“The opioid crisis is, among other things, a parable about the awesome capability of private industry to subvert public institutions.”–Patrick Radden Keefe, Empire of Pain
This book made my blood boil. The incredible greed, manipulation, and utter disregard for the truth painted in bold strokes by Keefe’s research is mind blowing. The story of the Sackler family and their rise to fame and fortune begins in the early 1900s as we learn about a scrappy and resourceful young man, Arthur Sackler, and his two younger brothers. Arthur is the first of the three to become a doctor. Along with practicing medicine, he figures out how to successfully market pharmaceuticals. He expands that knowledge and his pharmaceutical company makes a fortune when they discover and produce Valium, but that is a pittance compared to the money their pain killer brings in. It is effective without addiction–or so they claim. The Sackler family, via Purdue Pharma, unleashed the scourge of OxyContin upon the world by misleading doctors about the possibility of addiction, targeting communities with blue collar workers suffering from work place injuries, and incentivizing doctors to prescribe their product. This was the beginning of the opioid crisis in the United States.
When the book was published, it looked like the Sackler family would largely get away with their bad behavior. Since then, the initial agreement between the Sacklers and states suing them has been tossed and new legal proceedings will begin. Patrick Radden Keefe is an investigative reporter. In both Empire of Pain and Say Nothing, Keefe attempts to bring some justice to people who seem to have gotten away with criminal behavior. If the courts can’t punish them, at least people will know what really happened. I salute Keefe for his perseverance and courage and encourage you to read or listen to this book.
Content Advisory: Drug addiction