Largest Pharmaceutical Opioid Fraud Of About $1.3B in America

Largest Pharmaceutical Opioid Fraud of about 1.3 billion dollars in America

The largest Pharmaceutical Opioid fraud of about 1.3 billion dollars in America has been found by the DEA (DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION).

Ten Pharmaceutical Distributors Executives, Sales Representative, and Brokers are charged for unlawful sale of nearly 70 Million Opioid pills.

Largest Pharmaceutical Opioid Fraud Details-

Charges against 5 pharmaceutical distributor executives and five pharmaceutical sale representatives and brokers have been unsealed in the Southern District of Texas, Southern District of Florida, Eastern district of Missouri and Eastern District of North Carolina.

70 million Opioid Pills and 30 million Doses of other commonly abused prescription medicine have been distributed to the Houston-area PILL-MILL Pharmacies.

Three Houston area pharmacy operators are charged in southern district of Texas.

9 Individuals have pleaded guilty.

What are the most common types of opioids abused ?

According to the court documents the opioids allegedly distributed are

1. Oxycodone
2. Hydrocodone
3. Hydromorphone

These medicine are available in different strength from minimum to higher doses but the distributors allegedly sold the medicine of the most powerful strength and also the immediate release form of the medicine which produces the effects quickly.

What are the other medicines used in this opioid Fraud-

Along with the above-mentioned medicine, these distributors used prescription medicine potentiators which are-

1. Alprazolam
2. Carisoprodol
3. Promethazine with codeine syrup 

These medicine were sold with the opioids to increase the effects.

What are 3 common Opioids-

What are Opioids-

Compounds that are derived from opium or chemically similar to morphine are called Opiates.

Opioids are substance that have Morphine like function irrespective of the chemical structure.

Opium are dark brown resinous material obtained from poppy capsule.

Opioids Class of Medicine

Opioids are class of medicine that have analgesic action which are prescribed by the doctor for treatment of pain.

1. Natural opium Alkaloids- Morphine and codeine
2. Semisynthetic Opiates- Diacetylmorphine, Pholcodeine, Ethylmorphine, Hydromorphone, Oxymorphone, Hydrocodone and Oxycodone.
3. Synthetic Opioids- Tramadol, Pethidine, Fentanyl

Opioid painkillers-

1. Pethidine- Intramuscular injection of this medicine produces rapid action to decrease the pain but it’s action last for 2-3 hours. Analgesic ( pain reliving) action is nearly equal to morphine.
2. Fentanyl- It has good analgesic effect and produces less cardiac side effect. Pain reliving action is short and starts becoming less effective after 30 -40 minutes of administration.
3. Methadone- Duration of pain reliving action last for about 4-6 hours on giving intramuscular injection. But after repeated dose this medicine gets stored in the tissue and slowly released from the tissue which increases its duration of action.
4. Tramadol- It is Centrally acting medicine and it can provide pain relief for about 4 to 6 hours. Mostly used in patients undergoing surgery, diagnostic procedure or patients suffering from pain due to cancer.

Opioid Withdrawal Symptoms-

Opioid withdrawal symptoms are as follows-

1. Lacrimation- Constant secretion of water from the eyes.
2. Sweating- Excessive sweat is produced from the body.
3. Anxiety- The patient will feel anxious, fearful, and restless.
4. Mydriasis- The pupil of the eye of the patient becomes dilated and doesn’t show a response to light
5. Insomnia- The patient will not be able to sleep.
6. Abdominal pain- The patient will feel pain in the stomach and can also suffer from diarrhea.
7. Dehydration- Due to excessive sweating and diarrhea, patients can suffer from dehydration (which is excessive loss of water from the body).
8. Hypertension-Opioids are known to produce cardiac side effects like high blood pressure.
9. Delirium and convulsions are rare and can occur in a few patients.
10. Palpitation- An increase in heart rate is seen in some patients.

Opioid precautions-

Opioids are habit-forming substances and should be used only when doctors prescribe them to patients.

Never take any medicine just for fun as these medicines can produce uncontrollable symptoms that can affect a patient’s life also.