
The Pain Hustlers - farseer
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/05/02/magazine/money-issue-insys-opioids-kickbacks.html
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doctoring
This piece briefly mentions Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin and the
subject of a fantastic and horrifying article in the New Yorker[1]. The scale
and reach of these drugs is unbelievable and the lengths the pharmas go to in
order to market them is truly terrifying — speaking as a doctor who does
prescribe these drugs not infrequently.

[1] [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/30/the-family-
tha...](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/30/the-family-that-built-
an-empire-of-pain)

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ggg9990
If you’re aware of their miscreance but still prescribe, you must believe that
the drugs are valuable?

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nefitty
It seems you are implying the parent comment is hypocritical. Unfortunately,
the current reality we live in means complicity isn't necessarily a choice.
The whistleblower is always a part of the machine he is exposing.

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ggg9990
I’m trying to figure out whether Purdue Pharmaceuticals is unalloyed evil or
whether they are defensible.

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jonhendry18
People do have legitimate chronic and/or acute pain, often severe. So there's
a need for the painkillers in the market.

The problem is that Purdue's marketing went way beyond what was justified,
leading to widespread overprescribing where that strength of painkiller wasn't
necessary.

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JonasJSchreiber
The Times has some great multimedia/hypermedia designers on their staff and
their reporting is incredible

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SpelingBeeChamp
You're right. (And the linked article is from The New Yorker.)

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danaliv
I was surprised to learn recently—and the article notes this—that most
overdoses are now from illegally manufactured fentanyl, not legally prescribed
pain medication.

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danieltillett
Yes because after allowing the handing out of prescribed opioid pain
medication like it was candy the authority turned 180deg and instantly cutoff
all those addicted. What did they think was going to happen - the addicted
were just going to stop being addicted because the legal supply was stopped?

I actually hold those that changed the rules with near zero support for those
addicted far more responsible for this debacle and all the deaths than Purdue.

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bomb199
As a Boilermaker alum, let's not shorten it to "Purdue".

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mindfulplay
This is good to see. Finally great reporting on of our the most pressing
issues of our time.

This industry has so far played so far outside of the regulatory world. The
piecewise lawsuits are reactionary and in a way useless. Unless someone
actually starts regulating these scummy companies we won't get anywhere.

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refurb
They are regulated - that's why the government is going after them. They
violated regulations.

