1 00:00:20,186 --> 00:00:21,666 Tell me about that day. 2 00:00:29,487 --> 00:00:32,991 That was probably the most difficult day of my life. 3 00:00:36,494 --> 00:00:38,913 Today, the State Board of Medical Examiners 4 00:00:38,997 --> 00:00:41,249 summarily suspended Dr. Jacqueline Cleggett. 5 00:00:41,833 --> 00:00:44,502 Cleggett's lawyer tells us he'll be asking for 6 00:00:44,586 --> 00:00:45,712 a full hearing tomorrow. 7 00:00:46,337 --> 00:00:51,801 I spent a very, very long time to become a physician. 8 00:00:52,302 --> 00:00:57,599 Too many hardships I had to endure to actually get to where I was 9 00:00:57,682 --> 00:00:59,225 to have it snatched away. 10 00:01:01,019 --> 00:01:04,397 My desire to become a physician started when I was eight years old. 11 00:01:04,898 --> 00:01:07,150 I wanted to help people. 12 00:01:07,233 --> 00:01:08,693 Simple as that. 13 00:01:11,488 --> 00:01:13,948 Chronic pain is subjective. 14 00:01:15,950 --> 00:01:19,370 You must rely on the patient's explanation, 15 00:01:19,454 --> 00:01:24,667 because often there are no physical signs that you can objectively diagnose. 16 00:01:26,836 --> 00:01:28,463 In other words, 17 00:01:28,546 --> 00:01:30,757 your pain is what you say it is. 18 00:01:32,133 --> 00:01:34,385 In seeking to help patients, 19 00:01:34,469 --> 00:01:38,389 you try to provide the best possible resource to them. 20 00:01:39,808 --> 00:01:42,894 OxyContin was very effective. 21 00:01:43,436 --> 00:01:46,106 So that's why that drug was selected. 22 00:01:47,982 --> 00:01:50,318 Do you remember any of your patients dying? 23 00:02:02,580 --> 00:02:05,166 Do you have specific patients in mind? 24 00:02:58,261 --> 00:03:01,598 After Dr. Cleggett's license was suspended... 25 00:03:02,265 --> 00:03:05,351 you have to give the physician a due process hearing 26 00:03:05,435 --> 00:03:09,981 within 90 days of the time that you summarily suspend. 27 00:03:10,481 --> 00:03:12,275 So the clock is ticking. 28 00:03:14,819 --> 00:03:16,070 In the complaint, 29 00:03:16,154 --> 00:03:19,282 there are well over 100 factual allegations. 30 00:03:19,365 --> 00:03:20,700 Fifty, sixty pages. 31 00:03:25,121 --> 00:03:27,832 Family members contacted Dr. Cleggett 32 00:03:27,916 --> 00:03:29,709 and tried to get her to agree 33 00:03:29,792 --> 00:03:31,794 to quit treating their son 34 00:03:31,878 --> 00:03:33,004 or daughter or husband 35 00:03:33,087 --> 00:03:35,882 because they were addicted and impaired, 36 00:03:35,965 --> 00:03:38,134 and they were misusing their medications, 37 00:03:38,218 --> 00:03:41,679 and they got no, um, response from Dr. Cleggett. 38 00:03:41,763 --> 00:03:43,598 Or if they got a response, 39 00:03:43,681 --> 00:03:44,681 it was negative. 40 00:03:48,645 --> 00:03:53,191 We had affidavits from coroners, uh, DEA people, 41 00:03:53,274 --> 00:03:55,068 you know, narcotics agents. 42 00:03:55,610 --> 00:03:57,320 They see young people 43 00:03:57,403 --> 00:03:59,322 with foam coming out of their mouths. 44 00:04:01,032 --> 00:04:04,494 OxyContin bottles with Dr. Cleggett's name on it 45 00:04:04,577 --> 00:04:05,578 strewn on the floor. 46 00:04:07,789 --> 00:04:11,292 I had all of that ready to go and I was ready to move. 47 00:04:20,260 --> 00:04:22,720 I got a phone call from the medical board, 48 00:04:22,804 --> 00:04:24,931 asking me if I might give a deposition 49 00:04:25,014 --> 00:04:29,394 against Dr. Cleggett, who was trying to get her license back. 50 00:04:30,937 --> 00:04:34,691 The deposition was the first time I sat down across from Dr. Cleggett. 51 00:04:37,819 --> 00:04:40,488 Her attorney was trying to belittle me. 52 00:04:41,823 --> 00:04:42,991 He painted this picture 53 00:04:43,074 --> 00:04:44,617 that I wasn't able to catch 54 00:04:44,701 --> 00:04:47,370 my son's addiction before he died. 55 00:04:48,913 --> 00:04:52,292 And that I would have done anything to put her out of business 56 00:04:52,375 --> 00:04:53,876 to make up for my son's death. 57 00:05:00,341 --> 00:05:01,551 Her attorney says... 58 00:05:02,218 --> 00:05:04,304 "Mr. Schneider, what length 59 00:05:04,387 --> 00:05:06,347 would you have gone to to put her out of business? 60 00:05:06,389 --> 00:05:07,765 What would you have spent... 61 00:05:08,516 --> 00:05:09,642 to put her out of business?" 62 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:11,560 And I said... 63 00:05:12,937 --> 00:05:14,063 "What's a life worth?" 64 00:05:23,239 --> 00:05:24,866 We had a hearing set. 65 00:05:26,117 --> 00:05:29,245 And a few days before the hearing, we get word 66 00:05:29,329 --> 00:05:30,747 Dr. Cleggett has been admitted 67 00:05:30,830 --> 00:05:35,877 to DePaul-Tulane Behavioral Center for opiate abuse... 68 00:05:36,419 --> 00:05:38,421 and cannot attend the hearing. 69 00:05:42,216 --> 00:05:43,760 DEA had information 70 00:05:43,843 --> 00:05:45,970 from some patients 71 00:05:46,054 --> 00:05:48,931 who said that Dr. Cleggett not only 72 00:05:49,015 --> 00:05:52,268 gave out prescription drugs, she used prescriptions. 73 00:05:54,228 --> 00:05:57,815 On one occasion, while we were conducting observation, 74 00:05:58,149 --> 00:06:03,780 I saw Dr. Cleggett taking pills herself when arriving at the clinic. 75 00:06:06,074 --> 00:06:09,243 We got a search warrant to search her home. 76 00:06:11,329 --> 00:06:16,918 In plain view, there were numerous bottles of prescription medication, 77 00:06:17,418 --> 00:06:20,338 some with pills in 'em, some empty. 78 00:06:20,421 --> 00:06:23,883 just laying around in Dr. Cleggett's home. 79 00:06:28,721 --> 00:06:30,765 So you were never self-medicating? 80 00:06:32,725 --> 00:06:33,851 Mm-mm. 81 00:06:35,812 --> 00:06:36,813 Mm-mm. 82 00:06:37,647 --> 00:06:39,982 You didn't suffer from addiction? 83 00:06:44,070 --> 00:06:45,070 No. 84 00:06:46,280 --> 00:06:47,532 I was never addicted. 85 00:06:57,542 --> 00:07:00,920 After Dr. Cleggett was admitted into DePaul 86 00:07:01,003 --> 00:07:03,923 and her abuse was well-documented... 87 00:07:06,592 --> 00:07:09,220 Dr. Cleggett and her attorney were agreeable... 88 00:07:10,012 --> 00:07:12,390 to the total termination 89 00:07:12,473 --> 00:07:13,975 of her medical license 90 00:07:14,058 --> 00:07:16,769 without having to admit any wrongdoing. 91 00:07:22,650 --> 00:07:26,696 Dr. Cleggett's license was revoked in 2003. 92 00:07:26,779 --> 00:07:28,281 However, it was years later 93 00:07:28,364 --> 00:07:30,992 before the US Attorney indicted her. 94 00:07:32,994 --> 00:07:34,328 When you see... 95 00:07:35,121 --> 00:07:36,121 your name... 96 00:07:36,664 --> 00:07:39,876 versus the United States of America... 