They Were Responsible for Killing Thousands of People and Never Went to Jail

The biggest contributors to the prescription opioid crisis were never even arrested

There’s an extremely troubling irony in the US. One person can sell a relatively small amount of street drugs and spend 15 to 30 years in prison, while other people who are responsible for killing thousands of people by illegally distributing prescription drugs never spend one day in jail.

In late 2020, drugmaker Purdue Pharma (“Purdue”) was convicted of several felony crimes. It was responsible for thousands of prescription opioid deaths and created an incalculable number of drug addicts, yet none of the Purdue executives who orchestrated this egregious scheme were ever arrested.

It’s mind-boggling how this outrageously vile behavior can go unpunished, especially in a country that touts itself as a model for justice and equality.

The opioid epidemic

The opioid crisis hit the US like a sledgehammer. From 1999 to 2019, prescription opioid overdose deaths more than quadrupled — almost 247,000 people have died from these overdoses. The health care costs, criminal justice costs, and productivity losses associated with opioid abuse are staggering: they were $78.5 billion in 2013 alone.

The opioid epidemic has ravaged people, families, communities, cities, towns, and states. It’s affected homeless people, blue-collar workers, white-collar workers, celebrities, and the upper-middle-class elite.

The obvious opioid problem isn’t the only crisis. The other big crisis is the egregious behavior of the greedy doctors, pharmacists, and pharmaceutical companies who created this atrocious problem.

A lot of doctors have over-prescribed opioid medication, even when they knew many people become addicted to or die from these drugs. Shady pharmacists have procured and distributed excessively large amounts of these deadly drugs to make extra cash.

Some of the very people we rely on to protect our health have helped destroy it.

The biggest contributors to this opioid epidemic are the huge pharmaceutical companies that manufacture and illegally distribute millions of these lethal pills to unscrupulous doctors and pharmacies, who then sell them to drug addicts and lower-level illicit opioid suppliers.

The worst of the worst

While many pharmaceutical companies and health care organizations have played major roles in perpetuating the opioid crisis, Purdue has arguably been the biggest and most reprehensible player in this corrupt game. Purdue executives were well aware of the opioid epidemic. They knew hundreds of thousands of people had died from prescription opiate overdoses but did not give a fuck.

The Purdue executives who were most responsible for the crisis were members of the Sackler family, which owned the company.

From 2006 to 2012, Purdue was the third-biggest seller of opioids. In late 2020, Purdue pled guilty to several felony crimes, including defrauding the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and paying illegal kickbacks to doctors and other individuals to increase sales of the lethal opioids it was peddling. Purdue told the DEA it was engaging in an anti-diversion program, which prevented legal drugs from getting into illegal drug marketplaces.

It was really doing the exact opposite. It was selling its opioid drugs to over 100 health care providers it knew were channeling the drugs to illegal drug markets. Despite pleading guilty to multiple felony crimes, none of the executives who were responsible for the illegal distribution of these drugs were ever arrested.

In exchange for pleading guilty to these crimes, Purdue agreed to pay a $3.54 billion criminal fine and give up another $2 billion in criminal forfeiture. It later filed for bankruptcy.

This isn’t the first time Purdue has been in trouble because of its flagrant practices. In 2007, 3 executives from Purdue pled guilty to misbranding, which is a criminal violation. They helped create a fraudulent marketing scheme that claimed oxycontin, their flagship drug, was far less addictive and subject to abuse than it really was.

The executives and shady owners of the company knew oxycontin was extremely addictive and was being abused by tons of people. They continually downplayed the addictive nature of this dangerous drug.

What was the punishment for this 2007 conviction? Purdue’s parent company agreed to pay a $600 million fine. The 3 executives convicted of the criminal offense were ordered to perform 400 hours of community service and received 3 years of probation.

No one served any jail or prison time. Purdue gets a pathetic slap on the wrist and justice gets a brutal punch in the face.

Accountability

After being convicted of numerous criminal offenses and killing thousands of people, you’d think the Sackler family would show some remorse for the victims of the opioid crisis and their families.

Not a chance.

