OxyContin on trial for heroin addiction
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Lisa Napoli: How the painkiller OxyContin was marketed is at issue today in court. Parents who say their children are addicted to heroin because of the prescription drug will testify. From WBUR, Monica Brady-Myerov reports.
Monica Brady-Myerov: Before sentencing three top Perdue Pharma executives, a Virginia judge wants to hear from people who believe they are victims. The executives have already pled guilty to illegally misbranding OxyContin.
Purdue Pharma has agreed to settle the lawsuit for over $600 million, but no one will serve jail time.
Today, June Saber from Massachusetts will tell the judge three of her sons are addicted to opiates because Purdue said OxyContin was less subject to abuse.
June Saber: I have a list on my home computer of a hundred of my son’s friends who became addicted to OxyContin and then to heroin — and that list is growing. And these aren’t kids from the streets. These are kids from middle-class homes. They’re your dancers, they’re your athletes, they’re your musicians. These were kids that you never would have imaged would end up dead or in jail or addicted.
After hearing from victims, the judge will decide whether or not to accept the settlement.
In Boston, I’m Monica Brady-Myerov for Marketplace.
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