Source: Brownstone Institute
by Randall Bock
“Purdue Pharma’s story unfolds as a Shakespearean tragedy. Like Julius Caesar, whose ascent was made possible by those who later betrayed him, Purdue rose on the government’s push for broader pain management — ‘pain as the fifth vital sign’ — and FDA approvals of its products. The company addressed a legitimate medical need but became the scapegoat when perceptions (of a long pre-existing) opioid crisis erupted. Stabbed in the back by the very institutions that once supported it, Purdue bore the brunt of public and legal fury (like King Lear’s Cordelia, to add a Shakespearean metaphor), while the systemic issues that enabled the crisis — unchecked prescriptions, pill mills, illicit drug trade (heroin, fentanyl), and government-supported maintenance therapies — remained relatively untouched.” (12/10/24)
https://brownstone.org/articles/empowered-by-the-state-condemned-by-the-crisis-the-purdue-paradox/