97 00:07:41,252 --> 00:07:44,797 if that doesn't strike fear into your heart, I don't know what will. 98 00:07:45,882 --> 00:07:47,925 "So the entire country's against me?" 99 00:07:49,635 --> 00:07:52,221 She was one of the first doctors 100 00:07:52,305 --> 00:07:54,182 the US Attorney's office prosecuted. 101 00:07:55,475 --> 00:07:56,976 I was given a subpoena. 102 00:07:57,560 --> 00:07:58,436 And they asked me 103 00:07:58,519 --> 00:08:01,063 to bring everything I had done, through either the medical board 104 00:08:01,147 --> 00:08:02,857 or the FBI or the DEA. 105 00:08:03,357 --> 00:08:07,195 And I was basically told when I got there that I was probably the primary witness. 106 00:08:08,613 --> 00:08:10,490 And shortly after that, 107 00:08:10,573 --> 00:08:13,743 I found out that there were other cases against Dr. Cleggett. 108 00:08:15,912 --> 00:08:18,748 I was an operative of Purdue Pharma... 109 00:08:19,665 --> 00:08:21,834 but I was subpoenaed individually. 110 00:08:22,835 --> 00:08:28,216 I don't know if it was a group of patients that got together and they were suing her 111 00:08:28,299 --> 00:08:31,636 and somehow or another my name got tangled up in this, 112 00:08:31,719 --> 00:08:35,765 or if it was kind of a blanket action to get Purdue reps, 113 00:08:35,848 --> 00:08:37,725 to get them to answer questions 114 00:08:37,808 --> 00:08:40,228 about the territory in general. 115 00:08:40,728 --> 00:08:43,397 But it wasn't, "Purdue Pharma and Chris." 116 00:08:44,899 --> 00:08:46,025 So I had to go show up. 117 00:08:48,319 --> 00:08:51,739 The questions revolved around, 118 00:08:51,822 --> 00:08:55,910 "What do you know about Dr. Cleggett? 119 00:08:56,410 --> 00:09:03,000 What do you know about the promotion of OxyContin in this territory?" 120 00:09:03,543 --> 00:09:06,796 I answered the questions. I answered honestly. 121 00:09:07,296 --> 00:09:10,800 And I remember being relieved when I walked out. 122 00:09:11,509 --> 00:09:13,970 And I remember having my mind made up... 123 00:09:14,637 --> 00:09:15,805 when I walked out... 124 00:09:17,765 --> 00:09:20,726 that I got to get the fuck away from this... 125 00:09:21,477 --> 00:09:25,189 because I'm not going any deeper than where I am right now. 126 00:09:33,656 --> 00:09:35,616 Right before the indictment... 127 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:38,286 I heard that Dr. Cleggett 128 00:09:38,369 --> 00:09:39,745 was in a car accident. 129 00:09:47,670 --> 00:09:50,339 I was asleep on the passenger side. 130 00:09:52,216 --> 00:09:55,011 The driver took out a section of trees, 131 00:09:55,094 --> 00:09:58,097 going at approximately 80 miles an hour. 132 00:10:00,516 --> 00:10:04,020 They said I nearly died in that crash. 133 00:10:04,103 --> 00:10:05,271 They were correct. 134 00:10:06,314 --> 00:10:08,691 I had a hangman's fracture, 135 00:10:09,442 --> 00:10:13,529 which is what happens when you hang from a noose 136 00:10:13,613 --> 00:10:15,364 and break your neck. 137 00:10:17,199 --> 00:10:21,621 I suffered the exact same injury in the car accident. 138 00:10:22,538 --> 00:10:25,708 I had two brain hemorrhages... 139 00:10:26,292 --> 00:10:27,793 five skull fractures. 140 00:10:28,628 --> 00:10:33,507 The reason why I sound different is because I was intubated 141 00:10:33,591 --> 00:10:34,717 for six weeks. 142 00:10:35,217 --> 00:10:38,095 My voice is now higher and squeakier. 143 00:10:41,557 --> 00:10:43,142 Following the accident... 144 00:10:44,644 --> 00:10:47,563 I was prescribed OxyContin. 145 00:10:48,272 --> 00:10:51,859 And, no, I didn't have any problems with it. 146 00:10:52,485 --> 00:10:53,653 Actually... 147 00:10:54,654 --> 00:10:56,989 it helped alleviate a lot of pain. 148 00:11:02,828 --> 00:11:05,748 At the time, she was partially paralyzed, 149 00:11:05,831 --> 00:11:09,960 but Dr. Cleggett eventually was brought to trial 150 00:11:10,252 --> 00:11:12,588 for the operation of her pain clinic. 151 00:11:13,964 --> 00:11:17,885 The criminal prosecution placed Dr. Cleggett at risk 152 00:11:17,968 --> 00:11:20,304 for somewhere around 20 years of incarceration 153 00:11:20,388 --> 00:11:23,265 and fines of around a million dollars. 154 00:11:25,768 --> 00:11:28,020 She was originally charged 155 00:11:28,104 --> 00:11:31,649 with 37 counts of conspiracy 156 00:11:31,732 --> 00:11:35,528 to distribute controlled substances for no medical purpose. 157 00:11:36,946 --> 00:11:40,449 Because she was in this terrible automobile accident, 158 00:11:40,533 --> 00:11:42,702 her attorney worked out a plea agreement 159 00:11:42,785 --> 00:11:44,286 with the US Attorney's office. 160 00:11:46,038 --> 00:11:49,959 She was charged with only one count of conspiracy 161 00:11:50,042 --> 00:11:54,630 to prescribe a controlled substance without a legitimate medical purpose. 162 00:11:55,256 --> 00:12:00,469 Which, in fact, means she was not practicing medicine, 163 00:12:00,553 --> 00:12:01,553 period. 164 00:12:05,725 --> 00:12:08,811 I pleaded guilty to one count 165 00:12:09,729 --> 00:12:12,356 even though I knew... 166 00:12:13,482 --> 00:12:15,443 that I had not done 167 00:12:16,277 --> 00:12:18,571 what they stated I had done. 168 00:12:20,197 --> 00:12:24,160 Due to her impairment from the car accident, 169 00:12:24,243 --> 00:12:29,415 she did not do any prison time and was on probation for three years. 170 00:12:30,374 --> 00:12:31,500 She didn't go to jail. 171 00:12:33,002 --> 00:12:34,587 But part of her plea agreement 172 00:12:34,670 --> 00:12:38,174 was to agree never to operate a pain clinic ever again. 173 00:12:42,970 --> 00:12:45,222 Sometimes, I actually have dreams 174 00:12:45,306 --> 00:12:46,724 about practicing medicine. 175 00:12:47,558 --> 00:12:48,558 And... 176 00:12:49,101 --> 00:12:51,687 for a few moments, when I wake up... 177 00:12:53,272 --> 00:12:55,274 it seems that dream is actually real. 178 00:12:58,861 --> 00:13:01,989 But that's a dream about the past. 179 00:13:05,242 --> 00:13:07,661 A dream that I can never get back. 180 00:13:14,168 --> 00:13:16,045 Her punishment did not fit the crime. 181 00:13:16,921 --> 00:13:18,255 And I'll leave it at that. 182 00:13:18,339 --> 00:13:19,339 Yeah. 183 00:13:24,136 --> 00:13:25,888 After Dr. Cleggett got shut down... 184 00:13:26,555 --> 00:13:28,235 I felt like I had accomplished my mission. 185 00:13:30,059 --> 00:13:32,228 And I thought that might be the end of this. 186 00:13:34,021 --> 00:13:35,231 That wasn't the end. 187 00:13:37,107 --> 00:13:38,359 That was the beginning. 188 00:13:43,781 --> 00:13:45,032 It was like a cancer. 189 00:13:45,366 --> 00:13:46,408 It metastasized. 