Watch the documentary Prescription Thugs (2016).

Read the seven (7) attached articles. As part of your discussion, answer the following questions:

• Compare and contrast the information presented in all four articles.
• Do you think our society has undergone a cultural shift?
• Did the documentary give you a different perspective on the pharmaceutical industry?
• Did the documentary affect how you feel towards the “disease of addiction” and toward addicts?
• What culpability do we as pharmacists have in proliferating this public health problem?
• What creative solutions do you propose over and above what has already been implemented?
• How would you respond to a question posed by a patient who had watched the documentary regarding its accuracy?

In addition, discuss the overall “level of evidence” for the conclusions made in all of the materials used in four (4) Analytical Discussions. What do you feel is the most valuable or important results from this type of scientific inquiry?

You are encouraged to look at additional current references from the literature (which you must properly cite) to support your points. Limit your initial post to no more than 500 words.

Answer preview

According to Rashbaum (2019), law enforcement officers have sought to curb America’s opioid issue for a long time by charging street traffickers and drug cartels. Now for the first time, the federal authorities are assessing a major pharmaceutical supplier and its former leaders for their part in fueling the issue with the same kind of criminal drug smuggling allegations (Johnson, 2016). The tribunal authorized the accord and a civil settlement or consent order. The accord and the order together will enable the firm to function, set priorities, and monitor its behavior following a police statement (Tuoti, 2016). State and federal regulators have failed to hold drug distributors responsible, and state prosecutors generally argue that, though orders of authorization and penalties have been signed, the corporations persist in transporting opioid pills to problematic pharmaceuticals (Gunderman, 2016).

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