America’s opiate epidemic and overdose scourge is the perfect storm of the worst aspects of America’s most glaring flaws. So maybe it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that greedy pharmaceutical companies threw millions of dollars at Congress, and managed to get a law passed that dramatically limited the DEA’s ability to stem the flow of opiates into the market at a time when their deadliness was already headline news. An excellent piece of reporting from WaPo: “The law was the crowning achievement of a multifaceted campaign by the drug industry to weaken aggressive DEA enforcement efforts against drug distribution companies that were supplying corrupt doctors and pharmacists who peddled narcotics to the black market.” My headline might seem a little harsh. But consider this. At the time the law was passed, the opioid crisis had already claimed 200,000 lives. And the goal of the law was to up America’s dosage.

+ “They weren’t slinging crack on the corner. These were professionals who were doing it. They were just drug dealers in lab coats.” 60 Minutes teamed with WaPo on the report, and dedicated two segments to the issue.

+ But wait, there’s another twist to the story (albeit, an oddly familiar one). Rep. Tom Marino was one of the primary champions of the law. He’s currently President Trump’s drug czar nominee.

+ And a collection of stories I posted last month: The Pain Killers.