Americans are now more likely to die from opioid overdoses than car crashes. So it’s a reasonable time to look back and see how we got here. Many of today’s deaths are associated with heroin overdoses and illicit, synthetic fentanyl. But in the beginning, there was Oxy. And behind Oxy, there was Purdue. And behind Purdue, there were the Sacklers. Now, thanks to some state-led lawsuits, we’re getting a look behind the scenes of what has grown into an American tragedy. Stat: Documents reveal new details about Purdue’s marketing of OxyContin. “As questions were raised about the risk of addiction and overdoses that came with taking OxyContin and opioid medications, Sackler outlined a strategy that critics have long accused the company of unleashing: divert the blame onto others, particularly the people who became addicted to opioids themselves. ‘We have to hammer on the abusers in every way possible,’ Sackler wrote in an email in February 2001. ‘They are the culprits and the problem. They are reckless criminals.'”

+ “The Sackler family behind Purdue Pharma knew that its painkiller OxyContin was causing overdoses, yet continued to cash in as deaths mounted.” NPR: Massachusetts Attorney General Implicates Family Behind Purdue Pharma In Opioid Deaths.