190 00:13:49,119 --> 00:13:50,996 Pills were just readily available. 191 00:13:51,872 --> 00:13:55,334 Pill mills were, you know, kind of popping up all over the place. 192 00:13:57,002 --> 00:14:01,173 It seemed like they were replicating Dr. Cleggett's business model, okay? 193 00:14:01,799 --> 00:14:03,843 So many addicts had been created 194 00:14:03,926 --> 00:14:06,720 and people knew there was real money to be made off every one of them. 195 00:14:08,305 --> 00:14:10,385 How easy is it to open and run a clinic? 196 00:14:10,599 --> 00:14:14,311 According to the DEA, just about anyone who's willing to fill out the paperwork 197 00:14:14,395 --> 00:14:16,021 and pay the taxes can do it. 198 00:14:16,772 --> 00:14:18,212 You go to the Sheriff's Office 199 00:14:18,274 --> 00:14:20,776 and make an application for an occupational license 200 00:14:20,860 --> 00:14:23,028 and you agree to pay sales tax 201 00:14:23,112 --> 00:14:25,823 and you're issued a license and you can open a clinic. 202 00:14:27,032 --> 00:14:29,159 I was really disappointed in the doctors. 203 00:14:29,243 --> 00:14:31,370 They had sworn to do no harm. 204 00:14:31,829 --> 00:14:34,915 They had been trained all their lives to help people 205 00:14:34,999 --> 00:14:36,750 and here they were killing people. 206 00:14:37,751 --> 00:14:40,379 Every week, the DEA sees one or two applications 207 00:14:40,462 --> 00:14:44,425 from people trying to open up new pain clinics in the New Orleans area. 208 00:14:44,508 --> 00:14:47,887 We now estimate that there's 60 and the number is growing. 209 00:14:47,970 --> 00:14:52,224 But this problem has reached crisis proportions. 210 00:14:54,643 --> 00:14:56,896 More than 60 pain clinics had popped up. 211 00:14:57,479 --> 00:15:00,149 And fatal overdoses doubled in St. Bernard. 212 00:15:05,529 --> 00:15:06,614 A lot of people 213 00:15:06,697 --> 00:15:08,240 felt it was a hopeless situation. 214 00:15:09,783 --> 00:15:12,912 But I saw the drug problem as a dark tunnel that we were in. 215 00:15:13,954 --> 00:15:16,874 And I had a dream that maybe, just maybe, 216 00:15:16,957 --> 00:15:19,001 there could be light at the end of the tunnel 217 00:15:19,084 --> 00:15:22,880 or somehow we could create some light at the end of the tunnel. 218 00:15:24,632 --> 00:15:27,134 In St. Bernard Parish, there's a stretch of trees 219 00:15:27,217 --> 00:15:28,260 that forms a tunnel. 220 00:15:28,761 --> 00:15:30,262 We call it the tunnel of oaks. 221 00:15:31,305 --> 00:15:32,705 Danny and I would be in the Mustang 222 00:15:32,765 --> 00:15:34,975 and we would ride through that beautiful tunnel. 223 00:15:35,225 --> 00:15:37,728 It was always part of a route that we would take, 224 00:15:37,811 --> 00:15:39,396 what we called "down the road." 225 00:15:41,148 --> 00:15:43,734 I saw it as a symbol of hope. 226 00:15:45,069 --> 00:15:50,282 So I started calling this mission that I was on, "The Tunnel of Hope." 227 00:15:55,037 --> 00:15:57,665 We never had all the answers we wanted, 228 00:15:57,748 --> 00:15:59,583 why Danny got killed that night. 229 00:16:00,709 --> 00:16:04,505 But Danny was still on a mission to help other parents 230 00:16:04,588 --> 00:16:07,174 with kids that have drug problems. 231 00:16:07,758 --> 00:16:10,469 'Cause we didn't want that to happen to their families. 232 00:16:13,931 --> 00:16:15,891 I had a chance to save a bunch of kids. 233 00:16:17,142 --> 00:16:19,645 I wanted to do something for my community. 234 00:16:21,355 --> 00:16:24,066 Apparently, most people are like I was in the past. 235 00:16:24,775 --> 00:16:26,527 And they just let everything slide. 236 00:16:26,610 --> 00:16:28,612 Everything just kind of goes by 'em. 237 00:16:29,613 --> 00:16:32,616 I have a little saying. Some people watch things happen. 238 00:16:33,325 --> 00:16:34,994 Some people make things happen. 239 00:16:35,494 --> 00:16:37,413 And some people say, "What happened?" 240 00:16:38,038 --> 00:16:40,666 And I'm in a "make happen" stage. 241 00:16:41,834 --> 00:16:44,128 I'm speaking out. I plan to speak at schools. 242 00:16:44,211 --> 00:16:47,464 We gotta try to make a difference against incredible odds again. 243 00:16:48,048 --> 00:16:49,591 And Danny's right by our side. 244 00:16:50,968 --> 00:16:53,512 I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you all. 245 00:16:54,513 --> 00:16:56,140 I'm here representing my family, 246 00:16:56,932 --> 00:16:57,933 including my son, 247 00:16:59,268 --> 00:17:01,770 to deliver this message and see if we can't make a difference. 248 00:17:03,522 --> 00:17:05,983 I started talking to kids on a regular basis. 249 00:17:06,108 --> 00:17:07,026 And Robbie, 250 00:17:07,109 --> 00:17:09,945 many times, would show up in a supportive fashion 251 00:17:10,029 --> 00:17:11,447 and be part of the audience. 252 00:17:12,614 --> 00:17:13,934 Something had to change. 253 00:17:15,325 --> 00:17:18,120 You had young teenagers 254 00:17:18,203 --> 00:17:19,663 just looking to get high. 255 00:17:20,205 --> 00:17:23,125 Now they're starting with something 256 00:17:23,208 --> 00:17:24,960 that could kill 'em on the first dose. 257 00:17:26,336 --> 00:17:28,297 Danny had talked to me about marijuana, 258 00:17:28,380 --> 00:17:31,425 saying it was safe and saying, "But, Dad, I wouldn't go any further." 259 00:17:32,217 --> 00:17:34,053 And every person... 260 00:17:34,636 --> 00:17:37,139 And every person that goes further, 261 00:17:37,431 --> 00:17:39,909 do you think that any of them think it's going to lead to death 262 00:17:39,933 --> 00:17:40,933 or them being in jail? 263 00:17:42,061 --> 00:17:43,061 Not one of 'em. 264 00:17:43,854 --> 00:17:45,939 After he talked at some of the schools... 265 00:17:46,774 --> 00:17:49,193 he almost became a mentor to some of the kids, 266 00:17:49,276 --> 00:17:51,070 'cause they would call him up on the phone. 267 00:17:51,153 --> 00:17:54,782 I remember, one night, we were sleeping, it was like two o'clock in the morning. 268 00:17:54,865 --> 00:17:58,744 The phone rang and it was this kid that needed to talk to Danny. 269 00:17:59,411 --> 00:18:01,931 What I want to point out to y'all in the audience is this: 270 00:18:02,539 --> 00:18:05,084 If I asked you to look at the ten people around you... 271 00:18:05,584 --> 00:18:08,462 which of your friends do you think would be the one that would screw up? 272 00:18:09,254 --> 00:18:11,090 You might form an opinion on that, 273 00:18:11,173 --> 00:18:12,257 but it'd be curious, 274 00:18:12,341 --> 00:18:14,343 because if you ask the person you picked... 