How Creating ‘Dopesick’ Changed Me From Writer To Activist – The Hollywood Reporter

“We have to hammer at the abusers in every possible way.” This quote from Richard Sackler, the man widely regarded as the “godfather” of OxyContin, is a perfect example of how his company, Purdue Pharma, got away with enslaving millions of people through lies and deception – by the victims blame for Purdue’s crimes.

As the creator of the Hulu limited series Dopessick“I was shocked and outraged by the obscene crime of Purdue Pharma, which was owned and operated by members of the Sackler family. The company’s “big lie” was to aggressively market an addictive narcotic, while significantly underestimating the risk of addiction by using misleading studies, using rigged blood cards and deceptive slogans, and by using “expert” testimonials about the to enforce safety of OxyContin from “independent” doctors who were in reality on Purdu’s payroll.

These actions that triggered the opioid crisis are arguably the greatest crime in US history, and even more furious, the individuals who made billions from the deception were never charged! That’s an important topic that Sacklers lawyers repeat time and again.

Tired of their denials and enraged by the injustice of the tragedy, I decided to make a television series to be the “trial” the Sackler family never had. Much to my surprise, this TV trial had a greater impact than I could ever have imagined.

A month later Dopessick finished airing, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art finally cleared Sackler’s name from its walls. This process had begun in 2018 when the righteous artist Nan Goldin led a series of groundbreaking protests in major museums around the world that gained international press and helped bring the truth about the Sacklers’ actions to millions of people. Then after the UK premiere of DopessickLondon’s Tate Modern removed the Sackler name and the National Gallery in London quickly followed suit, with some British newspapers citing the entire ordeal as the “Dopessick scandal.” Despite these cultural victories, the public remains outraged that no member of the Sackler family has been charged. This anger was echoed by Congressman Tim Ryan, who in a fiery speech on the House floor: Dopessick poster to passionately advocate for a settlement for the Sackler family.

With the growing focus on the series’ Sacklers, anti-Purdue/Sackler activist Ed Bisch decided to seize the moment. After losing his only son, 18-year-old Eddie, to an OxyContin-related overdose in 2001, Bisch organized a meeting outside the Justice Department to pressure officials to bring criminal charges against the Sacklers. He asked me to speak at the rally and, for the first time on a project, I jumped from writer to activist. I wasn’t the only one who made this switch. Three former US assistant attorneys also spoke, including former district attorney Rick Mountcastle (who was played by Peter Sarsgaard in) Dopessick). Mountcastle’s investigation and case against Purdue was the central storyline of the series, and it was highly unusual, if not a first, for a former assistant US attorney to participate in a protest outside the DOJ. The rally did not go unnoticed. Shortly thereafter, organizers were offered a meeting with Philip Sellinger, the US attorney whose New Jersey office is responsible for the Purdue investigation.

I was invited to attend and found it one of the most touching moments of my career, listening to Sackler victims tell their tragic stories of the loss of loved ones to a government official who had the power to actually seek justice on their behalf. Journalist Beth Macy, the author of the incredible book that inspired the show, spoke in detail about her observations of Purdue’s opioid crisis — highlighting the fact that 1 million Americans have died of drug overdose since Purdue launched its “miracle” drug.

Then I explained to the American lawyer how the series had penetrated pop culture with millions of viewers, making the violations too famous to ignore. I told him that a question I’m often asked now is, “Why isn’t Richard Sackler in jail?” Then Rick Mountcastle spoke. Everyone in the meeting was enthralled as the former accuser explained to the current U.S. attorney how he felt his 2007 case was unfairly aborted because of the Sacklers’ “political connections,” and it was time for Mr. Sellinger to finish what Mountcastle did. had started 20 years earlier.

At the time of this writing, it is not known whether the US attorney will file a case against Richard Sackler, but the matter refuses to go away. In June, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong asked the state’s chief prosecutor to consider criminal charges against members of the Sackler family. Such actions give new hope to many of their victims after so many have lost so much as a result of Purdue Pharma’s criminal brutality. American life expectancy is falling largely because of their greed. I am hopeful that thanks to the tireless work of activists and journalists and the light Dopessick have been able to shine on this scandal, the Justice Department will live up to its name and bring justice. It is past time for them to hammer the actual abusers.