Fox in the Drug Free Hen House!
I began blogging approximately one year ago as a part of my recovery process and to hopefully help others starting on the road of parenting an addicted child. I hoped to share experiences that would allow others to learn from both my mistakes and victories.
As I continued to write I began to meet other parents of addicted children and discovered other outlets for learning about addiction. One such group is called “Partnership at Drug Free.org ” I found that other parents with addict children were blogging about the pain, suffering, and utter devastation caused as their teenagers became addicted to OXYCONTIN. I naively thought the Partnership at Drug Free.org was an honorable resource.
These parents shared tips about recovery and all have kids that have been addicted to opiates. These are children that have traded sex, shot, stabbed, robbed and lost touch with their families in the quest to feed the OXY addiction that had stolen their very souls. Each day I would read stories from other parents across the US who shared the ups and downs of an addiction war started when Purdue Pharma “misbranded” a drug called Oxycontin.
( More info about OXYCONTIN is FOUND HERE )
I soon learned that Good and Evil often intermingle in the addiction/recovery world and that money was being donated by PURDUE pharma to causes that allegedly promoted recovery. I was saddened then outraged to learn that this Partnership @ Drugfree.org site for recovery was funded by the very company that plead guilty in Abindon VA. Funding list is here
The death tally attributed to OXYCONTIN continues to grow each day and in my opinion PURDUE PHARMA’s contribution to the “PARTNERSHIP” is nothing short of a legal maneuver to protect their ass in the future should wrongful death suits be filed.
Other groups have called PURDUE donations to recovery sites BLOOD MONEY. To me BLOOD MONEY indicates the killer has a conscious. Sadly, there is no conscious shown by this pharmaceutical company as addiction rates soar to all time record numbers.
PURDUE’s funding of this “recovery site” probably allows the company to march back into court and plead that they too have made an effort to fight the war against drugs. Investing a nominal amount of money into a website will never exonerate PURDUE for the devastation incurred by the families of OXYCONTIN abuse victims. Let no parent of an addicted child ever forget that the company is raking in billions of dollars each year and the website investment by this company pales in comparison!
Much like the big liquor vendors telling us to “DRIVE RESPONSIBLY” perhaps the Pharma’s slogan could be ;
SNORT RESPONSIBLY!
The mandate as part of the guilty plea was to educate the public about drugs and addiction. Ib that case we should attend the Jeffery Dahmer School of Socialization?
I began to question other parents who had contributed articles to the drugfree org site. I wanted to make them aware that the “Fox was truly in the Hen House.” I was astounded at the replies from other bloggers stating they did not see anything improper with the PURDUE funding of such a Prevention site.
I liken PURDUE funding an antidrug site to OSAMA BIN LADEN handing out band-aids and ice cream at the World Trade Center bombings.
Other “addict bloggers” told me that there are plenty of addictive drugs out there and our children “chose” to use them. Yes there are many drugs on the market but the one that was misbranded set the stage for a generation of opiate addicts. I ask you again to please read the trial notes from Abindon, VA ( info here )
I was stunned that parents of an addicted child would collaborate with a site funded by PURDUE. Yes, I understand addiction is a disease as old as mankind itself but the increase in opiate addiction has been tied to the release of OXYCONTIN onto an unsuspecting and deceived public.
Our addicted kids lives will be forever altered and as a parent I am not so quick to forgive a multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical company that was found guilty of deception in a Federal court. ( INFO HERE
The other parents may continue to blog at that Partnership site but they must realize they are willingly partnering with a company who knowingly lied to the public with no regard for your addicted child’s future!
I would be disgraced if this blog was associated with the Partnership site as the loyalty to my family and other “addiction influenced” families are far too strong. I am truly saddened by those who would consider contributing an article to a PURDUE funded resource and truly hope they are not being paid by the website. I remind them that Purdue is the arsonist who lit the match to the Opiate inferno that rages across the country!
