Drug Dealers

The makers of OxyContin plead guilty of misleading the public about the drug's addictiveness [link]. According to US Attorney John Brownlee:

"With its OxyContin, Purdue unleashed a highly abusable, addictive, and potentially dangerous drug on an unsuspecting and unknowing public...For these misrepresentations and crimes, Purdue and its executives have been brought to justice."

According to the DEA, the drug caused or contributed to 464 deaths in 2002. The company and three of its current and former executives were ordered to pay $634.5 million in fines, which initially seems like a large number, but it should be noted that annual sales of OxyContin were over $1 billion just in the year 2000, and at it's peak, there were over 600,000 prescriptions per year [link].


In other news, in Houston, Douglas Lee King Jr. plead guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to distribute [link]. He was caught with 3 ounces of cocaine, valued at approximately $3,000. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.