In the medical world, chronic pain has become a major epidemic believed to affect tens of millions of people worldwide. Pharmaceutical companies have responded quickly to treat these patients, and their products have generated billions of dollars in revenue. Oxycontin, an anesthetic produced by Purdue Pharma, is considered the industry’s flagship drug for severe pain relief. While the drug has certainly helped many people regain a vastly improved quality of life and daily function, it has also facilitated a frightening new frontier of addiction. OxyContin: The Time Bomb, a CBC News documentary produced in Canada, examines the origins of this disturbing phenomenon and seeks solutions in a crisis that shows no signs of slowing down.
The drug’s success and the pain management and relief industry’s unrivaled growth have generally been the result of an aggressive and very successful marketing campaign. Derived from opiates, Purdue Pharma bills OxyContin as a safe narcotic because it is released slowly in the system and downplays its risk of addiction in users, especially when compared with the prescription drug Percocet. Purdue Pharma forged an alliance with the global community of doctors and convinced them that OxyContin was the most reliable and effective drug for patients with chronic and severe pain, a worrying practice prevalent in the medical industry. In fact, many of these doctors have become the face of the drug company, often getting paid handsomely for endorsing the drug in a public forum.
What initially appeared to be an overwhelmingly positive development to all involved was soon followed by severe addiction and withdrawal symptoms, alarmingly high overdose rates and unprecedented signs of recreational abuse. According to the film, the addiction epidemic continues its insidious spread due to the drug’s mainstream legality and the growing tolerance of the medical profession itself. OxyContin: The time bomb demands that change must come from within. Physicians need to follow their mantra—first do no harm—and become more aggressive in using alternative pain management methods that don’t have to rely on strong narcotics.
