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1
00:00:10,969 --> 00:00:14,055
Man, damn,
I don't... I don't believe this.
2
00:00:14,139 --> 00:00:15,348
I'm losing it.
3
00:00:15,432 --> 00:00:17,475
I'm losing it big time, okay?
4
00:00:17,851 --> 00:00:20,979
Maybe I dreamed this up, you know?
Uh, you know, so...
5
00:00:21,396 --> 00:00:23,565
I'm... I'm not trusting myself
at this point in time.
6
00:00:25,442 --> 00:00:28,028
It's Thursday.
This is important because, uh...
7
00:00:28,653 --> 00:00:29,904
I'm gonna blow up,
8
00:00:30,447 --> 00:00:32,407
because my mind went into paranoia.
9
00:00:32,490 --> 00:00:34,451
I really do believe I crossed the edge.
10
00:00:34,951 --> 00:00:37,287
When I start discussing
that I have a purpose,
11
00:00:37,871 --> 00:00:39,247
I do rise up to a certain level.
12
00:00:39,914 --> 00:00:45,295
It's when I go beyond that level that
I start not functioning totally perfectly.
13
00:00:46,212 --> 00:00:48,631
So help me, God, to think at a good level.
14
00:00:49,132 --> 00:00:52,093
But not go into the paranoia level
because I'm losing it.
15
00:00:53,053 --> 00:00:55,805
How couldn't everybody see
what was going on?
16
00:00:56,473 --> 00:00:58,391
That's what we couldn't understand.
17
00:00:59,642 --> 00:01:02,937
I mean, you know,
some people had labeled Danny as crazy,
18
00:01:03,021 --> 00:01:04,439
but he went to the FBI,
19
00:01:04,522 --> 00:01:07,776
the DEA, you know,
local law enforcement, all this,
20
00:01:08,610 --> 00:01:11,446
and nothing was happening,
so who's crazy here?
21
00:01:14,115 --> 00:01:18,286
I was constantly thinking
the DEA and FBI was either incompetent
22
00:01:18,953 --> 00:01:20,747
or in cahoots with this doctor.
23
00:01:22,916 --> 00:01:25,919
One of the reasons
the investigation took so long
24
00:01:26,002 --> 00:01:29,214
was because we had to go
from pharmacy to pharmacy
25
00:01:29,297 --> 00:01:32,300
to find the prescriptions
written by Dr. Cleggett.
26
00:01:33,426 --> 00:01:36,554
There was
no prescription monitoring program.
27
00:01:36,638 --> 00:01:41,893
So you'd have to hunt and peck
all around the city and the suburbs
28
00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:45,313
to find where all of these patients
29
00:01:45,396 --> 00:01:47,982
were going to fill these prescriptions.
30
00:01:49,526 --> 00:01:53,071
You can spend an entire day,
uh, or two,
31
00:01:53,154 --> 00:01:57,700
at a pharmacy, picking prescriptions
that Dr. Cleggett wrote.
32
00:01:59,619 --> 00:02:02,831
We found that Dr. Cleggett prescribed
33
00:02:02,914 --> 00:02:06,334
180,000 OxyContin pills
34
00:02:06,417 --> 00:02:07,627
within one year.
35
00:02:08,086 --> 00:02:10,588
And that was only ten pharmacies.
36
00:02:11,798 --> 00:02:13,341
We suddenly realized
37
00:02:13,424 --> 00:02:16,469
that it's very likely
she was writing millions of pills.
38
00:02:17,095 --> 00:02:20,473
We were experiencing an overdose rate
that was just out of control.
39
00:02:22,058 --> 00:02:25,311
During that time,
I saw young people
40
00:02:25,395 --> 00:02:26,646
dead from overdose.
41
00:02:27,647 --> 00:02:29,065
Really troubling to me.
42
00:02:29,149 --> 00:02:30,900
I have a son myself.
43
00:02:31,484 --> 00:02:34,237
And I would not wish that on anybody.
44
00:02:36,823 --> 00:02:38,491
When it spiked, it spiked.
45
00:02:38,575 --> 00:02:40,618
It wasn't like
it was a gradual sort of thing.
46
00:02:41,286 --> 00:02:43,580
It just seemed like
it just started happening
47
00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:44,914
right away.
48
00:02:48,710 --> 00:02:51,880
Dr. Cleggett was making St. Bernard Parish
49
00:02:51,963 --> 00:02:53,756
ground zero for overdoses.
50
00:03:42,013 --> 00:03:45,683
Just last week, a man walked
into the pharmacy and demanded OxyContin.
51
00:03:45,767 --> 00:03:47,101
He even said he had a gun.
52
00:03:47,769 --> 00:03:51,231
Detectives were able to arrest him
as he came out the front doors.
53
00:03:52,273 --> 00:03:53,673
Drugstores were being robbed.
54
00:03:53,733 --> 00:03:55,109
Crazy things were happening.