Need the stats? Read the respectable non PURDUE FUNDED blogs of Erin Marie Daly @ www.oxywatchdog.com or Marianne Skolek at the Salem news . These “non pharma funded” blogs can provide the articles that will show any reader with an iota of intelligence the morbid reality of Opiate addiction and its ties to Oxycontin, PURDUES flagship product.
I remind others that contribute that you are in fact partnering with a company that $imply wants to generate profit by selling a product to the public. Their bottom line is the dollar. They are in the business to sell drugs not promote recovery. Please don’t let your addict child down by forgetting that.
Purdue spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on causes and sites like the Partnership while raking in billions in profits from sales of addicting drugs. This is “spending a dollar to make one thousand dollars” business logic. Very profitable indeed!
Stop partnering at the Purdue funded sites and remember the children who will potentially die as opiate addiction spins them into a world of devastation started by their first snort of a drug called OXYCONTIN. Placing the “Partnership of Drug free brand band-aid” on this lethal stab wound of addiction inflicted by the hands of PURDUE will never compensate for the pain and suffering experienced by so many American families.
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A writer atthe Salem-News.com site posted an article on Partnership on Nov 3, 2011 - article link is here
Categorised as: Journal Entries
You don't see Purdues big picture. They have a rewards program for DEA agents, FDA, FBI, state medical board, in which they "create" high paying jobs after these public sector empoyees take care of Purdues needs. Purdue scares doctors, the ones that are not working on Purdues team, through these resources and any doctors working with Purdues pharm reps are left alone by drug agents/DEA/ medical board investigations. Purdue is a company of scam artist.
[...] By the way can anyone tell me who funds Partnership for Drug free. org? [...]
[...] The article she referenced would be : http://addictionjournal.net/?p=1963 A related article would be : http://addictionjournal.net/?p=1638 [...]
OXYCONTIN=HEROIN, SAME MOLECULAR MAKE UP!! SHOULD BE USED FOR END OF LIFE ONLY AS IT WILL END YOUR LIFE SOON ANYWAY….ITS OVER PRESCRIBED, PP MADE THIS DRUG MISLEAD THE PUBLIC, WAS CONVICTED IN COURT, THATS MY TWO CENTS!! PP NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE!!!!!!!!
SJ;
I’m thrilled you are willing to take responsibility for your addiction, that is admirable, most recovering addicts need to come to that place. But the truth is PURDUE only manufactures opioids. Nothing else. And Oxycotin should never leave the hospital with few exceptions. And they ADMITTED their guilt… just like you have admitted your own. All of us, when we have done something wrong… need to understand there is consequences for our actions. That is part of life. If we as parents take the consequences away from our child they never learn, and this Corporation needs to deal with theirs. Responsible marketing, and manufacturing should be a NO brainier in that industry.
So we can NOT hold them blameless, just as the addict is not blameless. But once you partake… your caught in a very long and dangers snare, one that leads to a possible death sentence, as well as all the other mess that comes with it. Purdue and the other drug companies that make these opioids need to do so responsibly… END OF SUBJECT
I FIRMLY beleive that any money coming from Purdue, should be taken (and I use that word strongly) for the SOLE purpose of FUNDING RECOVERY for our addicts. And as my friend reminded me… funeral costs for those whose lives are cut short due to addiction. Nothing more nothing less, and i think it should be taken in such a manner that it HURTS
No disrespect, but I completely disagree with the premise of your post. It’s not the fault of “Big Pharma” that oxy addicts are the way they are. I am an oxy addict (not currently using) and know a few others. I’ve never met one single oxy addict who didn’t know it was expensive, physically addictive, destructive to health and family, and all-around a bad idea before they started. Everyone I’ve met knows better. I knew better. It’s easy to sit there and blame a corporation. Blame your kid for picking it up. My addiction is because of me- not because a drug company didn’t add enough warning labels at the end of their commercial. This is the same nonsense as people suing McDonalds when their weight ran past 400- even though those people chose to eat Big Macs three meals a day. If McDonalds funded a website telling you how to exercise and eat healthy, would you have as much of a problem with it? Oxycodone is a medication that (very efficiently) treats severe pain, and then there are addicts (like me) who abuse them. The company shouldn’t be held liable by someone with no legal prescription misusing their product any more than the makers of alcoholic beverage 4Loko shouldn’t be held liable for those underage kids drinking a bunch and then killing those people in their car. Passing the blame means your child is even less responsible for their horrible actions that confuse and disgust you, so it’s natural to want to do it. But it’s still silly. These companies also sell many, MANY other drugs, many of them lifesaving. To castigate them over the “negligence” in providing the pharmacies with a legal, effective drug for chronic pain patients because you can’t bear to throw that same blame at the feet of your child is illogical. I mean no disrespect by saying this, it’s just a different view.
