Dopesick (on Hulu) is another look at the marketing and distribution of Oxycontin by Purdue Medical as a "safe and non-addictive answer to pain", that addicted, then killed countless Americans and funneled billions of dollars to pharmaceutical giant and the family who owned it. The side-stories are compelling, but the "Woke" depiction of closeted gays does detract from an already complex and wide-ranging story.

Michael Keaton plays a country doctor in a small Virginia mining town that deals with those in need of medical care, but begins to recognize the disparity between what's being foisted on doctors as a miracle drug to mitigate pain and how slick marketing is creating an epidemic of unimaginable proportions.

While all the episodes haven't been aired yet, I can't help but wonder if this series won't finally instill some degree of critical analysis towards the pharmaceutical companies and their minions in government with regard to the COVID-19 epidemic. Will we have to wait a few decades for this story to air??? It's a very well done series and I'd rate it as being almost as good as HBO's "Chernobyl" series, as both a compelling drama and cautionary tale.

I started watching this last night, I am not hooked yet. It's pretty good though

I just watched the last season of Goliath, BTW it was just ok. It was about this same exact subject and they sued the pants off of a big pharma company

I think we will see more of this

Wifey and I are only 1 episode into the series but so far so good. Keaton is rock solid believable in his role as a country doctor.

Ok, I have caught up, great series

I hope to God the scene with Comey is true, effin hilarious

The whole OxyContin business? Damn! Wife and I are enjoying this series. Good sound track in spots as well.

Agreed this is a good series. Anyone else watched "Snowfall" and seeing similarities?

The character of the country doctor is hitting me in the feels btw.

While Purdue did conceal that oxy is just as addictive as any other opioid, I have a hard time putting all the blame on Purdue.

It is a bit like cigarettes. The tobacco companies hid the extent of the danger, but everyone knew smoking was bad for you. People still chose to smoke. I know drugs are not exactly like smoking in that no doctors prescribed smoking, but there are parallels. It is no secret that opioids are addictive.

Obviously tobacco companies aren't selling medicine, which is regulated by the FDR with the proviso that the product offered is "safe and effective" as a means of treatment. But beyond that fact, they didn't just conceal that Oxy was addictive, they presented as "FACT" to MDs and patients that it was NOT addictive and directed MDs to counter addiction problems (tolerance and withdrawal effects) by prescribing increased dosages.

Purdue's sales campaign committed fraud on users and those who prescribed the drug in good faith, as well as promoting to the FDA the fallacy that the drug was both "safe and effective" as a means of dealing with ALL types of pain, both major and minor. When their own employees provided evidence of the harm done, this evidence was deliberately suppressed.

Spoiler Alert!!!

What's incredible is that even though all these facts came to light more than 20 years ago, negotiations between the defendants (the now bankrupt Purdue and the Sackler family) and the Department of Justice are still going on!!!

"Federal judge rejects a government bid to delay Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy settlement"

Updated October 14, 2021 at 8:43 AM ET

In a surprise ruling late Wednesday a federal judge in New York allowed work to continue on implementation of a controversial bankruptcy plan for Purdue Pharma, the maker of Oxycontin. The U.S. Justice Department's bankruptcy watchdog agency had urged Judge Colleen McMahon of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan to put the brakes on the deal until it was reviewed on appeal. During a hearing Tuesday, McMahon signaled support for a stay. But in her ruling on Wednesday, she said work on the settlement, valued at between $5 and $10 billion, can go forward. "Unless someone is lying to me, the only steps being taken ... are preliminary and administrative," McMahon wrote. "No step is being taken that would commence consummation of the plan itself."

In the past, appeals courts have been reluctant to second-guess federal bankruptcy settlements once they've been partially consummated — a procedural roadblock known as "equitable mootness." In her ruling, McMahon acknowledged that equitable mootness was a "serious concern" in this case. She ordered supporters of the Purdue Pharma plan to enter written agreements that they won't try to block an appeal using the equitable mootness argument.

The Justice Department is trying to block the settlement The Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan was confirmed by federal bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain last month. The DOJ quickly appealed, as did several states.

During Tuesday's hearing, McMahon signaled she believes there are significant legal questions raised by the complex settlement that warrant review by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. She pointed in particular to a provision of the deal that would grant immunity from opioid lawsuits to members of the Sackler family who own the drug firm. In exchange the Sacklers, who say they've done nothing wrong, have agreed to pay roughly $4.3 billion from their private estates and trusts. They will also give up control and ownership of Purdue Pharma.

Attorneys for the DOJ argue that agreement violates the U.S. Constitution by stripping people and governments of the right to sue the Sacklers without due process. "The core issue is the Sackler release ... whether it is constitutional," McMahon said. Supporters of this bankruptcy plan say it will provide billions of dollars for drug treatment and addiction programs over the next decade. Work will now continue to create a complex network of trusts and organizations that will eventually distribute that cash. Oxycontin marketing helped usher in the opioid crisis

This case has emerged as part of a broader legal reckoning over corporate America's role in the opioid crisis that has embroiled more than a dozen major firms in courtrooms all over the U.S. Public health experts believe Purdue Pharma's aggressive and at times illegal marketing of Oxycontin played a key role ushering in the opioid crisis that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.

Sale of the pain medication generated roughly $10 billion in profits for the Sacklers. Family members who served as executives and board members at Purdue Pharma maintain they did nothing wrong. Their private firm pleaded guilty twice to federal crimes linked to opioid sales and marketing, most recently in 2020. It's unclear when the Second Circuit will take up the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy. Another procedural hearing in the case is scheduled for Thursday in the federal bankruptcy court of Judge Robert Drain.

Copyright 2021 NPR.
https://www.gpb.org/news/2021/...ankruptcy-settlement

Been watching the show. I find it fascinating. Similar to Dr. Death. Shining the light on what was once thought of as sacrosanct.

Don’t know if you remember, but Doctors recommended and even were featured in ads for cigarettes in the ‘50s and early ‘60s.

quote:

Originally posted by dgshooter:
Been watching the show. I find it fascinating. Similar to Dr. Death. Shining the light on what was once thought of as sacrosanct.

Don’t know if you remember, but Doctors recommended and even were featured in ads for cigarettes in the ‘50s and early ‘60s.

I was pretty young back in the early 60's, but standards for such medical claims have supposedly become more strict in the years that followed. Emphasis on the word "SUPPOSEDLY."