Turning doctors into dealers: Drug company paid doctors to get their patients addicted to opioids

Probably nobody will go to jail.

Arizona is suing a drug company for getting doctors to illegally prescribe powerful opioid painkillers. According to the lawsuit, the painkillers were so strong they were reserved only for cancer patients. Doctors were paid fake speaking fees if they prescribed the medication which is highly addictive.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) -- The state of Arizona is suing the drugmaker Insys for paying doctors to write fraudulent prescriptions for opioid painkillers and getting insurance companies to pay the costs. The fake prescriptions required doctors to claim patients had cancer to qualify for the drug.

The drug in question is Subsys, a fentanyl-based painkiller which is highly addictive. The drug is so powerful it is reserved for cancer patients. However, the manufacturer, Insys, rewarded doctors who lied and said their patients had cancer and prescribed the mediation. Insurance companies paid the bill. Meanwhile, people became hopelessly addicted to the drugs whole doctors were paid sham â₏½speaker fees" as a reward.

Fentanyl is about 40 times more powerful than heroin.

The case comes to light as the federal government is cracking down on opioid abuse in America. Opioid painkillers are having a noticeable impact of the costs of doing business. Many people cannot get jobs because they are on opioids or some other drugs. About half of all American workers cannot pass a drug test, according to some evidence.

Insys says they are in negotiation with the Federal government to end the investigation and settle the lawsuit. The firm is already obligated to pay almost $9 million to people in Oregon, New Hampshire, and Illinois, where similar cases have already been resolved.

Overdose deaths are surging in America, causing some law enforcement officials to carry overdose treatment kits. In 2016, 59,000 people died from opioid addiction, which is more than were killed in car accidents or the Vietnam War.

Drug overdose deaths are now the leading, non-natural cause of death for Americans over 50.

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