This was a bit more of an intellectual read than Heroin Diaries, but a fascinating book indeed. It takes an in-depth look at the marketing and development of the drug as well as the spread of its devastating addiction and the movement to fight it.
What astounds me is that pain experts and the drug maker themselves honestly believed (initially anyway) that OxyContin wouldn't be appealing to addicts - even non-addicting due to its time-release properties. They even went so far as to say that the pills could not be crushed or injected. They later changed their tune on that one. Millions of people have proven that one wrong.
What I still can't comprehend is how people slept at night knowing that their drugs were destroying lives and killing people. They could have stopped it sooner, but ignored the early warnings and continued to push their pills. I suppose they are still making money even if it is being sold on the streets. Money talks I suppose...
This book was equally as disturbing as Heroin Diaries, but in a completely different way. What I did enjoy about the book is that is was written in a fair and journalistic manner. Well, it was as unbiased as it could be considering that Purdue Pharma refused to participate of even respond to the author's questions.
It is an insightful look into the business of pills and the birth of an epidemic.
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