As a parent of an addict, the best advice and information I have received was from (1) another parent who is a year or two ahead of me in his recovery (I call him “Miyagi”), and (2) from addicts in long-term recovery.
My son and I wasted many hours meeting with professionals with “PhD” on the back of their names, to no avail. I’m sure there are many well educated professionals out there who know their stuff, but that was my personal experience.
Great Post, I am not surprised by this partnership at all and I find it utterly disgusting. I can’t believe any parent who has had a child who became addicted or has died from there addiction to Oxycontin would even consider being part of this organization or any organization that is funded by any Pharmaceutical company let alone Purdue Pharmaceuticals.
What does having a PhD got to do with this other those with PhD’s are part of the problem when they over prescribe any medication that is addictive.
I’ll take advice from a parent who has a child who was or is addicted to prescription drugs before I take advice from anyone with Phd.
I’ve seen and experienced what being addicted to pain killers can do to a person and their family and anyone I have talked to or mentored that was addicted or is addicted to these drugs have told me that they got a lot more out of our mentoring sessions than any sessions with a psychiatrist or doctor.
Parents of addicts and addicts who have overcome there addiction have a great understanding and are far more knowledgeable than anyone with PhD when it comes to drug addiction.
Thanks for the great post i look forward to reading your post everyday…….Brian
Dear Lynn and Amy,
Guess I don’t make myself very clear. I am the mother of a heroin addict. My son spent over a decade homeless and in county jail/prison. Several overdoses. Was almost crushed by a garbage truck compacter when he was sleeping in a dumpster in the winter…40 seconds away from death actually. I have lots of war stories, but that is not the point.
What I was trying to say is have either of you ever read the Partnership at Drug free.org? You will find a whole section of articles by parents of addicts who dispense information on drug abuse. I find the “information” to be “opinions.” Others on the site are giving advice with no credentials. Hence, my PhD comment. What I meant was “shouldn’t they have a level of educational expertise about addiction to be writing on the Partnership.org site?” Parents trust this site!
I thought this post was about big Pharma funding the Partnership at Drug Free.org. I thought the point he was making here was not to support the Partnership at Drug Free.org.
Did I miss something?
I’m a nurse at a private practice. I see the drug reps EVERY day bearing gifts for the doctors. They are not allowed to call them gifts anymore, it is “promotional material.” I’m very familiar with advertising and marketing ploys of the drug companies after 34 years as a nurse.
The blog I referred to is written by a well known psychiatrist who EXPOSES big Pharma marketing of all drugs, primarily psychiatric drugs. He writes a very relevant blog about the underhanded practices of these companies.
I’m sorry for the confusion. I’m sorry I offended. I’m sorry for your losses. Please accept my apology.
When my children were little, and had some mysterious thing wrong with them, I would not call the pediatrican. I would call other mothers who always had the answer.
You do not have to have a PHD after your name to be an expert at addiction. You only have to have lived it. I bet I know more about addiction than any doctor that specializes in it. You can’t preach about something you have not experienced. If the experts were so good at this, the kids would not be in and out of rehab programs as much as they are. The first one would work!
Well put Nancy ..thanks for commenting !
