Marlborough Woman Leads March, Vigil At Major Opioid-Maker

MARLBOROUGH, MA—Hundreds of families and loved ones of those who lost people to opioid overdoses, as well as those in recovery, are expected to attend a march and vigil outside of the Purdue Pharma headquarters this weekend.

According to organizers, the vigil is to "raise awareness of the company's responsibility in the suffering and death of millions devastated by opioid addiction," it said in a statement.

Led by national activist and author Ryan Hampton and Team Sharing founder and Marlborough native Cheryl Juaire, the group gathers at 9 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 17, in Stamford CT, to remember those lost to overdoses. The organizers say that the survivors will bear witness to "Purdue's role in creating the national opioid pandemic."

Juaire lost her son Corey to an opioid overdose on Feb. 24, 2011, Hampton struggled with opioid addiction for ten years after receiving a prescription for opioids in 2003.

The families and survivors are demanding Purdue pay billions in reparations for death and suffering caused by what they call nefarious and illicit marketing practices that deliberately misled primary care physicians about the known risks of addiction present with OxyContin.

On June 12, Attorney General Maura Healey announced that her office had sued Purdue Pharma L.P. and Purdue Pharma Inc. (Purdue) for misleading prescribers and consumers about the addiction and health risks of their opioids, including OxyContin, to get more people to take these drugs, at higher and more dangerous doses, and for longer periods of time to increase the companies’ profits.

The complaint alleges that Purdue contributed to the opioid epidemic, including the opioid-related deaths of more than 670 Massachusetts residents prescribed Purdue opioids since 2009 and thousands more who struggled with cycles of overdose and addiction. The AG’s complaint also names 16 current and former directors and executives of the privately held Purdue, alleging that as leadership, these individuals directed Purdue’s deception.

In 2007, Purdue paid more than $634 Million in fines and three top executives pleaded guilty to criminal charges for knowingly misrepresenting the risks of OxyContin and lying to the medical community, said the vigil announcement. However, a settlement award for families of loss and opioid addiction survivors has not been established to ameliorate the pain and loss of hundreds of thousands of lives.

Parents march with pictures of lost children alongside advocates in recovery. Ryan Hampton and Juaire deliver a letter to Purdue's CEO, Dr. Craig Landau, demanding that Purdue create a fund similar to that created by the tobacco companies in the 1998 settlement that will be used for treatment, awareness, and prevention to the millions of families still struggling and millions of individuals still needing treatment for active opioid addiction.

Juaire leads the MA Facebook page for Team Sharing, a "page is created for all moms and dads in Mass. who have experienced the loss of their child through substance passing, so we can lift up & support one another through our grief."

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