had a higher therapeutic effect than other available pain medications. The timeline of the opiate crisis, as a result, starts with an assortment of lies focused on profit.
In many circumstances, manufacturers widely promoted off-label prescription practice by physicians. For instance, the drug Subsys, a fentanyl-based opioid, was approved solely for use in cancer patients. However, its manufacturer, Insys Therapeutics, Inc., promoted and actually compensated doctors for prescribing it to patients who did not have cancer. The corporation furthered its mission by falsifying insurance documents to get the medication covered (because patients who did not have cancer would not have been approved and would not have been able to pay out of pocket).
In addition, pharmacies and distributors ignored patterns of longstanding suspicious orders and failed to report prescriptions suggestive of off-label or abusive use. Many were rewarded for their inaction or facilitation of the opioid boom.
Manufacturers all the while desperately tried to keep everything hidden, continually rejecting reports of addictiveness and dangerous side effects, including death. Their work has blurred in certain areas the timeline of the opiate crisis but the public is becoming better educated on this important problem. The companies are alleged to have done this because they wanted every American to start taking their drugs, regardless of medical necessity, and to become addicted to their drugs and in need of more of their drugs. All in a horrifying display of greed showing the timeline of the opiate crisis is littered with selfish intents.
Today, Stern Law is helping people and entities affected fight back. We are filing lawsuits on behalf of individuals and their families stricken with addiction, insurance carriers who paid exorbitant amounts in fraudulent opioid prescriptions, and state and local governments who are drowning trying to keep up with the financial demands of the opioid epidemic in their communities. This litigation has enormous reach, and our lawyers want to help right all of the wrongs committed across the spectrum and across the country.