Wow…That’s just…I…I can’t even fathom what would constitute as an appropriate response to your comment, Lou -though i’m moved/compelled to respond with ‘something’.
*uhhhh boy* Ya know? In attempt to fight back my sense of utter shock/and further disappointment in witnessing yet a SECOND ‘ready-fire-aim’ comment : I don’t recall the last time I was so completely at a loss for words to something written/spoken that was so astoundingly short-sighted, and just so uncalled for. So…hey…Good job, Lou…I guess?
Something I can ‘can’ muster, though…And, hopefully without sarcasm taking over what is usually a pretty fair-minded, balanced perspective and respectful nature on my part- Unless, that is, someone’s show of arrogance-inspired, near-cluelessness moves me to ‘spit fire’. LOL…Well, crap. I didn’t make it very far without said sarcasm-spitting, now did I?
Oh well…My bad. My excuse: Scottish-Irish decent. Spitting fire is my birth right;0). I rarely feel compelled to do it, though. That’s because generally, advocates/parents/cso’s in the recovery community tend to be wired in respect, compassion-and let’s not forget ‘humility’- earned in their ‘post traumatic growth’ from the hard, hard miles courageously and mindfully traveled in the journey of addiction despite their differences with regard to opinions/ philosophies/approaches in parenting a child with substance use disorder.
That said. Careful ;0). I ‘can’ deliver heat when I’m moved to speak out for those parents who give of themselves consistently and selflessly…and in a spirit of hope that their sharing… that, their expertise (YES. I SAID “EXPERTISE”- The kind that can ONLY be gained and shared by way of one’s conscious desire to ‘truly’ grow –which is, by the by, ‘different’ from a chronic need to be ‘right’*smirkygrin*.
Credit for the apology, though… It was the correct thing for you to offer on behalf of these deserving family members.
Wow…maybe its new day for you, eh? Another apology ‘should be’ offered by you to parents on the Partnership community site. Those you have no cause to attack, who offer their compassionate hearts, their shared experiences in parenting a son/daughter with a substance use disorder and/or co-occurring mental health disorder…(oh. while I’m at it…Notice how I have just enough sensibility- as a non-PhD’d parent of an incredible son in long term recovery- NOT to refer to people challenged by addiction with stigma-dragging labels like “junkie”. ohhhhh dear. My bad, again. Damn my sarcastic spit fire;0)
There is simply no excuse that would justify levying insult and vilifying parents (on the partnership site, or anywhere else). These are parents who truly aspire to learn from other parents, as well as share their hope, empathy, open mind, heart, and down-right exemplary acumen with other parents challenged by similar circumstances.
Lou, you searched out my email address from the partnership website not all that long ago- where I participate, often, in the Intervene parent-centered community. You, specifically, shared that you respected my feedback/comments on the site, and then you asked me to support your personal blog. I responded to your contact with a very supportive email.
That’s another catalyst for your comments to just disappoint the crap out of me. But, it’s an unreasonable expectation, on my part, I know- That of assuming that just because I experienced what I thought seemed to be genuine insights and caring on your part regarding parenting through the addiction journey, to then be blindsided by this rather mean-spirited, alter ego of yours…*emphasis on the ‘ego’ part*
I’m wishing you true enlightenment and peace, Lou. And, I pray I never lose my sense of humanity, empathy, respect…or humor along this friggin’, incredibly hard, journey. That shared, very personal truth –A hopeful sign of some amount of maturity I’ve gained, and also sign of the genuine wish for the same for you. For the record: Any growth I am experiencing is credited to my incredible kid, in my having been inspired witness to his courageous battle with addiction. Notice, again, how I didn’t refer to him as a ‘junkie’? Ope…ugh…sarcasm again?? Oh well…Clearly, I’m not quite as “growthy” (much less, void of words) as I thought. I’ll work on that…
I feel quite the opposite Lou . As someone who has lost family members to addiction , in particular pain medication I feel sometimes the ” PhD” is not enough . There needs to be some level of compassion for these people. Unless you have walked the walk , its hard to talk the talk . Just because I am not a doctor does not mean I do not have the mental capacity to educate myself on this issue .
