Final month we acknowledged Worldwide Overdose Consciousness Day, a day that everybody needs we didn’t must have.
Opioid-related emergency visits amongst Latinos have been on the rise since 2006, and in 2019 Imperial County had the very best variety of emergency visits throughout California. And in San Diego County this previous yr there have been 1,303 lives lost to drug overdoses — a rise from the earlier yr.
And this tragedy isn’t diminishing as fentanyl — which is an artificial opioid that’s 50 to 100 occasions stronger than morphine — is our subsequent disaster associated to opioids.
As we wrestle to offer assets and assist to these affected by opioid and drug habit, we must always not enable the big Wall Avenue companies that helped gas this disaster and haven’t but been held accountable to proceed to do enterprise.
We aren’t speaking in regards to the pharmaceutical firms that manufactured opioids, though in addition they are culpable, however the blue-chip consulting agency McKinsey & Company that devised the technique to “turbocharge” gross sales of Oxycontin whereas they knew how addictive it was. What’s worse is that in addition they had been consulting on the similar time for the Food and Drug Administration, which is accountable for regulating the drug trade.
This battle of curiosity is disturbing, and as representatives of our neighborhood in Calexico now we have seen the unlucky ravages of opioid habit. This isn’t one thing we will let go; we have to ask our federal and state elected officers to press this problem.
There are some robust leaders in Congress who’re analyzing McKinsey’s position. For instance, Rep. Katie Porter from Orange County stood up for all of us not too long ago as she requested for McKinsey to be held accountable.
Throughout a congressional listening to, McKinsey admitted to incomes not less than $86 million by serving to firms market opioid painkillers whereas additionally being a marketing consultant for the FDA. Additionally they reported that they’ve earned $143 million since 2008 from the FDA — cash that comes from our tax {dollars}.
Rep. Porter proclaimed on the listening to that “McKinsey obtained wealthy and America obtained addicted.”
Moreover, a current New York Instances investigation additionally discovered that McKinsey’s involvement “performed a far deeper and broader position in advising shoppers concerned within the opioid disaster than was publicly disclosed.” The Instances examined 15 years of data exhibiting McKinsey “grew to become a trusted adviser to firms on the core of an epidemic that has claimed half one million American lives.”
Whereas Oxycontin-maker Purdue Pharma is now bankrupt, pleaded responsible to 3 legal counts and paid greater than $8.3 billion in legal and civil forfeitures, McKinsey has not admitted any wrongdoing. Whilst they settled lawsuits with 49 states, the District of Columbia, and 5 territories, they admitted no wrongdoing.
At present, greater than 150 civil lawsuits have been filed in opposition to McKinsey on behalf of hundreds of plaintiffs who had been immediately harmed by the agency’s recommendation to Purdue Pharma. Lots of the plaintiffs are proper right here in California. And every of those circumstances has the appropriate to be heard so justice can really be served.
Calexico and Imperial County residents who’re shopping for fentanyl on the streets and risking their lives are doing so as a result of they’ve turn into addicted by means of their authentic prescriptions. This opioid disaster was not an accident and it didn’t simply arrive. The info have proven that the opioid disaster was deliberate, packaged and marketed to individuals in our neighborhood and throughout the nation.
That is why we applaud our federal elected officers for investigating with intention to carry firms which have accomplished fallacious accountable. And we ask our state elected officers to do the identical.
We shouldn’t be rewarding McKinsey with extra taxpayer contracts however relatively maintain them accountable for his or her actions. Whereas this received’t influence the addictions or deaths right now, justice will present closure and hope that such a man-made drug habit epidemic is not going to occur once more.
Raul Ureña is mayor professional tem and Gloria Romo is a councilmember of Calexico in Imperial County.