275 00:18:15,219 --> 00:18:16,553 they might pick you. 276 00:18:17,846 --> 00:18:19,973 It can happen to any one of you. 277 00:18:20,891 --> 00:18:22,476 We've got to reverse the trend. 278 00:18:25,354 --> 00:18:27,856 2004, 2005, 279 00:18:27,940 --> 00:18:29,340 I was developing a lot of momentum. 280 00:18:29,775 --> 00:18:32,736 People started to know kind of who I was and what was going on. 281 00:18:34,988 --> 00:18:37,032 I was writing articlesin the newspaper. 282 00:18:39,701 --> 00:18:42,663 I wrote lettersto a number of politicians 283 00:18:43,372 --> 00:18:46,667 trying to motivate somebody to try to reduce this problem. 284 00:18:51,004 --> 00:18:52,798 Could we get the pharmaceutical manufacturers 285 00:18:52,881 --> 00:18:55,717 at least to maybe pay for some of this carnage? 286 00:18:58,137 --> 00:18:59,805 We worked on pain clinic law. 287 00:19:00,556 --> 00:19:02,850 We worked on pain clinic moratoriums. 288 00:19:04,852 --> 00:19:07,271 I not only wanted to change St. Bernard, 289 00:19:07,729 --> 00:19:09,356 I wanted to change the country. 290 00:19:10,232 --> 00:19:11,316 That was my dream. 291 00:19:16,613 --> 00:19:19,116 I was feeling good about where I was going with my mission, 292 00:19:19,700 --> 00:19:22,077 and so I scheduled a town hall meeting. 293 00:19:25,956 --> 00:19:28,876 We were getting very, very close, uh, to that meeting. 294 00:19:28,959 --> 00:19:31,670 We had a date scheduled, I'd already printed materials on it. 295 00:19:31,753 --> 00:19:35,591 And then we heard about a hurricane that was out in the Gulf. 296 00:19:42,848 --> 00:19:44,488 There's been a subtle change 297 00:19:44,516 --> 00:19:46,727 in the track of this, which may mean... 298 00:19:46,810 --> 00:19:49,021 Hurricane Katrina continues to move west, 299 00:19:49,104 --> 00:19:50,647 taking aim at southeast Louisiana. 300 00:19:52,232 --> 00:19:54,392 My cell phone rings, "Is this Sheriff Stephens?" 301 00:19:54,443 --> 00:19:55,319 I say, "Yes." 302 00:19:55,402 --> 00:19:57,863 He says, "I'm with the National Hurricane Center. 303 00:19:57,946 --> 00:19:59,615 I'm sorry to have to make this call." 304 00:19:59,698 --> 00:20:02,075 He said, "But you're gonna have a 30-foot wall of water 305 00:20:02,159 --> 00:20:03,368 hit your parish tomorrow. 306 00:20:03,869 --> 00:20:05,109 You're gonna flood levy to levy 307 00:20:05,162 --> 00:20:07,122 and there's not going to be a structure spared. 308 00:20:07,748 --> 00:20:09,833 And you're gonna have significant loss of life. 309 00:20:09,917 --> 00:20:12,157 God bless you and good luck," and they hung the phone up. 310 00:20:14,254 --> 00:20:16,882 If persons haven't evacuated by now... 311 00:20:17,966 --> 00:20:20,302 they need to leave immediately. 312 00:20:20,844 --> 00:20:24,473 It is a 100% probability. 313 00:20:25,557 --> 00:20:27,017 For God's sake, 314 00:20:27,100 --> 00:20:29,728 if you're listening to this broadcast right now, 315 00:20:29,811 --> 00:20:30,646 get out. 316 00:20:30,771 --> 00:20:32,371 The news people had kind of warned 317 00:20:32,397 --> 00:20:34,775 some major damage might happen. 318 00:20:34,858 --> 00:20:37,361 But we just could not envision 319 00:20:37,444 --> 00:20:38,779 the entire St. Bernard... 320 00:20:39,863 --> 00:20:43,242 The levy breach has occurred along the industrial canal. 321 00:20:43,325 --> 00:20:46,036 There's gotta be a break in the levy somewhere 322 00:20:46,620 --> 00:20:48,247 'cause the water's still coming up. 323 00:20:48,872 --> 00:20:50,457 Oh, no! 324 00:20:50,582 --> 00:20:53,752 Here it comes, up the front door. It broke the front door. 325 00:20:53,835 --> 00:20:56,838 Oh, God. I can't believe this. 326 00:21:00,133 --> 00:21:02,052 There were four houses over there. 327 00:21:02,719 --> 00:21:04,846 Now they're gone. All four of them. 328 00:21:06,431 --> 00:21:07,891 Oh, Jesus Christ! 329 00:21:08,767 --> 00:21:10,185 Moving right down the Bayou. 330 00:21:12,437 --> 00:21:14,982 Oh, God, please let it stop. 331 00:21:38,255 --> 00:21:40,655 Look at that car. You see? It was halfway on the roof. 332 00:21:40,716 --> 00:21:42,997 - Was it? Okay. - Yeah. Come back, you might see it. 333 00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:46,013 Entering St. Bernard Parish for the first time. 334 00:21:46,096 --> 00:21:48,015 Hopefully entering St. Bernard Parish. 335 00:21:48,807 --> 00:21:49,850 Unbelievable. 336 00:21:53,937 --> 00:21:57,149 Never realized how much I cared for this community until this happened. 337 00:21:58,025 --> 00:21:59,318 Everything has been destroyed. 338 00:21:59,818 --> 00:22:00,986 Totally destroyed. 339 00:22:04,031 --> 00:22:06,116 It was the largest natural disaster 340 00:22:06,199 --> 00:22:07,826 in the country's history at that point. 341 00:22:13,373 --> 00:22:14,583 Here's our house. 342 00:22:21,131 --> 00:22:23,258 There's Kristi, with her boots, going in. 343 00:22:26,887 --> 00:22:28,472 Holy crap. 344 00:22:28,555 --> 00:22:29,681 I'm going down. 345 00:22:30,182 --> 00:22:31,382 Good Lord. Look at that! 346 00:22:31,683 --> 00:22:32,934 Came right through the ceiling. 347 00:22:33,018 --> 00:22:34,144 - What? - Yeah. 348 00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:38,065 Kristi's trying to go upstairs. 349 00:22:42,194 --> 00:22:43,320 Okay, wait a minute. 350 00:22:43,570 --> 00:22:45,864 Merry Christmas! 351 00:22:49,534 --> 00:22:50,619 It's Danny. 352 00:22:51,620 --> 00:22:52,620 He's up. 353 00:22:55,874 --> 00:22:58,394 That was the only house I ever lived in my entire life. 354 00:23:01,129 --> 00:23:02,798 Ta-da! 355 00:23:03,715 --> 00:23:06,510 All the memories with my brother were there and... 356 00:23:15,936 --> 00:23:18,772 ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ 357 00:23:23,652 --> 00:23:25,112 All of St. Bernard 358 00:23:25,195 --> 00:23:28,990 had pain and anguish, just like us. 359 00:23:30,700 --> 00:23:34,788 And, unfortunately, a lot of people turned to OxyContin to cope. 360 00:23:37,124 --> 00:23:39,418 When we were starting to rebuild this place, 361 00:23:39,501 --> 00:23:42,546 the melancholy and the grief 362 00:23:42,921 --> 00:23:44,840 and the depression after Katrina 363 00:23:44,923 --> 00:23:46,133 was unbelievable. 364 00:23:46,550 --> 00:23:48,969 They had more people turn to drugs and alcohol 365 00:23:49,052 --> 00:23:52,097 after that storm than you could ever imagine. 366 00:23:53,432 --> 00:23:56,393 People you would never assume would take pills to survive... 367 00:23:57,018 --> 00:23:58,018 were doing it. 368 00:23:59,604 --> 00:24:01,815 St. Bernard is blue collar. 369 00:24:01,898 --> 00:24:04,985 A lot of 'em got hurt doing manual labor. 370 00:24:06,027 --> 00:24:08,280 So, the demand was there. 