Great blog as always and you hit it on the head!! I was at the PP trial, I even was allowed to speak in court and looked into the eyes of the 3 stooges of PP while they sat in the front row looking all smug and disgusted, showing no emotion, I spoke about a young man who shot himself in the head in his bedroom while he mother was cooking in the kitchen, this young man was so hooked on oxy and was tired of being so addicted. Any money from PP is blood money, they have reps all over including lawyers who were at every single session in our capital this year for the new drug bill, again I saw this with my own eyes. As far as Lou’s comment-you have no clue, its obvious that you are not a parent of an addict and psychiatry is just another field of docs who make up symptoms for money and also cause addiction…a PHD-give me a break.
I have long known this about Partnership, Org. I read many e-newsletters from recovery professionals and recovery organizations. While no one has outright called the Partnership on their “information” I had read a lot of sarcasm and disgust about putting opinions out as facts. Lets face it..advice coming from parents who know as little as any other parent is not always helpful. If you take another parent’s experience, fine, but you should remember they have no formal education on addiction (or recovery). I personally would never base my actions on another “addict parents” advice. Unless perhaps if they have a PhD after their name!
I work in the medical field, and big Pharma permeates every aspect of health care delivery. Not just addiction, but every disease out there.
There are also some great blogs written by doctors on this subject. The Carlat Psychiatry Blog is great.
I’m glad you are aware and actively seeking to educate yourself from sources outside the blog world. We should be following your example.
I’ve read clinical data, researched empirically-supported therapies/treatments regarding addiction, (’til my brain ached… but, never as much as my heart), for over 15 years, and counting.
“Necessity is the mother of invention”…
Fruedian, somehow, that ‘the mother’ would get the credit for all that “inventing” :0)
My son is 29. Diagnosed, at 14, with major depressive disorder and substance use disorder; his courage and hope along the way have never failed to astound and inspire me.
Oh, lordy. Look out! Here comes tooting of horn: Along with the learning gained through trial and error, (did I mention error? ;0), associated with the experiences of parenting a child with a co-occurring disorder; I’ve helped increase the momentum in my own journey/helped increase the health of my family system/responsibly encouraged my son toward increased self efficacy, AND continue to support many other parents traveling a similiar path, in a responsible, compassionate, informed way.I’ve added positives to the journey, in all of those areas, in having taken the initiative to get myself trained (twice and counting;0)in Motivational Interviewing (MI).
While I ain’t got no letters trailin’ ma’ name, (onacow’na I’m justa mom); I reckon I still feel purdy confident in recommendin’ MI and CRAFT as a potential source of help/support fer folks.*cheeeezy grin*
On a serious note: We all know that one size support/treatment/treatment philosophy will never fit all.
That’s, precisely, why we gotta keep on keepin’ on trying somethin else when what we’re doing isn’t producing the results we hope for…
Food for thought: http://faculty.fortlewis.edu/burke_b/CriticalThinking/Readings/MI-Burke.pdf
Bon Appetit! ;0)
(Hey…I thought this was supposed to be about pharmaceutical companies and such… And, hey again…cuz I think that cow patti lady just “advised” me? Hmmm…Well…Could be she did. Only your hairdresser knows for sure.)
Hairdressers: Wish I had a dollar for every time I acted on my hairdresser’s advise and it went horribly wrong ;0).
I’ve learned that anyone, PhD or no, is capable of handing out irresponsible, even, dangerous advise. As parents of children who are challenged by addiction, we can help ourselves along by remembering that we need to be discerning and smart about ‘all’ advisements, regardless of the source. There are skilled, as well as incompetent people in all professions, no matter their credentials. It’s up to us, as parents, to vet on behalf of our own kids, our own families, our own journey.
Wishing us all better lived moments and peaceful travels along the way…