Proof That Science and Money Don’t Mix?

This could easily be listed as ‘Chapter 653 of Science and Money Don’t Mix’, but I thought I’d make special note of this situation as it is possibly the most despicable abuse of power, influence and science that I’ve seen.

Ever.

To the point:  this story disgusts me.

Opioids have become a severe crisis across North America and pharmaceutical companies are FUELING the crisis.

John Kapoor, owner of Insys Incorporated, was arrested on Thursday on racketeering and fraud charges for an alleged nationwide scheme to push an extremely potent opioid drug containing fentanyl onto patients

[Kapoor] used bribes, kickbacks, and other fraudulent practices to get doctors to overprescribe the fentanyl drug, called Subsys. Fentanyl is a highly addictive synthetic opioid that can be up to 100 times more potent than morphine. As such, Subsys is only intended to treat severe pain in cancer patients. But according to the DOJ, many patients receiving Subsys didn’t have cancer.

The DOJ alleges that Kapoor, along with six former executives at Insys, paid doctors and pain clinics in various states to write “large numbers of prescriptions.” The department also alleges that Insys used fraudulent means to get health insurance providers to cover the harmful prescriptions.

Money wins every time when it comes to most companies, but when pharmaceutical companies and our most trusted intermediaries – doctors – become tainted by money, it becomes nearly impossible to trust medical advice.

This kind of corruption exposes the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the foul relationship between the medical community, private corporations earning money for shareholders and our governments.

We need a solution.

Let’s start with Kapoor.  If he’s proven guilty, maybe we should follow the advice of people commenting on the story and consider capital punishment over a year by gradual injection of opioids.