371 00:24:09,114 --> 00:24:13,368 There were doctors that were willing to supply that demand. 372 00:24:14,661 --> 00:24:16,580 It's a perfect storm. 373 00:24:27,841 --> 00:24:32,971 After Katrina, it was amazing that the hundred-year oak trees survived. 374 00:24:34,055 --> 00:24:35,599 The Tunnel of Hope survived. 375 00:24:35,682 --> 00:24:37,267 I knew my mission had to go on. 376 00:24:39,436 --> 00:24:40,854 When Katrina came, 377 00:24:40,937 --> 00:24:45,442 almost all of Danny's documents and everything was upstairs 378 00:24:45,525 --> 00:24:46,525 in the attic. 379 00:24:46,985 --> 00:24:49,112 Everything in the attic got saved. 380 00:24:50,655 --> 00:24:52,699 And it was amazing, 381 00:24:52,782 --> 00:24:55,118 'cause everything else pretty much was destroyed. 382 00:24:56,745 --> 00:25:00,207 And so I felt God wanted me to do something beyond Cleggett. 383 00:25:00,874 --> 00:25:03,168 OxyContin was still out there. 384 00:25:04,252 --> 00:25:06,172 The only way we could make a serious dent in this 385 00:25:06,254 --> 00:25:07,923 was to go at the source. 386 00:25:09,424 --> 00:25:11,184 Something had to be done about Purdue Pharma. 387 00:25:15,388 --> 00:25:16,515 In 2007, 388 00:25:16,598 --> 00:25:21,937 Purdue Pharma was convicted of misrepresenting the abuse liability, 389 00:25:22,020 --> 00:25:24,439 or the addictive potential of OxyContin. 390 00:25:24,523 --> 00:25:26,203 Purdue's marketing of OxyContin 391 00:25:26,233 --> 00:25:27,776 was deceptive and criminal. 392 00:25:28,443 --> 00:25:31,071 It is important to note that most of the people never claimed 393 00:25:31,154 --> 00:25:34,699 that Purdue was solely responsible for their loved one's death. 394 00:25:34,950 --> 00:25:38,286 They just wanted Purdue to tell the truth about the drug. 395 00:25:39,329 --> 00:25:43,792 The patients were told, "This has lower addictive qualities." 396 00:25:45,126 --> 00:25:46,795 Compared to fucking what? 397 00:25:50,048 --> 00:25:52,551 You know, I mean, that's a serious question. 398 00:25:53,093 --> 00:25:54,886 Compared to what? 399 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:01,351 Their executives were slapped on the wrist, okay? 400 00:26:02,352 --> 00:26:05,313 The company had to pay 600 million dollars in fines, 401 00:26:05,397 --> 00:26:08,608 but these guys never really accepted responsibility 402 00:26:08,692 --> 00:26:11,570 for the opiate epidemic that they helped create. 403 00:26:13,363 --> 00:26:17,617 Even after the Purdue executives plead guilty in 2007, 404 00:26:17,701 --> 00:26:19,911 they didn't stop promoting OxyContin. 405 00:26:19,995 --> 00:26:22,163 They promoted it harder than ever. 406 00:26:30,505 --> 00:26:31,590 Somebody... 407 00:26:32,632 --> 00:26:35,427 should have said, "Whoa." 408 00:26:35,969 --> 00:26:39,681 Somebody should have pumped the fucking brakes and said... 409 00:26:40,307 --> 00:26:41,391 "Whoa, 410 00:26:41,474 --> 00:26:42,517 we got problems." 411 00:26:43,018 --> 00:26:45,061 You know? "We got problems, Houston. 412 00:26:46,146 --> 00:26:47,272 We're leaking oil." 413 00:26:50,942 --> 00:26:53,445 I finally came to the conclusion that Purdue Pharma 414 00:26:53,528 --> 00:26:55,280 was not gonna stop what they were doing. 415 00:26:57,532 --> 00:26:59,826 But maybe we could stop the prescription problem, 416 00:26:59,909 --> 00:27:01,286 which was producing addicts. 417 00:27:03,413 --> 00:27:04,914 What can we do... 418 00:27:05,749 --> 00:27:07,375 to curb pill-mill doctors? 419 00:27:09,836 --> 00:27:11,671 This hour, we're talking about... 420 00:27:11,755 --> 00:27:14,633 Are these pain control clinics out of control? 421 00:27:14,883 --> 00:27:16,051 These are prescriptions 422 00:27:16,134 --> 00:27:17,636 that are filled at pharmacies. 423 00:27:17,719 --> 00:27:18,803 Exactly. 424 00:27:18,887 --> 00:27:21,681 And we're not in a position to know 425 00:27:21,765 --> 00:27:24,118 whether or not these people are seeing more than one doctor. 426 00:27:24,142 --> 00:27:25,810 What do they call it? Drug shopping? 427 00:27:25,894 --> 00:27:27,395 Drug shopping, doctor shopping. 428 00:27:27,479 --> 00:27:29,105 - Doctor shopping. Yeah. - Correct. 429 00:27:30,398 --> 00:27:31,483 I was advocating 430 00:27:31,566 --> 00:27:33,777 for a prescription monitoring program. 431 00:27:35,570 --> 00:27:36,905 I didn't invent this thing, 432 00:27:36,988 --> 00:27:38,740 but I saw it in some other states 433 00:27:38,823 --> 00:27:39,741 and on the news. 434 00:27:39,824 --> 00:27:42,827 And I started saying, "God, this is a great idea." 435 00:27:43,745 --> 00:27:45,705 I wrote a letter to the pharmacy board. 436 00:27:46,748 --> 00:27:51,127 And it was just weeks later, they came back and said, 437 00:27:51,211 --> 00:27:54,089 "We have listened to your proposition, we agree with you 438 00:27:54,172 --> 00:27:56,299 and we're gonna do it." 439 00:27:59,219 --> 00:28:01,304 With the prescription monitoring program, 440 00:28:01,388 --> 00:28:03,014 we didn't have to go to pharmacies. 441 00:28:03,598 --> 00:28:04,516 We could see it 442 00:28:04,599 --> 00:28:06,601 on one computer-generated print-out. 443 00:28:07,977 --> 00:28:09,938 The PMP made it a lot easier... 444 00:28:10,855 --> 00:28:12,565 to prosecute doctors. 445 00:28:12,899 --> 00:28:15,902 Two pain management clinics are the targets of raids 446 00:28:15,985 --> 00:28:17,696 by the US Drug Enforcement Agency. 447 00:28:17,779 --> 00:28:19,423 Dr. Richard Paolino was charged 448 00:28:19,447 --> 00:28:21,408 with more than 1,000 counts of fraud 449 00:28:21,491 --> 00:28:23,618 associated with OxyContin prescriptions. 450 00:28:24,494 --> 00:28:26,996 We finally started curtailing doctors a little bit 451 00:28:27,080 --> 00:28:29,249 to reduce the OxyContin that they wrote. 452 00:28:31,918 --> 00:28:35,505 The 61-year-old physician was basically a drug dealer 453 00:28:35,588 --> 00:28:36,881 with a medical license. 454 00:28:39,426 --> 00:28:42,011 OxyContin began getting restricted. 455 00:28:42,929 --> 00:28:46,850 Pharmacies were refusing to fill certain prescriptions. 456 00:28:46,933 --> 00:28:48,560 It was just getting harder 457 00:28:48,643 --> 00:28:52,689 for people that were addicted to get those opioids prescribed. 458 00:28:53,189 --> 00:28:55,191 So people moved to heroin. 459 00:28:59,112 --> 00:29:03,908 People get addicted and then the supply goes away. 460 00:29:03,992 --> 00:29:06,411 So what happens when the supply goes away? 461 00:29:06,494 --> 00:29:08,163 People find a new supply, 462 00:29:08,788 --> 00:29:12,375 because they're addicted and they don't have any other options. 