It’s telling that rather than banning this pill, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) opts for a route that will benefit the very industry that created the problem. It’s an absolute racket. If there were any justice, they would be forced to hand out anti-overdose meds at no cost. STORY AT-A-GLANCE No pharmaceutical executive has ever been sent to prison for their role in the drug epidemic they intentionally created and promoted. Meanwhile, entire communities have been devastated and destroyed by addiction.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, there were 81,692 fatal opioid-related overdoses in the 12-month period ending in April 2022.
On March 29 the FDA announced it will soon make naloxone (brand name Narcan)—a drug that reverses the fatal effects of an opioid overdose—available over the counter (OTC) without a prescription.
Instructions on how to use Narcan are provided.
While OTC Narcan may reduce the number of lethal overdoses, it does nothing to address the underlying problem, which is the ease with which people can access opioids.
Opioids were initially approved for breakthrough cancer pain only, and there’s a solid argument to be made for banning opioids for all other uses, especially considering they provide no better pain relief than over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). In the video above, Joe Rogan interviews journalist Mariana van Zeller, who in 2009 shone a bright light on the drug abuse epidemic with her online documentary series “The OxyContin Express.”1,2…