55
00:03:55,193 --> 00:03:58,196
They were even walking in, in daylight,
and doing these types of things.
56
00:04:00,365 --> 00:04:02,867
I see the different crimes going on
57
00:04:02,951 --> 00:04:04,577
and I know it's because of addiction.
58
00:04:04,661 --> 00:04:06,120
These are not bad people.
59
00:04:06,204 --> 00:04:08,539
These are people
that are in the most desperate state.
60
00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:12,085
It's like starving to death.
You're going to do...
61
00:04:12,877 --> 00:04:17,048
whatever you have to do to feed yourself,
because you have to survive.
62
00:04:18,258 --> 00:04:21,010
I felt like this mayhem
that was going on...
63
00:04:21,511 --> 00:04:23,304
all was tied to Dr. Cleggett.
64
00:04:23,388 --> 00:04:26,099
And I tried to justify my actions
65
00:04:26,182 --> 00:04:29,060
with curtailing OxyContin
at the drugstore,
66
00:04:29,143 --> 00:04:31,646
because I thought, if some of those people
67
00:04:31,729 --> 00:04:34,649
didn't come around our store, okay...
68
00:04:35,191 --> 00:04:37,402
that we might be less likely
to get robbed.
69
00:04:38,820 --> 00:04:45,159
But my boss at my drugstore, Mr. Claude,
thought that I was overreacting
70
00:04:45,243 --> 00:04:46,703
and making judgments.
71
00:04:47,328 --> 00:04:49,372
Mr. Claude is concerned about me.
72
00:04:49,455 --> 00:04:53,418
He knows that I've been talking
about this doctor and this drug.
73
00:04:53,501 --> 00:04:55,712
This is maybe what gets me in trouble.
74
00:04:56,296 --> 00:04:59,132
I believe he's filling
a lot of OxyContin prescriptions
75
00:04:59,215 --> 00:05:01,217
for people
that he shouldn't be filling them for.
76
00:05:01,926 --> 00:05:06,681
Danny and Mr. Claude got into, like,
a tension over the prescriptions
77
00:05:06,764 --> 00:05:10,768
'cause OxyContin does make the pharmacy
a lot of money.
78
00:05:11,352 --> 00:05:14,022
He couldn't see filling
all these prescriptions every day
79
00:05:14,105 --> 00:05:15,105
and not...
80
00:05:15,732 --> 00:05:17,025
not do anything about it.
81
00:05:18,776 --> 00:05:20,016
Mr. Claude would tell me,
82
00:05:20,069 --> 00:05:23,573
you know, "Don't feel complicit.
It's a legal prescription
83
00:05:23,656 --> 00:05:24,656
from a doctor."
84
00:05:25,658 --> 00:05:27,285
It was always about the doctors.
85
00:05:27,368 --> 00:05:28,368
They knew best.
86
00:05:28,911 --> 00:05:30,788
You start running into prescriptions
87
00:05:30,872 --> 00:05:32,415
that are very questionable,
88
00:05:32,498 --> 00:05:34,625
but it's not up to you
89
00:05:34,709 --> 00:05:37,587
to make the decision
that this is the wrong thing to do.
90
00:05:38,796 --> 00:05:40,173
I didn't see it that way.
91
00:05:41,674 --> 00:05:44,761
As a pharmacist,
I felt like it was my mission
92
00:05:44,844 --> 00:05:45,928
to make a difference.
93
00:05:47,138 --> 00:05:49,932
Pharmacists are in a position
to know
94
00:05:50,016 --> 00:05:53,436
which physicians
are prescribing appropriately
95
00:05:53,519 --> 00:05:56,564
and which physicians
are prescribing inappropriately.
96
00:05:57,065 --> 00:06:01,027
Dr. Cleggett surely must have stood out
as one
97
00:06:01,110 --> 00:06:03,196
who was not prescribing appropriately.
98
00:06:06,574 --> 00:06:09,786
I was appointed Director of Health
in 1983.
99
00:06:11,621 --> 00:06:15,291
We were involved at that time
in some drug abuse programs,
100
00:06:15,375 --> 00:06:19,796
because the abuse of prescription opioids
became a problem.
101
00:06:21,089 --> 00:06:27,553
There was a tremendous amount of attention
given to pain in the late 1990s.
102
00:06:28,721 --> 00:06:30,473
Most doctors in this country...
103
00:06:31,349 --> 00:06:32,683
don't treat pain.
104
00:06:33,184 --> 00:06:35,954
If you're in pain, a lot of 'em
accuse you of being a drug addict
105
00:06:35,978 --> 00:06:37,980
or... or there to get high.
106
00:06:38,564 --> 00:06:40,566
They started treating me
107
00:06:40,650 --> 00:06:44,570
as if I was really just coming to them
because I wanted pain medication,
108
00:06:44,654 --> 00:06:47,448
I was a drug addict,
and that's how they started treating me.
