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By John Bachtell
This article is the first of a two-part series on the opioid crisis gripping the nation.
“What we do have in Cleveland County (Oklahoma) is 135 prescription opioids for every adult,” state’s attorney Brad Beckworth told a judge. “Those didn’t get here from drug cartels. They got here from one cartel: the pharmaceutical industry cartel. And the kingpin of it all is Johnson & Johnson.”
This is how Beckworth described one of the largest global drug manufacturers in an Oklahoma courtroom, where the drug company stands accused of fueling the nation’s opioid addiction crisis.
Since 1996, opioid overdoses have caused over 200,000 deaths. The drugs are a class of painkiller drugs derived from opium, also the source of morphine, heroin, and cocaine. Fentanyl, which is one of the most widely used pain medications and one of the Johnson & Johnson products under scrutiny at the trial, is a synthetic opioid.
Blinded by greed, Johnson & Johnson—and dozens of other drug manufacturers, distributors, pharmacies, and doctor—turned their eyes away from the opioid crisis swamping the country. Meanwhile, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) tracked the spread of opioids but did little to stop it.
In the wake of this crisis, families are mourning the loss of loved ones, millions are addicted, communities devastated, including some of the most poverty-stricken areas of the country, and public hospitals and health clinics overwhelmed.
In the rural town of Norton, Va., the death rate is 18 times the national average. “Our jails are overflowing... Read More »
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