463 00:29:13,460 --> 00:29:16,212 The drug cartels saw an opportunity 464 00:29:16,296 --> 00:29:17,714 to fill an enormous vacuum 465 00:29:17,797 --> 00:29:20,008 with the interruption of the pill mills. 466 00:29:20,091 --> 00:29:22,194 Then, all of a sudden, we've got as bad a drug problem 467 00:29:22,218 --> 00:29:23,344 as we've ever had. 468 00:29:23,970 --> 00:29:26,410 We want to tell you about a skyrocketing threat 469 00:29:26,473 --> 00:29:29,100 in suburban communities across the country tonight. 470 00:29:29,184 --> 00:29:32,729 The explosion of heroin isn't by accident. 471 00:29:33,855 --> 00:29:35,899 The prescription monitoring program 472 00:29:36,107 --> 00:29:39,736 has turned opiate addicts who can't get their fix in a pill form 473 00:29:39,819 --> 00:29:40,819 to heroin. 474 00:29:42,739 --> 00:29:44,657 Cheaper than prescription pills, 475 00:29:44,741 --> 00:29:46,576 heroin gives users the same fix, 476 00:29:46,659 --> 00:29:49,078 but at a significantly lower cost. 477 00:29:50,580 --> 00:29:55,084 Prescription opioids became the gateway to heroin addiction. 478 00:29:57,212 --> 00:29:59,297 Seventy-five percentof heroin users 479 00:29:59,380 --> 00:30:03,134 said the first opioid they ever used was a prescription opioid. 480 00:30:04,636 --> 00:30:07,305 When you're getting something legal from a doctor 481 00:30:07,388 --> 00:30:09,098 with a legitimate prescription... 482 00:30:09,849 --> 00:30:10,725 it's not like, 483 00:30:10,809 --> 00:30:12,602 you know, going into the city 484 00:30:12,685 --> 00:30:15,563 and buying heroin on the street, which is illegal. 485 00:30:15,814 --> 00:30:17,857 It's dirtierto people. 486 00:30:20,485 --> 00:30:22,612 But an addict is an addict, 487 00:30:22,695 --> 00:30:25,406 and if you put a heroin addict and an OxyContin addict 488 00:30:25,490 --> 00:30:27,534 in a room for a few days, using, 489 00:30:27,617 --> 00:30:29,536 you wouldn't be able to tell them apart, 490 00:30:29,619 --> 00:30:31,538 because it does the same exact thing. 491 00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:43,842 Just when I thought I was getting everything maybe resolved... 492 00:30:44,300 --> 00:30:46,511 I saw so many unintended consequences. 493 00:30:47,136 --> 00:30:48,471 Now they're going to heroin! 494 00:30:48,596 --> 00:30:49,681 It was almost like... 495 00:30:50,181 --> 00:30:51,558 "Did I do the right thing?" 496 00:30:54,352 --> 00:30:57,313 Prescription drugs, at least they know what they're getting. 497 00:30:59,023 --> 00:31:01,442 There was unfamiliarity with the drug 498 00:31:01,526 --> 00:31:03,862 and our overdose episodes just went through the roof. 499 00:31:05,196 --> 00:31:06,556 Get him on the ground. 500 00:31:06,614 --> 00:31:07,824 It was alarming. 501 00:31:07,907 --> 00:31:09,325 It was... It was a shock. 502 00:31:09,409 --> 00:31:10,952 Come on, buddy. Come on. 503 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:13,079 We're losing more people every year. 504 00:31:13,788 --> 00:31:14,789 Jay, wake up. 505 00:31:15,331 --> 00:31:16,666 Drugs come in seasons. 506 00:31:17,792 --> 00:31:20,378 First, it was OxyContin season. 507 00:31:21,212 --> 00:31:22,797 Heroin season. 508 00:31:22,881 --> 00:31:25,800 And now we have fentanyl season. 509 00:31:27,927 --> 00:31:32,849 Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than heroin or morphine 510 00:31:32,932 --> 00:31:34,601 and so extremely lethal. 511 00:31:35,643 --> 00:31:37,163 People think they're getting one thing 512 00:31:37,228 --> 00:31:40,857 and they're actually getting a mixture of that drug and fentanyl. 513 00:31:42,650 --> 00:31:46,863 Which means that the heroin on the street is much more potent than it had been. 514 00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:51,075 Here in St. Bernard Parish, 515 00:31:51,159 --> 00:31:55,580 every one of us knows someone who's lost a child or a relative 516 00:31:55,663 --> 00:31:58,583 to addiction of prescription opioids and heroin. 517 00:31:59,667 --> 00:32:02,420 We have innocent Americans who have become addicted 518 00:32:02,503 --> 00:32:05,089 to a drug that was designed to relieve them of pain. 519 00:32:05,882 --> 00:32:08,301 This was so devastating in St. Bernard Parish. 520 00:32:08,384 --> 00:32:11,137 It makes me think of another addictive drug. 521 00:32:11,888 --> 00:32:13,097 Tobacco. 522 00:32:14,849 --> 00:32:17,685 During the national litigation against the cigarette industry, 523 00:32:17,769 --> 00:32:19,938 I was representing St. Bernard Parish, 524 00:32:20,021 --> 00:32:21,898 to investigate and eventually prosecute 525 00:32:21,981 --> 00:32:25,693 the tobacco industry for addicting smokers and causing death. 526 00:32:27,195 --> 00:32:31,157 The tobacco industry had denied the addictive properties of cigarettes 527 00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:34,619 and hired doctors to teach the public 528 00:32:34,702 --> 00:32:36,704 that cigarette smoking was really a choice. 529 00:32:37,205 --> 00:32:39,749 That it was a matter of free will and it was not addictive. 530 00:32:39,832 --> 00:32:42,835 Let me ask you first, and I'd like to just go down the row, 531 00:32:42,919 --> 00:32:47,423 uh, whether each of you believes that nicotine is not addictive? 532 00:32:47,507 --> 00:32:50,927 When the chief executive officers of the major tobacco companies 533 00:32:51,010 --> 00:32:52,261 stood and raised their hands... 534 00:32:52,345 --> 00:32:54,514 I believe nicotine is not addictive, yes. 535 00:32:55,515 --> 00:32:57,100 I believe nicotine is not addictive. 536 00:32:58,893 --> 00:33:00,979 I believe that nicotine is not addictive. 537 00:33:02,522 --> 00:33:04,899 I believe that nicotine is not addictive. 538 00:33:05,733 --> 00:33:08,236 When we discovered in litigation later, 539 00:33:08,319 --> 00:33:12,115 every one of them had tremendous amounts of information in-house 540 00:33:12,615 --> 00:33:14,909 that proved that the drug was addictive 541 00:33:14,993 --> 00:33:18,538 and that many of them were engineering their product to make it more addictive. 542 00:33:21,165 --> 00:33:23,209 The same thing happened in medicine. 543 00:33:24,043 --> 00:33:27,213 That's essentially what Purdue did with OxyContin. 544 00:33:28,047 --> 00:33:30,383 OxyContin, from a molecular level, 545 00:33:30,550 --> 00:33:33,469 is pretty much identical to heroin 546 00:33:33,553 --> 00:33:35,680 or any other opioid you can get on the street. 547 00:33:35,763 --> 00:33:38,641 You know, Purdue Pharma, they knew that. 548 00:33:39,183 --> 00:33:40,852 And they just didn't care. 549 00:33:42,061 --> 00:33:44,355 None of the people working for Purdue, 550 00:33:44,439 --> 00:33:48,234 from the very top people, 551 00:33:48,317 --> 00:33:49,736 all the way down to... 552 00:33:50,445 --> 00:33:53,239 little territory reps like myself. 