Ethics, morals and corruption

The Sackler family who are worth billions is caught up in multiple lawsuits about OxyContin, a drug produced by the family’s company Purdue Pharmaceuticals. You can easily look it all up. People addicted and deaths are attributed to usage of the drug in which, we are told, the family had full knowledge of the problems and persisted in selling.

The Sackler family is also known for its philanthropy and now, charities, arts organisations and other beneficiaries are severing relations with the family and turning down donations because the money was made on the exploitation and abuse of people taking the drug without full knowledge of the side effects.

So, if the Centre for Peaceful Solutions were ever in a position to be offered a grant from the Sackler family, would we take it or refuse it? The dilemma is interesting. On the one hand, we are supporting people with addiction problems to find healing and transformation so it would be amazing to have the funding to be able to do this work much more widely. On the other hand, the way the money has been generated is considered to be tainted so accepting it could be a form of collusion.

What a dialogue that would be.

Maria’s Midweek Mindfulness

How do I choose what to do when faced with an ethical dilemma? I’ve been thinking about who I would want on my personal and professional ethics committee.

The Wednesday Whisper

Have you faced an ethical dilemma? How did you work out what to do?