The coronavirus pandemic has unfortunately made it difficult to access some types of natural healing techniques, especially for chronic pain. But turning to pharmaceutical painkillers, and opioids, in particular, is a dangerous—and potentially deadly—mistake.
Plus, you have many safe, natural, effective options that can help you manage your condition without addictive and harmful opioids—including some you can do right at home, like meditation and yoga.
I’ll tell you more about these natural pain-relief options in just a moment. (Including a simple tool for figuring out which one will work best for you.)
But first, let’s talk a bit more about the country’s raging opioid drug epidemic. Unfortunately, it began long before the coronavirus pandemic…
Opioid epidemic behind historic increase in mortality rates
As I first started reporting a few years ago, the opioid epidemic caused an historic increase in death rates among middle-class, middle-aged, whites. It got so bad that at one point, it caused an increase in the country’s overall mortality rate. Before that point, mortality rates had never increased in any U.S. population group in modern history!
I vividly remember consulting in case after case as a forensic pathologist and Florida state medical examiner where the toxicologists simply gave up on trying to determine whether the manner of an opioid drug death was intentional (suicide) or unintentional (accidental). (Life insurance companies only wanted to know whether or not the drug could have been taken in accordance with prescription guidelines. If not, the family was out of luck.)
Drug makers finally face criminal charges
In recent years, federal investigators began investigating and eventually charged Purdue Pharma, the makers of OxyContin®, for its role in fueling the opioid epidemic. And in November 2020, Purdue made a backroom deal with federal prosecutors and pled guilty to three charges.
Specifically, the company agreed to pay $225 million to the federal government, as long as it complies with bankruptcy proceedings. And members of the wealthy Sackler family—which owns Purdue and is a major darling of the crony corporatist Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.—agreed to pay $225 million to the federal government to settle civil cases.
But many experts consider this settlement to be a slap on the wrist, especially since the company contributed to the deaths of more than 470,000 Americans over the past two decades. And the crisis has shown no signs of stopping.
Of course, there’s still an outstanding, $2.2 trillion lawsuit brought against Purdue by 47 U.S. states. And apparently, the company wants to settle that litigation too, with a proposal that includes paying for addiction treatment and overdose-reversing drugs.
But some experts say Purdue doesn’t have enough money to satisfy that deal. In fact, about a year ago, the company filed for bankruptcy protection and should, at some point soon, emerge as a new company. So, who knows how much compensation the states…much less the victims…will eventually receive.
It all reminds me a bit too much of the states’ lawsuit against the tobacco industry 20 years ago…
Back then, all the lawsuits turned into cash cows for the states. Because, unlike Purdue, the tobacco companies stayed in business. So, the states continued to get big tobacco settlement payments, year after year.
The nanny states said they needed the settlement money to help victims of tobacco. But, instead, they used it to bail themselves out. (Like they want to do now with coronavirus relief meant to help struggling people and families.) They even used the settlements to raise even more money for themselves by selling tobacco-backed bonds (now virtually worthless paper). The whole tobacco settlement sham was a shameful disgrace.
Natural ways to relieve pain
In the end, as we see all too often in our American healthcare system, there appear to be many villains, but few heroes. And sadly, the American people are always the victims.
Thankfully, as I mentioned earlier, you have many safe, effective, and natural options for relieving chronic pain without resorting to harmful and addictive drugs. You can take this short quiz to learn which approach will work best for you. You can also check out my books, Your Emotional Type and Overcoming Acute and Chronic Pain: Keys to Treatment Based on Your Emotional Type.
In addition, you can learn about the many natural approaches to combatting pain, stiffness, and swelling in my Arthritis Relief and Repair Protocol. This innovative, online learning tool discusses a drug-free plan for easing and eliminating arthritis pain…as well as other types of pain. To learn more, or to enroll today, click here now!
Sources:
“Sacklers cited fear of OxyContin lawsuits before transferring $10 billion from their company, documents show.” Reuters, 12/21/20. (reuters.com/article/us-purdue-pharma-opioids-investigations/sacklers-cited-fear-of-oxycontin-lawsuits-before-transferring-10-billion-from-their-company-documents-show-idUSKBN28V11Y)
“OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma pleads guilty in criminal case.” Associated Press, 11/24/20. (apnews.com/article/purdue-pharma-opioid-crisis-guilty-plea-5704ad896e964222a011f053949e0cc0)
“Purdue Pharma Pleads Guilty to Criminal Charges for Opioid Sales.” The New York Times, 10/21/20. (nytimes.com/2020/10/21/health/purdue-opioids-criminal-charges.html)