and in 1996 something happened for a company called purdue pharmaceuticals came out with a drug called oxycontin and they started a mere and falsely promoted that opioids were rarely addict maybe only one percent of the could you get addicted to it no. that was not true. and it is not true and it never was true that was a false statement and the other companies jumped on the bandwagon of making money and the false lies spread and the false marketing spread that they are guilty of was about these tricks they cause the step i believe with every fiber of my being. back in 1906 the 1st promotional at

campaign for and it was broadcasted we found it. we doctors were wrong in thinking that opioids can't be used long term they can be and they should be we used to think they'd stop working all the patients would become addicts or they'd be sedated and. these 6 cases show how wrong those fears were. in this little film the public was assured with certification that content would show no risk of addiction despite its high concentration in opium to make it believable a real doctor and real patients' bill witness. confirmed that this treatment usually reserved for patients in the terminal phase of cancer can be used without any danger for common pain. i can enjoy every day deli you can really enjoy a mass a. on this new pain medication i have not missed one day of work and this

medication is not turning you into a zombie it is turned me into an active person again. whereas addiction is the 1st known risk of an opioid the figures shown by pretty farmer a purely and simply unreliable some patients may be afraid of taking opioids because they're perceived as too strong or addictive. but that is far from actual fact. less than one percent of patients taking opioids actually become addicted. since 1988 doctors have observed patients developing addiction yet in this internal memo a laboratory keeps on encouraging us representatives to sell the cost that miracle pill using bonuses premiums and all sorts of gadgets in only 5 years oxycontin went from 600000 prescriptions a year to more than 6000000. nowadays 30 pharma is the

1st company standing it was used in the lawsuit filed by the state of oklahoma in order to prove its responsibility the team relies on doc to kalani. in the 1st 6 years of the release of oxycontin produce sponsored 20000 educational programs across the united states they gave money to the professional societies to advocate for more opioids the organization that regulates hospitals took money from them the organization that regulates doctors in different states took money from them from all of these different directions we were told to prescribe much more the opioid lobby the manufacturers and distributors of opioids spent 880000000 dollars over a 10 year period the walking efforts for more cautious prescribing that they spent

8 times more than the gun lobby in the united states in has spent in trying to block gun regulations. the manufacturers of opiates are spending more money trying to block regulations on opioids. and is disseminated year after year during that time the epidemic takes root hidden in the shadows for so long the addiction of a 1000000 american citizens suddenly comes to light. these days with the most people showing up for treatment saying they're addicted to pills show up as read. this is 99. 2001. 2003. 200-520-0720 extension 09 what you can see is that in every state in the united states we've seen a very sharp increase in the number of people seeking treatment for addiction to

prescription opioids big companies were aware that these pills were dangerous addictive of course and could kill people of course they would yes they were aware before they put out their drug and one of the drugs started to get prescribed it was very clear early on there was a public health problem associated with this so there was overwhelming evidence that the products that were making them rich were killing people are going back and we wanted to find the patients that testified in this that really johnny passed away in 2008 in an accident caused by oxycontin his wife confided he had become addicted to it lauren was addicted for years now she's free if it became addicted and was also found dead of a cardiac arrest 3 patients out of 6 had become addicted as for the doctor who

appeared in the film here is his answer. it's not acceptable to say i don't believe in using strong pain medications for chronic pain we need to stop saying this. still. there we follow it thank you for the milner we have we love you so much. over and all my family in jesus christ my prayer. 66 you hear me in chelsea came here a lot but i just feel like she's here with me every time i come here i just feel her presence you know it makes me shine if i was trouble with this whole it's

a daily thing you gotta let it go people say you have to let it go tell us tell us how you do time don't know. if it happened to one person you know ok it was an accident this is 5. that's why america. i mean i don't know what our thinking miles i really don't i would like to know what they're thinking was how did she think that was helping. chelsea was 21 when she passed away the same age as kyle who still struggling for his life. kyla's began his 1st days of therapy at the center. and his struggle against the addiction only speech seems to be the purpose right maybe. ok so what i want to do to. the stuff that we this morning. every single one of us to quote myself when we come in here all of us have

a tissue for this particular thing when pockets. several of the guys that are in here were athletes. they got injured that introduced into the opiates and whenever they take the opiates they find out hey not only does this make me physically feel better but emotionally i feel better. so what of opiates. made me feel like a better person. like i'd be in the house all day and then once i got high i could go out. and do whatever on a new. there. everybody else here is still the same thing and you know i can relate to a lot of these people stories and it's just. a lot of

a lot of love i don't feel alone anymore and so. that's that's where we feel lot better. on day 15 of his treatment call relapsed. one of the patients who brought in heroin secretly. he couldn't resist.

