Op-Ed: Don’t let Adderall scarcity trigger a repeat of the opioid epidemic, says Michael Moore
With an unprecedented supply of free opiate-replacement treatment available for individuals struggling with addiction and addiction-related illnesses, experts are scrambling to provide the necessary treatment options.
But those efforts are complicated by the fact opiate-based pharmaceutical drugs are becoming scarce.
In a post published Wednesday on his website, Michael Moore wrote the opiate crisis is part of our national epidemic of chronic diseases and its “epidemic” stems from “the over-abundance of the one drug” heroin.
“Heroin is not addictive, as so many wrongly believe; it is, unfortunately, one of the most addictive substances ever created,” Moore wrote, adding:
“It’s what my dad used to call ‘the one drug.’”
The post, entitled “Don’t Let Adderall Scarcity Trigger a Repeat of the Opioid Epidemic,” follows in the last few days on an opiate-reform effort that has been discussed since 2013 when President Obama announced the Department of Justice would be partnering with pharmaceutical companies to find ways to curb the epidemic. A public-private partnership between Big Pharma and Big Government was announced that year and has included the creation of a Special Narcotics Prosecutor to combat drug-related issues.
Since then, the Special Narcotics Prosecutor has prosecuted some of the biggest pharmaceutical company executives known to our law. Their names include Purdue Pharma CEO, Ray Chambers, and John Kapoor, CEO of Insys Therapeutics.
Moore, along with other drug reform campaigners and doctors, have called for Big Pharma to stop making opiate-related drugs and instead work with the Drug Enforcement Agency to make heroin-like drugs, such as Subutex, that don’t harm or kill people.
But that plan, as well as other drug reform proposals, have been met with resistance by Big Pharma.
Many times during the Obama administration, Obama has tried to convince Big Pharma to work with Big Government to tackle the opioid overdose epidemic. While in