In 2001, Oxycontin killed 59 people in just one state. Richard Sackler, Purdue’s former CEO, responded to this report by saying, “This is not too bad. It could have been worse.” He then engaged in some extremely shameful victim-blaming by stating, “We have to hammer on the abusers in every way possible. They are the culprits and the problem. They are reckless criminals.”

What the fuck? Remind me who the criminals are again.

Even Purdue employees threw up flags early on. They told senior leaders that many of their opioid buyers were prescribing excessive amounts of these drugs and should be reported to Federal agents. Company leaders dismissed these warnings and continued churning out millions of pills, spreading death and devastation across the US.

In the end, the Sackler family never took any responsibility for the catastrophic consequences of its actions. These assholes got rich off the backs of drug addicts they helped create, many of whom died.

Oxycontin once comprised 90% of Purdue’s drug sales. This destructive drug helped the Sackler’s get on the Forbes list of the richest families.

These pieces of human trash saw the writing on the wall. They knew they’d face future problems as the body counts increased and government investigations continued, which is why they began draining money from the company. The Sackler’s took out more than $10 billion after the 2007 criminal conviction and ensuing lawsuits.

Dr. Kathe Sackler, a former vice president of Purdue, and David Sackler, a former board member testified before the House Oversight Committee. During this extremely tense hearing, Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper from Tennessee said, “Watching you testify makes my blood boil. I’m not sure that I’m aware of any family in America that’s more evil than yours.”

Republican James Comer of Kentucky said, “We don’t agree on a lot on this committee in a bipartisan way, but I think our opinion of Purdue Pharma and the actions of your family, I think we all agree are sickening.”

The playing field of injustice

The worst part of the opioid epidemic in the US is the number of human lives that were lost and the number of addicts that were created as a result of this pharmaceutical shit show. Another very troubling aspect of this crisis is how our justice system treats wealthy, privileged people with high-powered legal teams.

Even though they pled guilty to several criminal charges and helped kill thousands of people, no one in the Sackler family ever served one day in jail, while millions of people in the US have been sent to jail or prison for simple drug possession.

Those who have sold relatively small amounts of drugs compared to what the Sackler’s sold have been given decades in prison.

I sold and manufactured methamphetamine and received a 2-year prison sentence, even though it was my first offense. But I’m one of the lucky ones. Many other non-violent drug offenders, most of whom are people of color, who were caught in the gears of our justice system received far more time than that.

• Fast food worker John Horner was given a 25-year prison sentence for selling $1,800 in painkillers. Compare this to the 400 hours of community service and probation the 3 executives from Purdue got in 2007 after pleading guilty to their drug-related crimes.
• Scott Earle got a 25-year prison sentence for selling painkillers to an informant.
• Edward Douglas received a life sentence for selling 140 grams of crack cocaine. He served nearly 16 years in federal prison. He was released in 2019 as a result of the First Step Act, a measure that’s reduced mandatory-minimum sentences for drug crimes.
• Sherman Chester was sentenced to life in prison for a drug crime. After serving 20 years of his sentence, he was granted clemency by President Obama in 2015.
• Ronald Evans got life without the possibility of parole for distributing heroin and cocaine when he was just 19. President Obama granted him clemency and he was released in 2016, after having served most of his life in prison.
• Telisha Watkins got a 20-year prison sentence for helping set up one sale of crack. President Obama commuted her sentence in 2015. She served 8 years.

Final thoughts

The Sackler family represents the worst in power and privilege. Their greed, callousness, and egregious behavior cost thousands of people their lives and fueled the prescription opioid epidemic more than any other organization or company.

While their actions are sickening, we also have to seriously question our government.

It’s outrageous that our justice system gives a black man who was raised in poverty 5 to 10 years in prison for selling a handful of crack rocks, but privileged assholes who are responsible for killing thousands of people never do any time.

Yes, I’m glad the US has passed the First Step Act, which reduces the sentences of those caught in the broad net of the drug war. I’m glad some presidents have provided clemency.

But in many cases, a tremendous amount of damage has already been done. People have already served 5 to over 20 years in prison before they’re given clemency or get out under the First Step Act.

As I’ve said before, I love the US. I still believe it’s a beacon of hope and opportunity. I wouldn’t want to live in any other country.

But we have a long way to go before the playing field of justice is level. If we’re going to say we’re a model for justice and equality, our actions need to speak louder than our words.