how governments protect their citizens -snippet of the day

From Wikipedia:

"Oxycodone abuse skyrocketed after the [US Food and Drug Administration] approval of Oxycontin by Purdue Pharma in 1995. Oxycontin is a formulation of nearly pure oxycodone available in up to 80 mg in one pill, developed to provide 12 hours of time-release pain relief. Abusers quickly learned that you could crush the pill to release pure oxycodone, which allowed larger doses and by additional routes of administrations such as intravenous and intranasal. By 2001, sales of OxyContin in the U.S. exceeded $1 billion per year. 

In Canada, deaths from opioid pain relievers increased from 13.7 deaths per million residents in 1991 to 27.2 deaths per million residents in 2004, which may be related to the spread of OxyContin. 
Several class action suits across Canada have been launched against the Purdue group of companies and affiliates. Claimants argue that the pharmaceutical manufacturers did not meet a standard of care and were negligent in doing so. These lawsuits reference earlier judgments in the United States, which held that Purdue was liable for wrongful marketing practices and misbranding. Since, 2007 the Purdue companies have paid over 650 million dollars in settling litigation or facing criminal fines. 

The per capita consumption of oxycodone in Canada and the U.S. together is higher than all other countries of the world combined."