Purdue Pharma Backs Slandering Drug Crusader

[User]

Yesterday Salem-News.com published an article about a self-described anti-drug crusader who began telephoning our advertisers claiming that we "promote drug use" because we cover medical marijuana related issues.

Medical marijuana is legal in all west coast states and at least ten others as well.

The truth of the matter is that Salem-News.com regularly covers drug abuse-related stories and that is what led to one slanderous phone message that we were able to trace back to an individual named Stephen Steiner.

Steiner is the founder of a drug fighting group tangled in a bitter law suit with the drunk driving group MADD, over his use of the name DAMMAD which MADD equates to an effort to ride on the coat tails of their established agency.

When we talk about drug abuse, we relate stories about the corrupt pharmaceutical industry. The name that comes up most frequently is Purdue Pharma. They are responsible for the deaths of so many Americans that it would make your head spin. They were criminally convicted in 2007 of misleading physicians and patients as to the addictive and abusive qualities of OxyContin. They pled guilty to the charges and were sentenced. This country is in an epidemic of deaths and addictions to OxyContin because of these convicted felons.

I can tell you a little bit about this "blackmailer" Steiner for use of a better word. Years ago when I first began exposing Purdue Pharma for their criminal marketing of OxyContin, I received a telephone call from Steve Steiner.

He was calling from New York and told me his young son had died of a drug overdose -- further conversation confirmed OxyContin was involved. Steiner told me that Purdue Pharma had set him up with a website. His website "caught" drug dealers in New York -- and then reported them to law enforcement agencies. He suggested that I have a website set up by Purdue Pharma and we could work together -- he from New York and me from New Jersey catching drug dealers.

I remember vividly telling him that he sold his son's soul to the devil if he was in any way taking money from Purdue Pharma and added that he was dancing with the devil.

Steiner became very angry and I ended up hanging up on him. Steiner should have stuck to catching drug dealers and dancing with the devil. By being stupid enough to call advertisers of the Salem-News in an effort to discredit and slander Salem-News.com could land him in court on criminal charges. My question to Steiner right now would be -- why take on a little news group who supports legal medical marijuana?

Why not take on a $10 billion pharmaceutical company marketing legal he*roin and calling it OxyContin?

Guess it has to do with how your bread is buttered, huh Steiner?

Marianne Skolek is an Activist for Victims of OxyContin and Purdue Pharma - "a criminally convicted pharmaceutical company"


NewsHawk: User: http://www.420magazine.com/
Source: salem-news.com
Author: Marianne Skolek
Copyright: 2009 Salem-News.com
Contact: newsroom@salem-news.com
Website: Purdue Pharma Backs Slandering Drug Crusader - Salem-News.Com

[Caber1]

I have never heard about this court case. I'll have to check the archives of my local and regional news sites to see if they wrote or did any stories.

If only the good guys(pot users) had as much money as the pharmaceutical companies.

As much as the fight is about the democratic rights of the citizens I think the fight is also to get it done and over with so that we can then shift more of our attention and resources onto the real criminals of or society.

Frankly, I'm tired of being the scapegoat for all of society's ills.