553 00:33:53,740 --> 00:33:55,116 Nobody was dumb. 554 00:33:56,492 --> 00:33:57,577 I'm not dumb. 555 00:33:58,369 --> 00:34:00,621 Uh, the people above me weren't dumb. 556 00:34:01,414 --> 00:34:04,208 The people above them weren't dumb. 557 00:34:04,709 --> 00:34:09,005 All the way into Connecticut, nobody's dumb. 558 00:34:10,423 --> 00:34:11,799 But we all acted dumb. 559 00:34:15,636 --> 00:34:18,806 And opioid addiction spread all across the country. 560 00:34:21,434 --> 00:34:24,687 Purdue Pharma set the stage for this to happen. 561 00:34:25,855 --> 00:34:27,899 They made opioids acceptable 562 00:34:28,357 --> 00:34:30,026 to a whole bunch more people. 563 00:34:34,113 --> 00:34:36,115 The wake of destruction 564 00:34:36,199 --> 00:34:40,078 that this one company leaves behind them is extraordinary. 565 00:34:40,161 --> 00:34:42,001 I don't know how they can live with themselves. 566 00:34:42,580 --> 00:34:43,748 This is corporate crime. 567 00:34:43,831 --> 00:34:46,125 This is big business America. 568 00:34:48,961 --> 00:34:51,756 Today, Purdue Pharma is facing a reckoning. 569 00:34:53,925 --> 00:34:56,469 Cases were beginning to be filed all over the country. 570 00:34:56,969 --> 00:34:59,555 It'll be a titanic confrontation. 571 00:35:00,306 --> 00:35:03,017 DeKalb County is joining a growing number of local governments 572 00:35:03,101 --> 00:35:04,519 suing opioid manufacturers. 573 00:35:04,602 --> 00:35:07,230 Florida, heading to court today to take on 574 00:35:07,313 --> 00:35:08,773 opioid drug makers and distributors. 575 00:35:08,856 --> 00:35:11,025 It is a new day in Oklahoma 576 00:35:11,109 --> 00:35:14,237 in our battle against the opioid epidemic. 577 00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:16,364 In Michigan, over 1,600 people 578 00:35:16,447 --> 00:35:18,866 died of opioid overdoses last year. 579 00:35:18,950 --> 00:35:21,619 One thousand three hundred and seventy-five Texans died. 580 00:35:21,994 --> 00:35:24,497 Opioid addiction is a public health menace 581 00:35:24,580 --> 00:35:25,665 to South Carolina. 582 00:35:25,748 --> 00:35:27,625 The gross misconduct enabled 583 00:35:27,708 --> 00:35:29,043 countless New Yorkers 584 00:35:29,127 --> 00:35:33,256 to obtain prescriptions that were not medically necessary. 585 00:35:33,965 --> 00:35:35,299 Their strategy was simple. 586 00:35:36,467 --> 00:35:39,804 The more drugs they sold, the more money they made. 587 00:35:40,638 --> 00:35:44,267 Nearly 2,000 lawsuits have been filed against Purdue Pharma. 588 00:35:45,768 --> 00:35:47,770 I'm one of the senior lawyers involved 589 00:35:47,854 --> 00:35:51,566 in representing most of the local governments in south Louisiana, 590 00:35:51,649 --> 00:35:52,984 including St. Bernard, 591 00:35:53,067 --> 00:35:54,861 against the opioid industry. 592 00:35:56,195 --> 00:35:58,656 After this tremendous journey that I've been on... 593 00:35:59,157 --> 00:36:01,159 I've become aware 594 00:36:01,242 --> 00:36:03,911 that Walter Leger, my good high school buddy, okay, 595 00:36:03,995 --> 00:36:08,541 is... is the attorney that's representing St. Bernard Parish. 596 00:36:08,916 --> 00:36:10,918 And it relieved my burden. 597 00:36:11,002 --> 00:36:14,380 I finally had somebody that could make something happen. 598 00:36:15,798 --> 00:36:18,259 Walter was a guy that could make these guys pay. 599 00:36:20,178 --> 00:36:23,055 But how do you deal with people that have more money 600 00:36:23,139 --> 00:36:26,559 than the United States Department of Justice has to fight this issue? 601 00:36:31,689 --> 00:36:33,941 The Sackler family, which is the family 602 00:36:34,025 --> 00:36:36,068 behind Purdue Pharmaceuticals, 603 00:36:36,652 --> 00:36:38,321 is worth $13 billion dollars, 604 00:36:38,404 --> 00:36:41,574 and they essentially made that money on the backs of OxyContin. 605 00:36:43,034 --> 00:36:47,121 And they have been able to evade any kind of personal responsibility 606 00:36:47,205 --> 00:36:49,498 for the opioid epidemic until now. 607 00:36:50,333 --> 00:36:52,251 For the first time, the Sacklers 608 00:36:52,335 --> 00:36:54,712 have been named in multiple lawsuits. 609 00:36:55,296 --> 00:36:57,016 Today, the Attorney General of Massachusetts 610 00:36:57,048 --> 00:37:00,343 pushed for the release of more documents from Purdue Pharma. 611 00:37:00,927 --> 00:37:02,845 Newly-obtained emails and memos 612 00:37:02,929 --> 00:37:04,555 from then-president Richard Sackler, 613 00:37:04,639 --> 00:37:06,307 writing in a confidential email, 614 00:37:06,891 --> 00:37:09,894 "We have to hammer on the abusers in every way possible." 615 00:37:11,646 --> 00:37:13,606 What these lawsuits have meant 616 00:37:13,689 --> 00:37:16,525 is that we've had access to these private emails, 617 00:37:16,609 --> 00:37:18,527 showing that the Sackler family 618 00:37:18,611 --> 00:37:21,864 was totally and completely in it for the money. 619 00:37:24,992 --> 00:37:28,287 It's not about helping people, whatever they might say to the contrary. 620 00:37:29,038 --> 00:37:31,398 A new report based on secret parts of a lawsuit 621 00:37:31,457 --> 00:37:33,125 filed by the State of Massachusetts 622 00:37:33,209 --> 00:37:34,377 claims the drug company 623 00:37:34,460 --> 00:37:37,046 considered expanding into addiction treatment. 624 00:37:41,342 --> 00:37:43,261 Even more egregiously, 625 00:37:43,344 --> 00:37:46,597 the Sacklers decided to get into the addiction treatment business. 626 00:37:47,431 --> 00:37:49,058 When they were promoting OxyContin, 627 00:37:49,141 --> 00:37:51,686 they would repeatedly say that addiction and pain 628 00:37:51,769 --> 00:37:53,688 have nothing to do with each other. 629 00:37:53,896 --> 00:37:56,124 Then when they got into the addiction treatment business, 630 00:37:56,148 --> 00:38:00,152 they said, "Addiction and pain are inextricably intertwined." 631 00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:06,450 Purdue trying to get into the treatment business? 632 00:38:07,743 --> 00:38:08,828 Didn't make sense. 633 00:38:09,412 --> 00:38:10,621 Right? There again... 634 00:38:11,122 --> 00:38:12,122 ding! 635 00:38:13,499 --> 00:38:14,583 Red flag. 636 00:38:19,422 --> 00:38:20,662 Sitting here today... 637 00:38:21,215 --> 00:38:23,426 after all you've come to learn as a witness... 638 00:38:23,926 --> 00:38:27,763 do you believe Purdue's conduct in marketing and promoting OxyContin 639 00:38:27,847 --> 00:38:31,851 caused any of the prescription drug addiction problems... 