109
00:06:47,573 --> 00:06:49,093
Don't accept it if they say,
110
00:06:49,158 --> 00:06:51,494
"You have to learn to live with the pain."
Don't take that.
111
00:06:51,577 --> 00:06:52,745
Find another doctor.
112
00:06:55,873 --> 00:06:58,334
These drug companies came in
113
00:06:58,418 --> 00:07:01,921
and were much less interested
in people establishing diagnoses.
114
00:07:02,338 --> 00:07:06,050
Just doling out the prescriptions
for their pain medications.
115
00:07:06,676 --> 00:07:07,756
There's no need
116
00:07:07,802 --> 00:07:09,554
for anyone to suffer,
117
00:07:09,637 --> 00:07:12,890
because there are medications
that work effectively on pain.
118
00:07:14,892 --> 00:07:18,187
I started thinking this was bigger
than just this doctor in New Orleans East.
119
00:07:19,272 --> 00:07:21,149
How in the hell did doctors
around the country
120
00:07:21,232 --> 00:07:23,568
think this was a wonder drug
and not addictive?
121
00:07:24,902 --> 00:07:27,989
What, what I saw...
It looked like over-the-counter heroin.
122
00:07:29,282 --> 00:07:31,409
Sadly, we've known for years
in medicine
123
00:07:31,492 --> 00:07:34,829
that we in medicine are doing
a very poor job of treating pain.
124
00:07:36,164 --> 00:07:40,543
There's no question that our best,
strongest pain medicines are the opioids.
125
00:07:40,626 --> 00:07:42,712
But these are the same drugs
that have a reputation
126
00:07:42,795 --> 00:07:45,214
for causing addiction
and other terrible things.
127
00:07:47,133 --> 00:07:48,217
Prior to 1980,
128
00:07:48,301 --> 00:07:50,845
doctors were very reluctant
to prescribe opioids
129
00:07:50,928 --> 00:07:55,099
because they were afraid their patients
would get addicted, and for good reason.
130
00:07:55,183 --> 00:07:59,187
This country had seen
at least two prior opioid epidemics.
131
00:07:59,270 --> 00:08:01,481
One that dated back to the Civil War...
132
00:08:02,064 --> 00:08:06,527
when heroin was sold next to Bayer Aspirin
as a pain reliever for infants.
133
00:08:08,738 --> 00:08:12,366
Then we saw another opioid epidemic
when our soldiers
134
00:08:12,450 --> 00:08:14,327
were coming back
from the Vietnam War.
135
00:08:15,620 --> 00:08:17,747
Many of them
had gotten addicted to opium
136
00:08:17,830 --> 00:08:19,207
while they were in Vietnam.
137
00:08:21,834 --> 00:08:23,044
Then, in the 1990s,
138
00:08:24,003 --> 00:08:27,840
prescribing more opioids became acquainted
with being compassionate.
139
00:08:28,424 --> 00:08:30,885
If you were really a compassionate doctor,
140
00:08:31,135 --> 00:08:33,262
you would prescribe opioids.
141
00:08:35,181 --> 00:08:36,821
These drugs which, I repeat,
142
00:08:36,849 --> 00:08:38,976
are our best, strongest pain medications,
143
00:08:39,060 --> 00:08:40,728
should be used much more
than they are
144
00:08:40,811 --> 00:08:42,271
for patients in pain.
145
00:08:44,941 --> 00:08:47,401
Purdue Pharma
and other opioid manufacturers
146
00:08:47,485 --> 00:08:50,488
very heavily advocated to doctors
147
00:08:50,571 --> 00:08:52,281
that opioid prescribing was safe
148
00:08:52,365 --> 00:08:54,784
as long as they were treating
patients with pain.
149
00:08:54,867 --> 00:08:58,996
That somehow, the prescription pad
conferred this sort of magic halo effect
150
00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:00,665
and patients couldn't get addicted.
151
00:09:03,751 --> 00:09:06,963
The rate of addiction
amongst pain patients
152
00:09:07,046 --> 00:09:08,506
who are treated by doctors
153
00:09:08,589 --> 00:09:10,258
is much less than 1%.
154
00:09:11,092 --> 00:09:14,637
They said patients who are demonstrating
all of the signs and symptoms
155
00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:18,766
of having become addicted to the opioid
that the doctor is prescribing
156
00:09:18,849 --> 00:09:19,934
are not in fact addicted.
157
00:09:20,017 --> 00:09:21,519
They're pseudo-addicted.
158
00:09:22,103 --> 00:09:23,854
Pseudo-addiction is...
159
00:09:24,730 --> 00:09:28,901
when a patient
is looking like a drug addict,
160
00:09:28,985 --> 00:09:31,696
because they're pursuing pain relief.
161
00:09:32,196 --> 00:09:34,356
If your patient looked like
they were getting addicted,
162
00:09:34,407 --> 00:09:36,659
they weren't really addicted.
They were in pain.
