Sackler heir: no Oxycontin settlement without immunity – National & International News – TUES 17Aug2021

Sackler heir: no Oxycontin settlement without immunity. Biden sets aside $500m to fund “unexpected” (really?) Afghan refugee needs.

NATIONAL NEWS

Sackler heir: no Oxycontin settlement without immunity

David Sackler, a former board member of Purdue Pharma and heir to the Sackler family billions, made clear his family’s real motivations for agreeing to a multi-billion dollar settlement for damages related to sales of the opioid OxyContin. The settlement is part of ongoing bankruptcy proceedings for Purdue Pharma.

Sackler addressed the court, saying his family would not contribute billions from its personal fortune with assurances of immunity for all other current and future lawsuits related to sales of the addictive drug.

In 2019, internal memos emerged revealing that the Sacklers were instrumental in promoting dishonest sales tactics for OxyContin. In one, Dr. Richard Sackler, David’s father, supported a decision to conceal OxyContin’s true strength and addictiveness from physicians. In a later memo, Richard Sackler also pushed for higher sales quotas for OxyContin. This was after the company had already been fined for its deceptive and aggressive sales practices.

There are other memos and testimonies from former Purdue employees that show that the Sacklers pushed sales of OxyContin, despite knowing the high risk of addiction. Despite this, in depositions last year, members of the Sackler family steadfastly denied any wrongdoing and have admitted no responsibility for fueling the opioid crisis.

Under the terms of the bankruptcy settlement they are attempting to negotiate, the Sacklers would give up ownership of Purdue. All future proceeds would go toward mitigating the opioid crisis. The Sacklers would also have to pay $4.5 billion to addiction-related charities over time. The family’s collective wealth is estimated at around $11 billion, much of from OxyContin sales.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Biden sets aside $500m to fund “unexpected” (really?) Afghan refugee needs.

Having received criticism both from opponents and allies over the catastrophic pullout in Afghanistan, the Biden administration has belatedly decided to dedicate $500m for “unexpected” Afghan refugee needs. This includes aid both for internally displaced Afghans and to help evacuate those entitled to Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs).

Military officials say they stand ready to evacuate some 22,000 Afghan interpreters and other who supported the US mission in Afghanistan. Those operations will likely last until the end of the month. The trouble is, the estimates of those entitled to SIVs and their immediate family members total around 70,000.

But the fault for that shortfall does not lie with the military, who have said they are willing to dedicate as many assets to the effort as the State Department asks for. Military veterans who have served with local Afghans are now being retraumatized with phone calls from desperate Afghan colleagues, who believe that they will soon be killed.

Begging for lifeboats

U.S. Army Major Kristen Rouse deployed to Afghanistan three times during the war. She works with a group called Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Maj. Rouse and her colleagues have been trying for the better part of a decade to get their Afghan comrades out. The SIV application process for the visa can take years, and there is no guarantee of success.

Maj. Rouse says, “When I woke up and saw that the Taliban were entering Kabul, the image that came to my mind was watching the Titanic sinking. But knowing that only the crew are getting the lifeboats. And then for all of our friends who are in the water about to die, they are reaching out to us on social media, telephone, in every way that they can, to beg us, to beg us for lifeboats”.

For Rouse and others like her, President Biden’s speech yesterday must have rung hollow. Particularly the part in which he implied that continued involvement in Afghanistan was unworthy of their sacrifice.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).