640 00:38:32,476 --> 00:38:34,228 now plaguing the commonwealth? 641 00:38:34,312 --> 00:38:35,438 I don't believe so. 642 00:38:36,230 --> 00:38:37,390 Sitting here today, 643 00:38:37,440 --> 00:38:39,191 after all you've come to learn as a witness, 644 00:38:39,275 --> 00:38:40,735 do you believe that Purdue's conduct 645 00:38:40,818 --> 00:38:44,530 has led to an excessive or unnecessary amount of opioids 646 00:38:44,613 --> 00:38:46,741 being located throughout the commonwealth? 647 00:38:49,535 --> 00:38:50,619 I don't believe so. 648 00:38:54,165 --> 00:38:56,184 Do you believe that any of Purdue's conduct 649 00:38:56,208 --> 00:39:00,588 has led to an increase in people being addicted? 650 00:39:03,674 --> 00:39:04,674 No. 651 00:40:13,619 --> 00:40:15,037 I drive a cab now. 652 00:40:16,831 --> 00:40:18,082 I see people, uh... 653 00:40:18,582 --> 00:40:20,835 You know, I know I'm dropping 'em off in the 9th Ward. 654 00:40:20,918 --> 00:40:23,295 I know what's going on. I know what's happening. 655 00:40:24,463 --> 00:40:27,508 If you're coming here, you're only coming here for one reason. 656 00:40:28,884 --> 00:40:31,345 And one after the other, like a McDonald's drive-thru, 657 00:40:31,429 --> 00:40:33,097 they'll... they'll score their dope. 658 00:40:35,474 --> 00:40:37,594 You know, that's one of the reasons why I carry Narcan 659 00:40:37,643 --> 00:40:39,103 in my glove box. 660 00:40:40,813 --> 00:40:42,373 You never know who you're gonna pick up 661 00:40:42,398 --> 00:40:43,691 or when you're gonna need it. 662 00:40:48,237 --> 00:40:51,740 Crack destroyed New Orleans in the '80s. 663 00:40:52,283 --> 00:40:54,577 But with the opioid epidemic... 664 00:40:55,244 --> 00:40:57,580 I see total destruction. 665 00:40:58,831 --> 00:41:00,875 There's no end to the damage 666 00:41:00,958 --> 00:41:03,711 this opioid situation has caused. 667 00:41:07,506 --> 00:41:09,341 The addiction just doesn't discriminate. 668 00:41:10,050 --> 00:41:12,845 It doesn't matter who you are, how much money you have, 669 00:41:12,928 --> 00:41:14,472 what color your skin is. 670 00:41:14,805 --> 00:41:15,805 Addiction, 671 00:41:16,182 --> 00:41:17,975 it just doesn't discriminate. 672 00:41:22,146 --> 00:41:24,315 Is there some way in the future 673 00:41:24,398 --> 00:41:27,276 that we can stop people from having pain? 674 00:41:28,611 --> 00:41:30,654 I don't know what the answer is. 675 00:41:30,738 --> 00:41:32,364 But we're in a hell of a pickle. 676 00:41:33,616 --> 00:41:35,201 This is a hell of a mess. 677 00:41:41,916 --> 00:41:46,170 When I see young lives destroyed by this disease, 678 00:41:46,253 --> 00:41:47,338 you know, I wonder... 679 00:41:49,632 --> 00:41:50,632 where do I fit? 680 00:41:54,220 --> 00:41:57,139 I do believe that everybody... 681 00:41:57,723 --> 00:41:59,850 not just me as a sales rep, 682 00:42:00,309 --> 00:42:01,519 not just Purdue... 683 00:42:02,436 --> 00:42:03,521 but doctors... 684 00:42:05,064 --> 00:42:06,064 the FDA... 685 00:42:07,441 --> 00:42:09,401 Congress, right? 686 00:42:11,654 --> 00:42:13,447 Everybody's got a bit of blood. 687 00:42:14,156 --> 00:42:15,741 We've all got skin in the game. 688 00:42:24,833 --> 00:42:28,379 Danny was on the front line in terms of the opioid epidemic. 689 00:42:31,131 --> 00:42:34,051 As we look back at what Dan went through, 690 00:42:34,134 --> 00:42:36,178 and what he was recognizing, what he was saying, 691 00:42:36,262 --> 00:42:40,849 uh, contributes to our understanding of the opioid crisis 692 00:42:40,933 --> 00:42:42,293 and hopefully how to deal with it. 693 00:42:42,351 --> 00:42:45,396 Uh, not just how to litigate it, but how to solve it. 694 00:42:47,064 --> 00:42:49,144 There may not be a more important case than this one. 695 00:42:49,441 --> 00:42:51,527 And your dedication could be incredibly helpful. 696 00:42:52,528 --> 00:42:54,780 This is a copy of the lawsuit that was filed here 697 00:42:54,863 --> 00:42:56,740 - in St. Bernard Parish. - Right. 698 00:42:57,408 --> 00:43:01,161 It's like my crazy dream of Tunnel of Hope... 699 00:43:01,662 --> 00:43:04,748 that I could maybe make a difference or... or be a part of... 700 00:43:05,833 --> 00:43:07,418 something that can make a difference... 701 00:43:09,336 --> 00:43:11,088 may very well become a reality. 702 00:43:46,540 --> 00:43:47,916 What do you say, Danny boy? 703 00:43:48,542 --> 00:43:49,542 Decent job? 704 00:43:56,008 --> 00:43:58,469 Dan's life will never be the same. 705 00:43:59,136 --> 00:44:02,556 No Christmas, no Thanksgiving, no birthday, 706 00:44:03,098 --> 00:44:06,226 no anything will ever be the same. 707 00:44:06,310 --> 00:44:08,354 He will make the best of where he is, 708 00:44:08,937 --> 00:44:12,191 but he will always have his son in his mind and his heart, 709 00:44:12,274 --> 00:44:13,567 and it will never go away. 710 00:44:13,651 --> 00:44:15,819 And that's the same for his entire family. 711 00:44:19,990 --> 00:44:21,492 It's alright, baby. He's with us. 712 00:44:21,575 --> 00:44:24,203 He's with us and we're gonna see him again, okay? 713 00:44:28,916 --> 00:44:30,250 He is burdened 714 00:44:30,334 --> 00:44:32,044 with the type of grief and loss 715 00:44:32,127 --> 00:44:34,338 that we all hope we never have to go through. 716 00:44:35,255 --> 00:44:37,966 But as a result of his attention 717 00:44:38,050 --> 00:44:40,052 being called to this enormous problem... 718 00:44:40,719 --> 00:44:42,054 he saved a lot of lives 719 00:44:42,137 --> 00:44:44,264 and he can always give his son credit for that. 720 00:44:48,560 --> 00:44:50,562 Right now, God, I have to pause. 721 00:44:51,605 --> 00:44:54,441 I've got things in the real world I have to keep up with. 722 00:45:07,746 --> 00:45:09,248 This is a poem he wrote. 723 00:45:09,832 --> 00:45:11,875 "Reflections upon life seem like a dream. 724 00:45:14,044 --> 00:45:16,630 Although very real in the eyes of the beholder... 725 00:45:17,631 --> 00:45:19,967 the time will come when his life is done... 726 00:45:21,719 --> 00:45:24,179 and he will live in the distant dreams of everyone. 727 00:45:27,683 --> 00:45:29,476 Living the dream, living life... 728 00:45:30,519 --> 00:45:31,645 both the same. 729 00:45:32,813 --> 00:45:34,106 Both two different portraits 730 00:45:34,189 --> 00:45:35,524 in two different frames." 731 00:45:39,445 --> 00:45:42,281 That was good. 732 00:45:47,202 --> 00:45:49,079 Here, give me that. 733 00:45:49,329 --> 00:45:50,247 I don't care. 734 00:45:50,330 --> 00:45:51,498 It's got mascara on it. 735 00:45:58,255 --> 00:46:00,716 Everything I did, I did for Danny.