163
00:09:36,742 --> 00:09:38,828
You needed to give them more opioids.
164
00:09:39,704 --> 00:09:44,250
Addiction is an uncontrolled,
compulsive use of a drug,
165
00:09:44,333 --> 00:09:46,460
despite the fact that it's doing you harm.
166
00:09:47,336 --> 00:09:50,506
Now that's different
from physical dependence.
167
00:09:50,590 --> 00:09:53,759
Physical dependence sounds bad,
but all it means
168
00:09:53,843 --> 00:09:56,762
is that, if you stop using the drug,
then...
169
00:09:57,471 --> 00:09:59,098
you'll get a withdrawal symptom.
170
00:09:59,599 --> 00:10:01,601
But it's clearly
got nothing to do with addiction,
171
00:10:01,684 --> 00:10:03,853
because it doesn't have
a psychological component.
172
00:10:04,353 --> 00:10:06,522
That's what doctors
across the country
173
00:10:06,606 --> 00:10:08,246
were taught in the 1990s
and early aughts.
174
00:10:11,485 --> 00:10:13,279
From best practices of sales...
175
00:10:13,362 --> 00:10:17,116
Purdue Pharma actually trained
their sales reps
176
00:10:17,199 --> 00:10:18,951
to actually go out and spread that message
177
00:10:19,035 --> 00:10:23,039
that we can alleviate these minor aches
and pains that people have
178
00:10:23,122 --> 00:10:24,498
without any fear of addiction.
179
00:10:25,833 --> 00:10:28,336
And that this drug
was virtually non-addictive.
180
00:10:31,339 --> 00:10:33,799
I didn't know shit about shit with...
181
00:10:34,550 --> 00:10:35,676
pain medication.
182
00:10:36,302 --> 00:10:38,679
I had no idea
what the marketplace looked like.
183
00:10:38,763 --> 00:10:41,140
I just knew that people were making money
184
00:10:41,599 --> 00:10:43,225
and I wanted to make money.
185
00:10:43,934 --> 00:10:45,728
Who doesn't? Right?
186
00:10:49,732 --> 00:10:52,068
I started working with Purdue Pharma
187
00:10:52,151 --> 00:10:53,986
in 1998.
188
00:10:58,157 --> 00:10:59,408
After I was hired,
189
00:10:59,492 --> 00:11:03,579
we had an extensive training period
at Purdue's corporate headquarters
190
00:11:03,663 --> 00:11:05,289
in Stamford, Connecticut.
191
00:11:06,457 --> 00:11:07,917
Man, it was a lot of rah-rah.
192
00:11:11,837 --> 00:11:14,799
The way it was pitched to us is that
193
00:11:15,383 --> 00:11:17,760
the physicians, the medical fraternity,
194
00:11:17,843 --> 00:11:21,097
they need to know about what
this medication
195
00:11:21,180 --> 00:11:23,516
can do for their patients.
196
00:11:26,227 --> 00:11:30,022
You gotta remember, OxyContin,
at this time, did not have a bad name.
197
00:11:30,690 --> 00:11:31,690
Right?
198
00:11:32,108 --> 00:11:36,362
And so you could go in
and you start talking to a physician
199
00:11:36,445 --> 00:11:40,199
that can see the benefits
as I was giving it to him.
200
00:11:42,118 --> 00:11:45,830
We told them it's pain relief
that will last
201
00:11:45,913 --> 00:11:47,665
12 full hours.
202
00:11:48,082 --> 00:11:54,046
And... And the FDA has approved
this language in our package insert,
203
00:11:54,130 --> 00:11:58,008
which says
it has lower addictive properties.
204
00:11:58,718 --> 00:12:01,053
The package insert
is the little piece of paper
205
00:12:01,137 --> 00:12:05,141
that's folded up and you get it
with every prescription in the pharmacy.
206
00:12:05,641 --> 00:12:09,395
So when somebody would talk to me about,
"Well, it's more addictive..."
207
00:12:09,478 --> 00:12:10,646
"N-No."
208
00:12:14,900 --> 00:12:18,404
"I mean, Doc, you know what it takes
to get stuff in this package insert."
209
00:12:18,988 --> 00:12:22,241
You have to submit everything to the FDA.
210
00:12:22,324 --> 00:12:24,368
The FDA has gotta pore through it.
211
00:12:24,452 --> 00:12:28,748
The FDA is gonna finally kiss it
and put their blessing on it
212
00:12:28,831 --> 00:12:30,166
and now I have it.
213
00:12:31,751 --> 00:12:34,795
They say, "Not true."
214
00:12:36,005 --> 00:12:37,256
Why wouldn't you use it?
215
00:12:40,342 --> 00:12:43,137
There were so many people in pain
216
00:12:43,345 --> 00:12:46,140
that could benefit from this medicine.
217
00:12:47,725 --> 00:12:51,020
Coming out of training,
I'm on fire for all this.
