opioid epidemic

The Crime of the Century: Big Pharma and the Opioid Epidemic Written and Directed by Alex Gibney
Rating *****

In a scene in the second installment of this two-part documentary, the filmmakers follow DEA agents as they raid the house of a man in Lubbock, Texas whom they believe was selling large quantities of fentanyl. That man is eventually arrested and convicted and given a lengthy prison sentence. The arrest, however, is just one part of a much larger story that begins before the raid and continues long after the man begins his sentence.

It starts with the overdose death of a young woman. The investigation into her death and scores of other fentanyl-related deaths leads to an unassuming computer repairman named Caleb Lanier. As much as you’d like to see this man pay for the many deaths that resulted from his actions, you come to realize that he is just another addict. He is a family man whose wife knows nothing about his addiction or his connection to the fentanyl deaths. Caleb Lanier pays the price for his choices. The same can’t be said about the pharmaceutical executives, politicians, doctors, sales reps, and pharmacists whose greed and lax oversight led to the epidemic.

The filmmakers trace the origins of the opioid epidemic to a single company – Purdue Pharma. Their success is largely the result of the intervention from an FDA insider who paves the way for the company to introduce OxyContin as an all-purpose pain reliever with a low liability of addiction. Once the company has the blessing of the FDA, they are off and running using bribes, deceptive advertising, and other deceitful tactics to get physicians to over-subscribe the medication.

Other unscrupulous companies such as Insys use similar tactics to introduce even more addictive drugs to an unsuspecting population. Add to this mix a lack of common-sense regulations, politicians who promote bills written by lawyers representing the pharmaceutical companies, all while accepting large campaign donations, and you have the ingredients for a full-scale epidemic that is still causing pain and suffering.

Except for John Kapoor, the CEO of Insys, none of the big Pharma executives receive jail time. They get off scot-free with their billions in sales, leaving behind a trail of destruction and suffering.

As with any good story, there are heroes and villains. The heroes are people like former DEA official Joe Rannazzisi, who tried unsuccessfully to draw attention to the flaws in the bill proposed by Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). The villains are those who turned a blind eye to what was going on because the money was just too good.

For more on this subject see the reviews for American Pain and The Pharmacist.

Review of The Pharmacist Directed by Julia Willoughby Nason and Jenner Furst Rating *****

Ever since Making a Murderer started streaming on Netflix back in 2015, I’ve been a fan of docuseries. If you go to the sitemap page on this site and choose docuseries under categories, you’ll find an extensive list of excellent docuseries to stream. You can now add The Pharmacist to this list.

The Pharmacist is a four-episode docuseries available on Netflix. The innocuous title belies the seriousness of the subject matter. The first two episodes deal with a father’s search for his son’s killer. Dan Schneider’s son Danny is murdered while out trying to score drugs in a poor section of New Orleans. When the police fail to do a proper investigation, Dan sets out on his own to find the killer. Against all odds, Dan’s efforts are successful. You might expect that to be the end of this one-man crusade to right a wrong, but Dan is just getting started. He soon finds himself at the epicenter of the nascent opioid epidemic.

Working as a pharmacist, Dan starts noticing an alarming trend regarding prescriptions for OxyContin. He sees that over 98% of the prescriptions are coming from the same doctor. He sees similarities to his son in the young people who hand him prescriptions that seem out of line with their age and weight. Dan sets out to learn more about this doctor and her practice. What he uncovers is a burgeoning pill mill. Dan starts keeping track of individuals who come to him for their OxyContin pills. He secretly records them. He begins building a case against Dr. Jacqueline Clegett.

Dan reaches out to the FBI and the DEA to warn them of the dangers he has uncovered. The authorities, however, seem reluctant to do anything. Unbeknownst to Dan, the DEA is aware of the growing problem with Dr. Clegett, but the district attorney’s office refuses to prosecute. While the DEA and the district attorney’s office bicker over the seriousness of the problem, overdose deaths in New Orleans continue to rise. It’s not only frustrating to Dan but the viewer as well.

The opioid epidemic started in Republican-controlled states where opposition to regulations allowed pill mills to proliferate. Florida, under Governor Rick Scott, was adamantly against regulating the industry. Instead, they went after the users of the opioids, sending them to prison in record numbers. Meanwhile, companies like Purdue and the Sackler family made billions as legalized drug dealers. You can read more about this in the book American Pain. It took nearly a decade, and thousands of overdose deaths, before sensible prescription monitoring regulations were put into place.

Eventually, Dan Schneider helped put an end to Dr. Jacqueline Clegett’s business. He is an example of what one determined individual can accomplish. Once the cost of addiction treatment and emergency room visits started to overwhelm entire states, states attorney finally started going after the sources of the problem like Purdue Pharma rather than individual users. Unfortunately, their efforts were too little too late. The Sackler family shifted billions to overseas accounts and then filed for bankruptcy, leaving states to deal with the damage caused by their lack of oversight.

The filmmakers were lucky to stumble upon Dan Schneider. Not only was Dan a passionate advocate against injustice, he was meticulous in documenting all that he uncovered, which included documents, video, and recorded audio. On top of that, he served as the central narrator throughout.

Review of the HBO docuseries The Crime of the Century

Review of the Netflix Docuseries The Pharmacist