I was really enjoying this show, despite the "woke" things that some of the negative reviews pointed out. It was engaging and I cared about what happened to the characters, which is hard to find in many recently created TV shows.
However, I have a real problem with the last two episodes. Mild spoilers ahead.
Michael Keaton, after going to a methadone clinic and seeing moderate success, decides to try a brand new "wonder drug" to cure his addiction, Suboxone. This wonder drug is so effective, he not only recommends it to everyone he knows, but goes out of his way to take other addicts to the clinic and get them prescriptions.
He even has such honest quotes as, "I am finally getting my brain back." "I feel just like I did before." and other similar quotes.
Now, I am not arguing that Suboxone has not helped addicts recover--I believe that it has, and has also saved lives.
But this promotion of a BRAND NAME drug, especially pretending as if it's a perfect medication and never mentioning side effects, seemed a little strange to me.
So off to Google I went. Mostly to see who manufactured the drug, and if they funded the show. While I didn't find any information about whether or not they did, I did find some interesting facts about Suboxone.
Did you know the manufacturer of Suboxone were fined $1.4 billion dollars over illegal marketing? It was the largest settlement for an opioid product in US history, at least until Purdue lost their case for $8 billion.
The DOJ claimed that they pushed doctors to "overprescribe Suboxone to more patients than allowed by federal law, in higher doses, and in a careless and clinically unwarranted manner". Suboxone was also marketed as a "safer and less addictive substance compared to similar drugs containing buprenorphine".
Wow... That sounds EXACTLY like what the entire show is about--literally. It was so wrong and terrible of Purdue Pharma to overprescribe large doses of OxyContin, but the producers of the show don't seem to mind when Reckitt Benckiser does it for Suboxone.
They do mention in passing that Michael Keaton's character won't be able to pass a drug test on it, but they ignore the fact that this drug is ALSO a narcotic. It can also be abused and used to get high when taken recreationally.
Again, I do believe people have been helped by Suboxone. I just have a huge problem with this show promoting it in this manner. It's unethical and literally the exact same thing they show Purdue doing.
However, I have a real problem with the last two episodes. Mild spoilers ahead.
Michael Keaton, after going to a methadone clinic and seeing moderate success, decides to try a brand new "wonder drug" to cure his addiction, Suboxone. This wonder drug is so effective, he not only recommends it to everyone he knows, but goes out of his way to take other addicts to the clinic and get them prescriptions.
He even has such honest quotes as, "I am finally getting my brain back." "I feel just like I did before." and other similar quotes.
Now, I am not arguing that Suboxone has not helped addicts recover--I believe that it has, and has also saved lives.
But this promotion of a BRAND NAME drug, especially pretending as if it's a perfect medication and never mentioning side effects, seemed a little strange to me.
So off to Google I went. Mostly to see who manufactured the drug, and if they funded the show. While I didn't find any information about whether or not they did, I did find some interesting facts about Suboxone.
Did you know the manufacturer of Suboxone were fined $1.4 billion dollars over illegal marketing? It was the largest settlement for an opioid product in US history, at least until Purdue lost their case for $8 billion.
The DOJ claimed that they pushed doctors to "overprescribe Suboxone to more patients than allowed by federal law, in higher doses, and in a careless and clinically unwarranted manner". Suboxone was also marketed as a "safer and less addictive substance compared to similar drugs containing buprenorphine".
Wow... That sounds EXACTLY like what the entire show is about--literally. It was so wrong and terrible of Purdue Pharma to overprescribe large doses of OxyContin, but the producers of the show don't seem to mind when Reckitt Benckiser does it for Suboxone.
They do mention in passing that Michael Keaton's character won't be able to pass a drug test on it, but they ignore the fact that this drug is ALSO a narcotic. It can also be abused and used to get high when taken recreationally.
Again, I do believe people have been helped by Suboxone. I just have a huge problem with this show promoting it in this manner. It's unethical and literally the exact same thing they show Purdue doing.