218
00:12:53,606 --> 00:12:57,359
Certainly, these doctors will see
the benefit of what I'm selling.
219
00:12:59,612 --> 00:13:00,652
I can remember,
220
00:13:00,696 --> 00:13:03,699
oftentime, I'd go out that door
to go to lunch
221
00:13:03,783 --> 00:13:07,244
and I can remember the guy from Purdue
standing right there,
222
00:13:07,328 --> 00:13:09,789
saying, "Oh, Dr. Lutz, Dr. Lutz,
you've got to see this.
223
00:13:09,872 --> 00:13:12,708
This is the pain pill your patients need.
224
00:13:12,792 --> 00:13:15,211
They don't have to wake up
during the night with pain.
225
00:13:15,294 --> 00:13:17,546
They take it, it lasts for 12 hours.
226
00:13:17,630 --> 00:13:19,799
OxyContin, long-acting."
227
00:13:20,508 --> 00:13:22,051
Almost like car salesmen.
228
00:13:24,970 --> 00:13:29,225
They sent representatives to go out
to the doctors and even pharmacists.
229
00:13:30,726 --> 00:13:34,897
We started having salesmen
for Purdue Pharma come into our store.
230
00:13:36,232 --> 00:13:37,942
And they were promoting the drug.
231
00:13:42,321 --> 00:13:46,450
Part of our job responsibility
was to go in and call on pharmacists.
232
00:13:48,702 --> 00:13:52,414
Just talking to them about the medication,
just in case they get some questions
233
00:13:52,498 --> 00:13:57,044
and they knew how to consult patients
that might have questions about it.
234
00:13:57,628 --> 00:14:00,381
You know, give 'em some ink pens
and notepads
235
00:14:00,464 --> 00:14:03,092
and all of that good, happy, crappy shit.
236
00:14:04,552 --> 00:14:07,972
My district
ranged all across south Louisiana.
237
00:14:08,764 --> 00:14:12,268
We would go from Lake Charles
to New Orleans.
238
00:14:14,395 --> 00:14:18,357
The way that we would figure out
who we were gonna target in our territory,
239
00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:20,317
who are we gonna try to convert...
240
00:14:21,151 --> 00:14:24,905
um, from short-acting opioids
to long-acting,
241
00:14:24,989 --> 00:14:26,490
because those are the...
242
00:14:26,574 --> 00:14:28,242
That's the low-hanging fruit.
243
00:14:28,325 --> 00:14:30,202
We would get the data in.
244
00:14:30,286 --> 00:14:32,872
We would know who was writing.
245
00:14:34,248 --> 00:14:36,250
And we would get their name and address.
246
00:14:36,834 --> 00:14:40,462
It was always told to us
that this was the most...
247
00:14:41,046 --> 00:14:43,340
uh, comprehensive data...
248
00:14:44,717 --> 00:14:48,929
that any company in the industry would...
249
00:14:49,013 --> 00:14:52,725
could provide
to their sales representatives.
250
00:14:55,019 --> 00:14:56,520
I was doing good.
251
00:14:56,604 --> 00:14:59,648
My numbers are growing.
I think they look great.
252
00:15:00,482 --> 00:15:03,277
But we would be told every single day,
253
00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:05,696
"There's a next tier of rep."
254
00:15:05,779 --> 00:15:08,282
Like, "Do you want to go next level?"
255
00:15:08,365 --> 00:15:11,619
Because the territory rep
in New Orleans East
256
00:15:11,702 --> 00:15:13,662
was making me look like...
257
00:15:15,039 --> 00:15:16,665
I'm just a regular Old Joe.
258
00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:24,089
You don't imagine New Orleans East
as a destination for health.
259
00:15:25,841 --> 00:15:27,217
But apparently it was...
260
00:15:28,802 --> 00:15:29,803
for some people.
261
00:15:31,722 --> 00:15:33,474
Because this rep was killing it.
262
00:15:34,433 --> 00:15:38,103
We were told he was making close to
$800,000 a year.
263
00:15:38,646 --> 00:15:40,940
As a territory rep, that's...
264
00:15:42,858 --> 00:15:43,859
It was unheard of.
265
00:15:45,486 --> 00:15:49,573
His territory
was gaining more prescriptions
266
00:15:49,657 --> 00:15:52,284
than any other territory
267
00:15:52,368 --> 00:15:56,205
in the entire United States of America.
268
00:15:58,749 --> 00:16:00,709
As I would go through the data,
269
00:16:00,793 --> 00:16:04,129
'cause it was delivered weekly to us...
270
00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:09,301
I saw there was one physician
in New Orleans East
271
00:16:09,385 --> 00:16:13,681
generating this extremely high level
of prescriptions.
272
00:16:14,723 --> 00:16:17,977
And, of course,
my natural, you know, inclination
273
00:16:18,060 --> 00:16:20,229
is to say, "Let's go see this doctor."
274
00:16:20,312 --> 00:16:21,855
And we can't.