after he plans back he was sent to this facility. monitored under high surveillance away from his family and son he's following his treatment to be able to go back to the ranch. here every fall we thank you for this day look we think we're about to receive we think this is just being on a 4 year stretch with it and i just can't seem to stop and. yeah it's highly addictive. why is it so hard to be sober because you have pain i guess is just now i'm so over a half feelings. and. i mean to say when i see it i would just get high and pass out.

i mean. are you done. for me went to church this morning you know. problem. foulke a. well it's almost 12 so i'm going to run by and pick up cash and come out there to you so you can spend some time with him. good luck. and i'll give you a call here after a little bit. ok by. his tone better.

his relationship with me his relationship with his brother. his relationship with his son caus burned every bridge possible even though he's her us the most we still have to be someone's to be there for him and we don't there's times we don't want to so we have to set our feelings aside and support him. i think the really the most difficult as far as anger is a sort of just knowing. all the all these companies know what their jobs are doing and they will say is they really gorgeous or so helpful in the room or lives in their health.

counting the cost and charting the future we depend on the good peering to recede it is time to is this the economic damage oh just the price and strange with me look on me and if there's going to be a recovery. and are there lessons to be learned.

i think the only time we've ever had in my house was after my surgery last year. at that time we knew about it way ahead yeah. yeah i assured my mom wouldn't let me take care of and i was so scared that's what they prescribe him he had the same exact stuff that my brother got addicted to oxy. because. the street name for that is roxy and they give you the exact same effect as heroin and according to my brother they're even more addicting. and he had legitimate surgery and i freaked out i was like no you can't take these and here he had just had his appendix taken out he needed the hump and i didn't want him taking them because i wasn't going to go through this again. just like calls family the whole country is in a state of awareness wanting to change things and contain the epidemic. at

the oklahoma university and then seen an aggressive alliance was formed researcher andrew caught me lawyer ritchie with me and dr jason beam and they've all gathered to establish a common fight plan against every single laboratory. jason . dr beaman has created the 1st college education program of the country on painkillers addiction. and also what provide education to all of the 1st drivers from dentist doctors invent an area right then and there. we think that that will

do more to the result you were describing than any of our other initiatives i think the overwhelming response has been that the doctors that are graduating now and going out into practice are not person and we've seen over 20 percent decline in prescriptions in oklahoma over the last 2 years my medical students will never be involved in this overprescribing behavior and there are definitely some doctors have knowingly contributed to this problem they saw an opportunity to make money and they went for it but that's that's a very small minority boko haram is department of justice is also trying to stop those who are responsible like one of the richest families in the country the one that funds and controls the purse and. arco i wanted to show you that appeared in forbes about the sackler family and back in 2015 they had 14 bay and one of the richest families in the united states and they've sold more than

35000000000. dollars worth of oxy cotton since it was really just. it was boarded $952.00 by the central brothers both doctors until then their name was now known to the general public nowadays that billionaires and very much appreciated by. made itself known as the patrons of museums such as the movie the guggenheim but without anyone making the connection between their fortune and their company michael barrett intends to make this truth known. do you think they knew a. they were doing sure they knew what they were doing. the exact they were there when they pleaded guilty to crimes and for all didn't lead with and. knowingly crossing remarkably oxycontin that's a result of one thing for sure that they were my conveyance and i mean dollars and

they didn't hear who destroyed it what damage it caused in 2007 the company pleaded guilty to the federal accusations of misleading marketing and false advertising condemned they paid over $635000000.00 in penalties and continue to sell opioids. the sack clothes would never have been able to market this product without authorization the f.d.a. has to control and regulate every single drug put on the market it authorized the use of oxycontin as a painkiller without a problem. some of the same f.d.a. officials involved in regulating the drug would wind up leaving f.d.a. and taking higher paying jobs for purdue pharma and other drug companies we call that the revolving door i think they should have figured out earlier than what was going on and to this day some of these same f.d.a. officials are still at the f.d.a.

