Pharmaceutical Companies' Role In Fueling America's Opioid Epidemic

Published: March 8, 2017, 8:04 p.m.

Leslie is joined by Louis Malizia, Assistant Director of the Teamsters Capital Strategies Department.

The two discuss how and why the Teamsters are standing up to drug wholesaler AmerisourceBergen as America\u2019s opioid crisis hits their homes.

For those who don\u2019t realize how serious America\u2019s opioid epidemic is, the Centers for Disease Control estimates that prescription opioids claim the lives of 62 Americans every day. Pair that with alarming data out of West Virginia showing that drug wholesalers flooded the state of 1.8 million residents with over 780 million opioid pills over a six year period \u2013 enough for 433 pills for every man, woman and child. We also now know that neighboring Pennsylvania received over 475 million doses of oxycodone and hydrocodone in 2015 alone.

Add all of these numbers up, and it\u2019s no wonder the Teamsters are willing to fight this problem head on.

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