275
00:16:22,731 --> 00:16:25,109
Because the sun is still in the sky.
276
00:16:25,859 --> 00:16:28,696
And so you have to hang around
a lot longer...
277
00:16:29,363 --> 00:16:30,781
after the sun went down.
278
00:16:36,495 --> 00:16:39,581
Okay, that's different hours for a doctor.
279
00:16:41,834 --> 00:16:45,004
Let's take a look and see what the fuck
is going on out there.
280
00:16:47,131 --> 00:16:50,009
You know how somebody smells
when they've been smoking cigarettes
281
00:16:50,092 --> 00:16:50,926
for three days
282
00:16:51,010 --> 00:16:53,554
and they haven't slept or showered?
283
00:16:53,637 --> 00:16:54,763
You know that smell?
284
00:16:55,389 --> 00:16:57,307
If you pull up in a parking lot
285
00:16:57,391 --> 00:16:59,393
and it smells like that...
286
00:17:02,271 --> 00:17:04,648
it really starts to make you think,
287
00:17:04,732 --> 00:17:07,568
"Man, something is not right
in this equation."
288
00:17:09,945 --> 00:17:13,240
What I learned is it might be one doctor
289
00:17:13,824 --> 00:17:17,036
doing 95% of the prescriptions.
290
00:17:19,329 --> 00:17:22,624
I don't have to be a good salesman
to have a good territory.
291
00:17:22,708 --> 00:17:24,460
I gotta have the right doctors.
292
00:17:28,839 --> 00:17:31,759
I certainly didn't want to be connected
293
00:17:31,842 --> 00:17:34,928
to any illicit activities
that could be going on.
294
00:17:35,220 --> 00:17:36,055
Right?
295
00:17:36,138 --> 00:17:38,348
I wanted to be free and clear
of that.
296
00:17:38,432 --> 00:17:39,725
Then, you know,
297
00:17:39,808 --> 00:17:43,979
you'd get a $35,000-$40,000
bonus check in a quarter.
298
00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:45,480
Right?
299
00:17:45,522 --> 00:17:46,607
And you say, "Man..."
300
00:17:46,690 --> 00:17:47,690
You know...
301
00:17:48,067 --> 00:17:50,402
"Maybe I'll keep doing this
for a little while.
302
00:17:50,486 --> 00:17:51,820
Maybe it'll get better."
303
00:18:01,455 --> 00:18:04,041
In our drugstore,
we would read the death notices.
304
00:18:05,250 --> 00:18:06,250
We had a list.
305
00:18:06,585 --> 00:18:08,003
We called it the "death list."
306
00:18:09,213 --> 00:18:11,423
People that we anticipated were gonna die.
307
00:18:14,927 --> 00:18:16,678
And, believe it or not,
308
00:18:16,762 --> 00:18:18,597
we started checking off names.
309
00:18:22,768 --> 00:18:24,770
Everywhere you looked,
people would experience
310
00:18:24,853 --> 00:18:26,021
how this was affecting us.
311
00:18:27,022 --> 00:18:29,733
I talked to an EMT
that told me, "It's a nightmare,"
312
00:18:29,817 --> 00:18:30,817
and he said...
313
00:18:31,235 --> 00:18:33,695
"Our hospital emergency room,
314
00:18:33,779 --> 00:18:36,782
we can't get heart patients in,
we can't get old people in right now.
315
00:18:37,366 --> 00:18:39,159
We're full of overdoses."
316
00:18:41,328 --> 00:18:43,163
I can remember one incident on the news
317
00:18:43,247 --> 00:18:46,291
where a father lost his 17-year-old son
318
00:18:46,375 --> 00:18:48,043
by injecting him with OxyContin.
319
00:18:48,919 --> 00:18:51,713
Paul Breaux allegedly injected his son
320
00:18:51,797 --> 00:18:53,132
with two doses of OxyContin.
321
00:18:53,715 --> 00:18:55,676
His son was found dead hours later.
322
00:18:56,677 --> 00:18:58,887
He got those pills
the same way most people do.
323
00:18:59,513 --> 00:19:00,973
With a doctor's prescription.
324
00:19:01,515 --> 00:19:05,519
Those prescription drugs
were prescribed to him by a Dr. Cleggett.
325
00:19:05,602 --> 00:19:08,063
Jacqueline Cleggett,
out of, uh, New Orleans East.
326
00:19:11,942 --> 00:19:14,319
I had many friends that overdosed.
327
00:19:14,403 --> 00:19:17,447
They would find them, you know,
at home in bed.
328
00:19:18,782 --> 00:19:21,368
And they didn't want to die.
They just used.
329
00:19:22,161 --> 00:19:25,497
They'll just start making
what's called the death rattle.
330
00:19:26,874 --> 00:19:28,500
When an opioid user
331
00:19:28,584 --> 00:19:29,626
takes too much,
332
00:19:29,710 --> 00:19:32,671
they begin trying to breathe
and they make this noise
333
00:19:32,754 --> 00:19:35,299
and their eyes
roll in the back of their head.
