As U.S. opioid crisis grew, the pills got stronger
Counties in eastern U.S. received the most opioids
WASHINGTON — In 2012, as the death toll from the opioid crisis mounted, drug companies shipped enough of the powerful, addictive painkillers for every man, woman and child in the U.S. to have nearly a 20-day supply. In some counties, it was well over 100 days.
An Associated Press analysis of drug distribution data also found that the amount of opioids as measured by total potency continued to rise even as the number of pills distributed began to dip.
The reason: Doctors were prescribing — and the industry was supplying — stronger pills.
“It shows it wasn’t just the number of pills being shipped that increased. The actual amount of opioids being prescribed and consumed went up,” said Anna Lembke, a Stanford University professor who researches opioids and is a paid expert witness for plaintiffs in the litigation.
“We know that the higher the dose of prescribed opioids and the longer patients are on them, even legitimately, the more likely they are to get addicted.”
The AP found that the overall amount of opioid medication shipped to pharmacies, medical providers and hospitals increased 55% from 2006 through 2012. (The amount of medication was calculated using a standard measure of potency known as a morphine milligram equivalent, or MME.)
In 2006 and 2007, the counties receiving the most opioids were scattered about the eastern half of the U.S. By 2012, they were all in the Appalachian region. And numbers were up dramatically.
For instance, in 2006, Tennessee’s Hamblen County received about 70 days’ worth of a typical prescription for every man, woman and child. By 2012, the top county was Norton, Virginia, and the number of days’ worth of opioids was a staggering 134.
A transcript of a deposition held earlier this year reveals that an executive at Cardinal Health — one of the nation’s largest drug distributors — said the company has no obligation to the public when it comes to the opioids it ships.