How OxyContin has changed lives

"In 1998, seven chronic pain sufferers had been featured in a promotional video for OxyContin that was put out by the drug company Purdue Pharma. In the video, they talked about how the powerful narcotic had allowed them to get their lives back. Purdue Pharma's aggressive marketing of OxyContin marked the beginning of the industry's push of narcotic painkillers to treat long-term chronic pain - an area where the safety and effectiveness of the drugs remain unproven. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters John Fauber and Ellen Gabler found the story of the video is an example of how marketing trumped science and helped fuel the rapid increase in opioid use throughout the country."