334
00:19:35,382 --> 00:19:37,843
And I remember
one of my girlfriends doing that.
335
00:19:37,926 --> 00:19:41,263
We were slapping her face
and throwing water on her to wake her up.
336
00:19:43,599 --> 00:19:45,309
I've seen that happen a few times.
337
00:19:48,145 --> 00:19:49,145
Very scary.
338
00:19:50,230 --> 00:19:51,982
On separate occasions,
339
00:19:52,065 --> 00:19:54,359
two women have fatally overdosed
on OxyContin
340
00:19:54,443 --> 00:19:55,903
in the home of James Price.
341
00:19:56,528 --> 00:19:57,728
Despite living in Mississippi,
342
00:19:57,779 --> 00:20:00,490
Price is a patient of Dr. Cleggett.
343
00:20:03,952 --> 00:20:06,038
It's an interesting situation,
344
00:20:06,121 --> 00:20:08,498
what some people think is insanity.
345
00:20:10,792 --> 00:20:13,670
In Mr. Claude's mind, I'm going overboard.
346
00:20:15,339 --> 00:20:17,758
In my
mind, I see...
347
00:20:18,467 --> 00:20:19,676
kids dying right and left.
348
00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:22,346
Now, in his mind,
he thinks I see these kids dying
349
00:20:22,429 --> 00:20:23,555
because my son died.
350
00:20:23,639 --> 00:20:25,682
Yes, it has something
to do with my son dying,
351
00:20:25,766 --> 00:20:27,017
but these kids are dying.
352
00:20:29,228 --> 00:20:31,563
There was a rumor
that there was a pharmacist
353
00:20:31,647 --> 00:20:34,316
who had lost his son tragically.
354
00:20:36,318 --> 00:20:40,239
And he was making a lot of noise
about Dr. Cleggett.
355
00:20:41,114 --> 00:20:42,114
And...
356
00:20:43,951 --> 00:20:45,452
that's not good for business.
357
00:20:46,536 --> 00:20:48,789
It's not good for business
in my territory.
358
00:20:48,872 --> 00:20:51,041
It's not good for business anywhere.
359
00:20:52,084 --> 00:20:54,044
The crime that was being committed
360
00:20:54,127 --> 00:20:56,171
was actually in Dan's profession,
361
00:20:56,255 --> 00:20:58,757
so the things that maybe he had just done
362
00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:00,384
through muscle training before,
363
00:21:00,467 --> 00:21:03,845
and that's filling those scripts
and not paying a lot of attention to,
364
00:21:03,929 --> 00:21:05,722
he could no longer ignore.
365
00:21:06,348 --> 00:21:07,266
He understood.
366
00:21:07,349 --> 00:21:11,019
Particularly when he would hear
that someone he filled a script for
367
00:21:11,103 --> 00:21:12,437
died of an overdose.
368
00:21:12,521 --> 00:21:14,356
He knew that he was in that chain.
369
00:21:15,023 --> 00:21:16,316
He was filling those scripts.
370
00:21:18,485 --> 00:21:20,779
As a pharmacist,
much less an employee,
371
00:21:20,862 --> 00:21:24,408
I have a responsibility
for the well-being of my patients.
372
00:21:24,950 --> 00:21:29,621
And nobody is inspired enough
to take on Dr. Jacqueline Cleggett.
373
00:21:30,998 --> 00:21:33,792
So, I have to take
a temporary leave of absence,
374
00:21:33,875 --> 00:21:35,627
because I definitely feel
375
00:21:35,711 --> 00:21:39,464
that I'm actually doing the things
that a person should do...
376
00:21:40,841 --> 00:21:42,467
to correct evils and problems.
377
00:21:42,551 --> 00:21:43,719
It is a calling.
378
00:21:51,351 --> 00:21:53,311
Chalmette pharmacist Daniel Schneider
379
00:21:53,353 --> 00:21:56,398
says he's taking a leave of absence
from his drugstore job
380
00:21:56,481 --> 00:21:59,484
to crusade
against the illegal use of OxyContin.
381
00:21:59,568 --> 00:22:02,297
We have to educate them
that these things are way more dangerous
382
00:22:02,321 --> 00:22:03,322
than they think they are.
383
00:22:03,405 --> 00:22:05,324
OxyContin scares you
that much?
384
00:22:05,407 --> 00:22:07,075
It scares me every bit that much.
385
00:22:07,159 --> 00:22:11,288
In fact, it scares me worse
than what my son died of.
386
00:22:15,250 --> 00:22:18,503
I was pretty much working full time
at shutting Dr. Cleggett down.
387
00:22:20,297 --> 00:22:21,298
Whatever it took.
388
00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:23,675
It's an interesting situation
389
00:22:23,759 --> 00:22:27,054
because the DEA wants me
to stay away from Cleggett completely
390
00:22:27,137 --> 00:22:29,765
and quit asking questions
and quit talking to people.
