AlterNet – by Jessica Sutherland
Addiction profiteer and OxyContin creator Purdue Pharma just can’t get a break. The privately held pill-pusher palace faces myriad lawsuits for being a driving force in the addiction crisis currently gripping the nation, most recently coming from the state of Massachusetts on June 12. Then, the opiate factory announced massive layoffs this week, the second such move of 2018, along with a focus shift to drugs that actually help people rather than kill them.
Just days after the layoffs were announced, employees at the family-owned death factory arrived Friday to find a most challenging piece of street art outside of the Stamford, Connecticut, headquarters of the company who still totally sells addictive painkillers: a nearly 600-pound sculpture of a heroin spoon, bent and dirty with residue.
Massachusetts artist Domenic Esposito tells the Hartford Courier that his sculpture represents addiction as an epidemic, as well as paying tribute both to his brother’s 14-year struggle with addiction, and his mother who always finds the dirty spoons that signal his relapses.
Esposito said his brother started with OxyContin and Percocet and moved to heroin.
“People say [OxyContin and Percocet] aren’t a big deal, but then you’re hooked and you run out of money and you turn to heroin.
“My mom would call me in a panic … screaming she found another burnt spoon,” Esposito said. “This is a story thousands of families go through. He’s lucky to be alive.”
The Danbury News-Times reports that the sculpture was installed as part of the Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery’s “Opioid: Express Yourself” multimedia exhibit. Strategically placed by Alvarez to block both a driveway and a sidewalk, the sculpture, called “Purdue,” remained in place for over two hours before city workers arrived to remove it.
Alvarez was arrested for both a misdemeanor—for putting the sculpture outside the painkiller palace and thus blocking traffic—and a felony, for (amicably) refusing to remove it under police orders.
Purdue Pharma issued a predictably meaningless statement in response to the installation.
“We share the protesters’ concern about the opioid crisis, and respect their right to peacefully express themselves. Purdue is committed to working collaboratively with those affected by this public health crisis on meaningful solutions to help stem the tide of opioid-related overdose deaths.”
The “Purdue” spoon remains in police custody.
“People say [OxyContin and Percocet] aren’t a big deal, but then you’re hooked and you run out of money and you turn to heroin.”.. i tell you true, people. I’ve been addicted to these things for 10 years. i have a laborious job and every year it gets harder to do. i get older, the ”sun” gets hotter. i love them, i need/want them. there are times i have run out of money or couldn’t find any but I’ve NEVER EVER once even thought heroine was an option. and if you have to shoot up, to use heroine, i never will. you could say I’m weak if you like but not that weak!! btw.. Suboxone IS the cure. I’ve just chosen, so far, to not be cured. don’t pity or pray for me, I’m just telling a story. marijuana isn’t a gateway drug, it just makes you not scared to try other things. not everyone on opioids tries heroine.
No… SUBOXONE is just another money making ploy… If you want a real cure… A natural way to exit opioid, try Kratom…. My Mom was an addict for 40 years… I’m 43 so basically all my life my Mom was addicted to pills… one day she called me crying, saying that she had run out which was code for my sister stole some and she had eaten too many…. I had read about kratom so I went to the local head shop and purchased some…. my mother was deep into the pangs of withdrawal… sweating, anxiety, freezing, hallucinating…. I put a spoonful of it into an applesauce cup… I basically force-fed it to her, went back to work, and told her to call me in 30 minutes…. she called me crying thanking me for finding this miracle plant that could help her get off of those satanic pills…. she hasn’t had another pill since… That’s been 3 years ago…. look into Kratom my friend… and don’t believe anybody that tells you it doesn’t work…
i tell ya what.. the fact that the govt wants to ban/illegalize Kratom, really does make me wanna try some. i have a herbalist customer. so i should ask her? did you mean head shop or herb shop? god knows if it works, I’d save a shitload of money! I’m sorry to hear that about your mom, i know that sux but happy about the happy ending. i don’t have anyone to support financially, that depends on me, that i have to take care of, so pissing away my money on dope only affects me.. if there’s an upside. thanks for the recommendation. I’m gonna check it out.
Around here they have it in the 7/11s and Quicky Marts. I’ve not tried it myself but those I’ve talked to who have swear by it.
Is there an addiction problem? Yes. Is there an overdose problem? Yes. Is it ALL because of opioid pain medication? NO. There are people (a lot of young people) who become addicted to pain Meds because they want to run from their problems and they’re easily accessible. Whether at home or through a friend. Others try heroin off the bat. There’s others who, like the previous commentor are on pain management, but they DON’T receive enough to get them through the day/month and in turn, turn to heroin.
Then there are those who are doing just fine and dandy on their opioid pain meds and are getting f!@ked because others stupidity and are being “weaned” off or down and having a hard time functioning due to increased pain and loss of mobility and those may also end up looking for heroin.
Realize that it’s MAINLY A HEROIN problem and NOT JUST an opioid problem. NOT all of it starts with opioid medication. Quit broad brushing like is done with EVERYTHING else.
Yes watch the patients on pain Meds better. Monitor them better. Make sure they’re doing okay. Watch for the signs of depression, anxiety etc in others to help prevent addiction. No one talked about all the Xanax that gets sold on the streets do they? Or the meth problem.
Mr. Adams, doesn’t sound like your addicted per se, but you enjoy the pain relief that you receive from them (as they are supposed to do). That when you take them you feel as though you can function like your supposed to vs without you have pain and can’t function as well. If you run out and can’t get more but don’t run and buy more or run to a stronger thing and wait until you can refill than your not addicted. You realize that they do what they’re supposed to do. Do you maybe need to check yourself so they last the month? Yes. But that’s up to you as an individual and adult. That’s the responsibility of those taking pain Meds, to make sure they keep themselves in check and don’t take too much. That way they last as they should AND you don’t accidentally OD.
I’m sure people will severely dislike my comment. That’s okay.
Weak people who need someone else to look out for them are the problem across the board.
There used to be a saying when I was young, short and sweet, and the absolute truth.
“It takes a strong mind to take it, and a strong mind not to take it.”
We have become a weak people looking for someone else to make our decisions for us and hence, be responsible for the results. It is an unnatural state and nature will correct itself.
i call them the people that.. ”need to be told when to go to lunch”. i absolutely get what you’re saying and have always HATED the thought of anyone making a decision for me. 5yrs in the Navy filled my belly of that shit! ESPECIALLY when it’s someone not as smart as me!