Guest column
Be the change you wish to see
Rosemary Bunt
I understand the concern Ohio lawmakers have about the current opioid crisis; however, filing a class action against pharmaceutical companies is a political opioid designed to quell the public’s fears. I am not trivializing the problem. Opioid drugs – including prescription painkillers and heroin – killed 4,169 Ohioans in 2015. That’s more than any year on record, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to figures compiled by The Columbus Dispatch.
Let’s take a look at some of society’s other problems: Gun violence, fatal car crashes and drunken driving. For gun incidents in Ohio between 2010 and 2011, law enforcement in OIBRS-participating agencies reported 24,990 criminal incidents in which a gun was present, of which approximately 60 percent of firearms reported were handguns. The majority of incidents involving firearms took place in an outside location, such as a street or a parking lot. Residential structures (single-family and multi-family dwellings) were also common locations for crimes involving firearms of which there were 11,555 deaths.
According to an OSHP report there were 1,054 fatal crashes in Ohio for 2016, resulting in 1,133 deaths. That’s compared to 1,029 fatal crashes in 2015 with 1,110 deaths. OSHP says that alcohol impaired drivers were involved in more than 30 percent of all fatalities in 2016.
I know our lawmakers want an opioid solution – so do I. Going after the source which is necessary to those who are in need of pain-controlling drugs, like cancer patients, burn victims and such, is not the real answer. If it were, then we as a society should go after the gun manufacturers like Smith & Wesson, and alcohol manufacturers like Budweiser or Jack Daniels. Say, maybe we should file a class action against Bowie for manufacturing the Bowie knife. Even better yet, let’s go after Subaru, Ford and General Motors because their advertisements make me want to speed and buy their cars because driving is fun. Companies spend millions of dollars marketing and promoting their products by overstating their benefits and trivializing their potential qualities. If you are going to pick on one company, you better be prepared to pick on all companies. The answer starts with the individual. Suck it up! You don’t need a pain pill for every little hurt. If, on occasion, you do need an opioid, lock them up, treat them like they are a 10-carat diamond and don’t let anyone touch them. Then you have the doctors. There has got to be other less toxic pills for itsy-bitsy hurts. The pharmacist can do his part by questioning those refills. Even veterinarians need to be aware of how they are prescribing for animals because sometimes people will use animal drugs.
Every person on this wonderful planet we call Earth is accountable for their actions, be it drinking, smoking or ingesting opioids. Stop blaming everyone else for your behavior. All you people out there: Nobody is holding your mouth open and using a gun to force that pill down your throat. You held it in your hand, you bent your elbow, you opened your mouth, you placed the pill on your tongue and you swallowed.
We have a problem, but suing is not the answer. In fact, if won, it may do more harm than good because it just might open up a market for the drug cartels.
Let’s take a look at some of society’s other problems: Gun violence, fatal car crashes and drunken driving. For gun incidents in Ohio between 2010 and 2011, law enforcement in OIBRS-participating agencies reported 24,990 criminal incidents in which a gun was present, of which approximately 60 percent of firearms reported were handguns. The majority of incidents involving firearms took place in an outside location, such as a street or a parking lot. Residential structures (single-family and multi-family dwellings) were also common locations for crimes involving firearms of which there were 11,555 deaths.
According to an OSHP report there were 1,054 fatal crashes in Ohio for 2016, resulting in 1,133 deaths. That’s compared to 1,029 fatal crashes in 2015 with 1,110 deaths. OSHP says that alcohol impaired drivers were involved in more than 30 percent of all fatalities in 2016.
I know our lawmakers want an opioid solution – so do I. Going after the source which is necessary to those who are in need of pain-controlling drugs, like cancer patients, burn victims and such, is not the real answer. If it were, then we as a society should go after the gun manufacturers like Smith & Wesson, and alcohol manufacturers like Budweiser or Jack Daniels. Say, maybe we should file a class action against Bowie for manufacturing the Bowie knife. Even better yet, let’s go after Subaru, Ford and General Motors because their advertisements make me want to speed and buy their cars because driving is fun. Companies spend millions of dollars marketing and promoting their products by overstating their benefits and trivializing their potential qualities. If you are going to pick on one company, you better be prepared to pick on all companies. The answer starts with the individual. Suck it up! You don’t need a pain pill for every little hurt. If, on occasion, you do need an opioid, lock them up, treat them like they are a 10-carat diamond and don’t let anyone touch them. Then you have the doctors. There has got to be other less toxic pills for itsy-bitsy hurts. The pharmacist can do his part by questioning those refills. Even veterinarians need to be aware of how they are prescribing for animals because sometimes people will use animal drugs.
Every person on this wonderful planet we call Earth is accountable for their actions, be it drinking, smoking or ingesting opioids. Stop blaming everyone else for your behavior. All you people out there: Nobody is holding your mouth open and using a gun to force that pill down your throat. You held it in your hand, you bent your elbow, you opened your mouth, you placed the pill on your tongue and you swallowed.
We have a problem, but suing is not the answer. In fact, if won, it may do more harm than good because it just might open up a market for the drug cartels.