and rather than saying we made a horrible mistake we have to change our policies they haven't changed their policies they keep approving more opioids. it's a big day for oklahoma the attorney general's teams are facing the lawyers of the 4 companies being sued a judge has to rule whether there's enough evidence to go to trial. approved pharmaceutical after johnson and johnson we sued the ones. that we knew about this business and falsely market it in oklahoma my goal is to let the trees come out i really hope this case goes to trial it's an enormous amount of money and they're going to fight to the death is what they've indicated. to to try to show that they didn't cause us they're probably going to blame this on doctors and

they're probably going to blame it on people like myself who got sick. we've probably got at least $20.00 for being on it what they have been a insta spend on the fancy billions to spend on lawyers and they have no limit on what they'll spin in these cases and they ship lawyer today out here from the east coast and they try other lie as much as they can. years of investigation and hearings through the course of history to change but the time to reckoning is common for the 1st time full laboratories will be judged as being responsible for the crisis. one day i think they would like us to stop. and go away but we're not we can't wait it's trial may of 2019 we're going to have to trial and we're looking forward to it we believe in our case i believe in our

case with every fiber of my being and i look forward to trying this case if i were the 1st case in the nation set for trial and we've been getting calls from other states we will set the precedent. we will might some history on that matter. good history. the lawyers of the full laboratories dutch to us despite our repeated demands for now none of them has accepted to meet with us. they were smiling how does that make you feel. bad for not. going to see him much or. that's a better answer to that and i don't. know. that on ever. and that was. all.

i don't know what spin of all. since you were boyish. are scared of getting hooked on drugs. that's my biggest worry occurring that i think. it's been 3 months since calm reintegrated the ranch child is coming to an end he now has to leave find a new routine where paying kelis don't exist. now that i'm sober and or feel a lot better more confident. like my body doesn't hurt. healthy. after he left the ranch moved in with his mother for a while. he's now found a job and rents a flat where he can accommodate his son every day is a struggle. this

is the final battle the one that gets to decide the fate of nicole. her lawyer asked for just muscle of counts. the state of oklahoma once the lawsuit to go before a criminal court. i think she acted extraordinarily recklessly so what my goal is is to berks file a motion to allow the jury to hear all the other victims that died as a result from that which is off so the jury can get a picture of what she was doing here and there are many. women died as it was why should anyone outside of medication and each one especially diabetic. you think of the evidence as absolute and fail to show. this is. the law is very

clear about what is a murder case and what is an aunt there's other cases involved. frankly with. egregious conduct in this. meeting you just see that make those or you just dismiss it so are you confident. you're waiting for the doctor. should be brought in and could we have an interview with her maybe later as soon as the case dismissed you. all along the hearing dr nichols seems detached from the events surrounding her but they can look on her face she will never speak as if none of this were her concern . the judge has reached a ruling. dr nichols will be tried for murder.

it's an exceptional decision on the part of the american justice system the trial has to happen in a year or less from now on she's banned from practicing. nichols on her lawyer have decided to plead not guilty. i think it's a good thing she's going to have to get a course in how to answer for what she did. it's going to have to answer in front of the jury and i know he added a manslaughter or better please he didn't dismiss it and she deserves she deserves you know to go before a jury trial and see and see what's going to happen with her you know my daughter to serve that they used to prescribe all kinds of dangerous drugs that we now know were dangerous about at the time they were doing the best they could to treat their patients and now they're blaming one of their own victims. for doing the best she

could with the medical knowledge she. love you. i miss you. i miss you hear me. i believe you hear me. chilled see. mr it's hard. but through this through this i can survive i can smile and say she's helped somebody else. that's what i see. a i forget her. eyes you're really do you're she here every day i forget i do i hear you here. since that case happened dozens

of american doctors have been sentenced in a court of law for over prescribing opioids. and $27.00 states is suing the laboratories for financial losses that purge you former company is now looking to new claims for its opioid it has created subsidiaries in asia and south america. everywhere opioid consumption is on the increase despite patients knowing the truth.

you. seem wrong. to you while you get to shape out just because you have to get. rid of equals betrayal. when so many find themselves. to look for common ground.

it's still. a plus we've got to. know how they decide this. and i know just how much benefit. this is the only think that we do is music because everybody. is waiting. for the feet of this bill frist would have given it. but i think it was this is the that is what.

happened. happened. live from the world headquarters of the r t america in our nation's capital this is the news with rick sanchez. and hello again everybody i'm rick sanchez to those of you who are watching us from all over the world on regular t.v. or on the portable t.v. app we're so glad you're there well here we go for several days now we have been following the protest out of hong kong but now very similar images to those that the world has been seeing out of hong kong are occurring right here in the united states what began with a need in the neck and the death of an unarmed handcuffed suspect.