20 years with Purdue Pharma. Had to leave 2 yrs ago with Parkinson’s. I’ll never forget the day CW hired me for $45,000. Compared to my former company, I thought I was rich. My goal was to not suck and make a little money. I got a phone call soon after from a doctor at the local cancer hospital who wanted to know the maximum dose of Oxycontin. He had a patient with end stage breast cancer who wished to visit with family members for the last time. Oxycontin was the only thing that worked he told me. I realized I was selling something important. We were helping physicians with patients that without us and our product, would suffer needlessly. I was there for it all. The People magazine initial reporting on abuse and diversion, Barry Mieir and the New York Times. The Michael Freedman saga at the national meeting. Call notes. Cafe Pharma ban. Spectracef. Russ Gaaaaasdia. National Rep of year quitting the company under a cloud of suspicion. Pill mills. Abuse and diversion, abuse and diversion, abuse and diversion. The new boss, Timmney and his cohorts. What I see happening to Purdue makes me sick. Made scapegoat for “epidemic” of heroin overdoses and painted as some kind of gateway drug Oxycontin is demonized by both the medical community that should know better, and by law enforcement who don’t care whose life or practice they ruin as long as they have some film for the nightly news and a false sense of righteousness for getting pills off the street. It’s as bad as frustrated politicians vying for “shooting centers” where addicts can use in a “safe environment” with plenty of Narcan available. Please.
So we’re back where we started with patients in pain and doctors afraid to prescribe. If i didn’t have knowledge of people like the end stage cancer patient mentioned above I might think the last 20 years were a waste. But I will not forget the people we helped. I won’t forget the awareness we created and the pain we prevented, marketing our legal products in an ethical manner. Sure, there were people who were less that ethical and honest, just as there are in any organization of its size. But I will sleep well tonight knowing that we did the right thing for the right reason. The company offered us that opportunity. Some chose to go there own way, most sold with honor.
Unfortunately, despite the resources at hand, the leadership could not find or manage to shepherd a new med to pick up the slack after Oxycontin. A lot of families are suffering for that now.
Good luck to all.
So we’re back where we started with patients in pain and doctors afraid to prescribe. If i didn’t have knowledge of people like the end stage cancer patient mentioned above I might think the last 20 years were a waste. But I will not forget the people we helped. I won’t forget the awareness we created and the pain we prevented, marketing our legal products in an ethical manner. Sure, there were people who were less that ethical and honest, just as there are in any organization of its size. But I will sleep well tonight knowing that we did the right thing for the right reason. The company offered us that opportunity. Some chose to go there own way, most sold with honor.
Unfortunately, despite the resources at hand, the leadership could not find or manage to shepherd a new med to pick up the slack after Oxycontin. A lot of families are suffering for that now.
Good luck to all.