Alberta Mental Health and Addictions Minister Dan Williams said institutional failures can explain the opioid crisis in North America. If people look at Canada and the United States, Williams said they are “uniquely positioned as the epicentre of the worldwide opioid addiction crisis.” “It really is here, and it’s because of the failure of institutions and you can tell this story all the way through starting with 1995 when the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the United States approved in I think an insane decision oxycodone with Big Pharma,” said Williams in a episode of the Jordan B. Peterson Podcast. “And they said that this would be good for public health, they said there aren’t risks of addiction, it’s incredibly low.”.However, Williams noted oxycodone is twice as powerful as heroin. Peterson said the probability people can produce a pharmacological compound that is analgesic and non-addictive is low. “Because the mechanism of action of analgesic medications is the same mechanism that produces drug-related reward,” said Peterson. “And so it’s very difficult to separate those.” While anti-inflammatory drugs can reduce pain through indirect mechanisms, Peterson said those affecting the systems psychopharmacologically will be using those with a high addictive potential. He added pharmaceutical companies “were lying with regards to the opioids on the most fundamental biological grounds imaginable.” Williams said this was well-known. Additionally, he pointed out this was not new science. While people knew about the harms, he said the opioid crisis started because of marketing. He said large amounts of money were being traded and regulatory bodies, physician regulators, medical schools, and other medical institutions were co-opted by this. “And so easily as well,” he said. The Alberta government introduced legislation in 2023 that it said would ensure people who contributed to creating the opioid crisis are held responsible..UPDATED: Alberta government to recover costs from opioid crisis .“Today’s addiction crisis stems from the actions of opioid manufacturers, distributors and their consultants who sought to sell as much of these dangerous drugs as possible for their own profit,” said Williams. “Their actions have resulted in billions of dollars of costs to Albertans, not to mention the devastating pain it has caused families and individuals suffering and dying from the deadly disease of addiction.”
Alberta Mental Health and Addictions Minister Dan Williams said institutional failures can explain the opioid crisis in North America. If people look at Canada and the United States, Williams said they are “uniquely positioned as the epicentre of the worldwide opioid addiction crisis.” “It really is here, and it’s because of the failure of institutions and you can tell this story all the way through starting with 1995 when the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the United States approved in I think an insane decision oxycodone with Big Pharma,” said Williams in a episode of the Jordan B. Peterson Podcast. “And they said that this would be good for public health, they said there aren’t risks of addiction, it’s incredibly low.”.However, Williams noted oxycodone is twice as powerful as heroin. Peterson said the probability people can produce a pharmacological compound that is analgesic and non-addictive is low. “Because the mechanism of action of analgesic medications is the same mechanism that produces drug-related reward,” said Peterson. “And so it’s very difficult to separate those.” While anti-inflammatory drugs can reduce pain through indirect mechanisms, Peterson said those affecting the systems psychopharmacologically will be using those with a high addictive potential. He added pharmaceutical companies “were lying with regards to the opioids on the most fundamental biological grounds imaginable.” Williams said this was well-known. Additionally, he pointed out this was not new science. While people knew about the harms, he said the opioid crisis started because of marketing. He said large amounts of money were being traded and regulatory bodies, physician regulators, medical schools, and other medical institutions were co-opted by this. “And so easily as well,” he said. The Alberta government introduced legislation in 2023 that it said would ensure people who contributed to creating the opioid crisis are held responsible..UPDATED: Alberta government to recover costs from opioid crisis .“Today’s addiction crisis stems from the actions of opioid manufacturers, distributors and their consultants who sought to sell as much of these dangerous drugs as possible for their own profit,” said Williams. “Their actions have resulted in billions of dollars of costs to Albertans, not to mention the devastating pain it has caused families and individuals suffering and dying from the deadly disease of addiction.”
