The Shameful Case of The Sacklers: Arthur's Story

In 2012, the use of opioids reached its peak in the United States with 255 million prescriptions written that year- or 81 for every 100 Americans. Much of the blame for the widespread abuse of opioids is often attributed to the Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, who made billions of dollars from the widely prescribed opioid Oxycontin. Which, despite being dangerously addictive, was easy to get hold of because the Sacklers bought off doctors and aggressively marketed the drug almost as a cure-all.

However, the story of how the Sacklers contributed to the opioid crisis begins long before Purdue Pharma started making OxyContin. Here, I’m looking at the story of Arthur Sackler, the man who shaped the future of the entire pharmaceutical advertising industry and set the stage for what was to come many years later.

Much of the information about Arthur Sackler is from the book "Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty" by Patrick Radden Keefe. It’s a good read if you’re interested in this story.