Posted on Jul 25, 2022
'American Cartel' chronicles battle against the opioid industry
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For years, opioid-related deaths have been on the rise. Drug overdose deaths increased by 30% in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family are best known for their role in promoting widespread Oxycontin use, they’re not the only ones responsible. Washington Post investigative reporters Sari Horwitz and Scott Higham have spent years investigating how pharmaceutical companies banded together to prevent the Drug Enforcement Administration from taking legal action against them. They share their findings in a new book, “American Cartel: Inside the Battle to Bring Down the Opioid Industry.”
While Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family are best known for their role in promoting widespread Oxycontin use, they’re not the only ones responsible. Washington Post investigative reporters Sari Horwitz and Scott Higham have spent years investigating how pharmaceutical companies banded together to prevent the Drug Enforcement Administration from taking legal action against them. They share their findings in a new book, “American Cartel: Inside the Battle to Bring Down the Opioid Industry.”
'American Cartel' chronicles battle against the opioid industry
Posted from wbur.org
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Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Pharmaceutical companies also lured government employees away from their jobs with the DEA or Justice Department. Dozens of DEA agents, investigators and lawyers were enticed by lucrative jobs within the pharmaceutical industry. Higham says their salaries were tripled, and in some cases, quadrupled.
Higham also spoke with drug agents on the southern border who are growing increasingly upset at the pace drugs like fentanyl are arriving at the ports of entry. “They're very upset because they feel as though this could have been completely preventable,” he says.
On the legal front, Horwitz says there have been settlements to hold pharmaceutical companies liable, and money will go to local communities affected by the epidemic. When Higham and Horwitz spoke with families directly affected by the opioid crisis, Horwitz says they were angry that not a single Fortune 500 executive involved with the industry has been charged yet.
“Some people think this is history, the opioid epidemic. They've heard about it for so long,” Horwitz says. “But we are in the midst of the deadliest drug epidemic in American history, and it continues to this day.”
..."Pharmaceutical companies also lured government employees away from their jobs with the DEA or Justice Department. Dozens of DEA agents, investigators and lawyers were enticed by lucrative jobs within the pharmaceutical industry. Higham says their salaries were tripled, and in some cases, quadrupled.
Higham also spoke with drug agents on the southern border who are growing increasingly upset at the pace drugs like fentanyl are arriving at the ports of entry. “They're very upset because they feel as though this could have been completely preventable,” he says.
On the legal front, Horwitz says there have been settlements to hold pharmaceutical companies liable, and money will go to local communities affected by the epidemic. When Higham and Horwitz spoke with families directly affected by the opioid crisis, Horwitz says they were angry that not a single Fortune 500 executive involved with the industry has been charged yet.
“Some people think this is history, the opioid epidemic. They've heard about it for so long,” Horwitz says. “But we are in the midst of the deadliest drug epidemic in American history, and it continues to this day.”
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