391
00:22:30,682 --> 00:22:32,976
They even almost threatened me
not to go around her.
392
00:22:33,643 --> 00:22:36,480
But I told them, "Well, sometimes,
I just happen to pass that way."
393
00:22:38,231 --> 00:22:39,399
I'm on the way home
394
00:22:39,483 --> 00:22:43,153
and it's even almost not out of the way
to just pass by Cleggett's office.
395
00:22:43,737 --> 00:22:46,097
Which I fully well intend to do
no matter what they've said.
396
00:22:46,865 --> 00:22:49,159
Because a lot of innocent people
are getting hurt.
397
00:22:49,659 --> 00:22:52,788
And so, I think,
in the overall scheme of things,
398
00:22:52,871 --> 00:22:54,122
it's the right thing to do.
399
00:22:57,626 --> 00:23:00,295
Her operation was so incredible.
400
00:23:01,171 --> 00:23:03,548
Why couldn't they shut her down?
I didn't get it.
401
00:23:04,383 --> 00:23:05,383
You would think,
402
00:23:05,425 --> 00:23:08,470
"What a toothless agency,
that you don't have mechanisms in place
403
00:23:08,553 --> 00:23:11,765
to be able to restrict
this type of illegal prescribing."
404
00:23:11,848 --> 00:23:13,308
We do have mechanisms in place.
405
00:23:14,518 --> 00:23:18,980
DEA builds a case, presents its evidence
to the United States Attorney
406
00:23:19,064 --> 00:23:21,024
and they'll decide to bring a prosecution.
407
00:23:22,943 --> 00:23:25,153
The Dr. Cleggett case had been presented.
408
00:23:25,737 --> 00:23:27,864
So I spoke with
the United States Attorney.
409
00:23:28,281 --> 00:23:31,576
I met great resistance
and I couldn't understand it.
410
00:23:32,411 --> 00:23:35,372
I asked them continually,
"Why couldn't we go after this?"
411
00:23:35,455 --> 00:23:37,249
And they... they said, "Well,
412
00:23:37,332 --> 00:23:40,293
doctors are a profession
in American society
413
00:23:40,377 --> 00:23:42,045
that's held in very high esteem."
414
00:23:42,129 --> 00:23:45,924
They would all revert to, "The doctors
are trained medical professionals.
415
00:23:46,007 --> 00:23:48,468
They know what they're supposed
to distribute. You don't."
416
00:23:51,388 --> 00:23:54,599
They weren't accustomed
to prosecuting doctors.
417
00:23:54,683 --> 00:23:56,643
Doctors were holy.
418
00:23:59,229 --> 00:24:01,648
We had to prove
that the physicians
419
00:24:01,731 --> 00:24:04,693
had morphed from being caring physicians
420
00:24:04,776 --> 00:24:08,280
to nothing but dope dealers
with white lab coats.
421
00:24:10,198 --> 00:24:13,368
It wasn't like
you were dealing with a crack dealer
422
00:24:13,452 --> 00:24:15,454
or somebody selling pills on the street.
423
00:24:16,204 --> 00:24:18,165
But in reality,
424
00:24:18,248 --> 00:24:21,334
every day you don't take
somebody like this off the street,
425
00:24:21,418 --> 00:24:23,670
you have the potential
for more people to die.
426
00:24:24,337 --> 00:24:29,843
The US Attorney kept sending DEA back
and back and back
427
00:24:29,926 --> 00:24:32,929
to get more and more information.
428
00:24:33,638 --> 00:24:37,267
There had to be a lot of
really egregious things
429
00:24:37,350 --> 00:24:42,355
that you could prove or show
to make a prosecutable case,
430
00:24:42,439 --> 00:24:44,608
you know, because this was new.
431
00:24:46,943 --> 00:24:47,943
In my opinion...
432
00:24:48,653 --> 00:24:51,990
the US Attorney's office
was not moving fast enough.
433
00:24:52,574 --> 00:24:53,909
They don't see people.
434
00:24:53,992 --> 00:24:58,121
They don't see families
destroyed by the opioid crisis.
435
00:24:58,205 --> 00:25:00,665
They only read numbers, stats.
436
00:25:00,749 --> 00:25:02,584
We were on the frontline.
437
00:25:02,667 --> 00:25:06,254
We saw what the effects
of the opioid crisis are.
438
00:25:12,469 --> 00:25:15,222
And then 2001
was really the year
439
00:25:15,305 --> 00:25:18,308
the media finally started talking about
440
00:25:18,391 --> 00:25:21,144
the fact that people were dying
from OxyContin.
441
00:25:28,860 --> 00:25:30,529
Then, like a ton of bricks,
442
00:25:30,612 --> 00:25:33,573
Time
magazine released this article
reporting that St. Bernard
443
00:25:33,657 --> 00:25:37,536
was one of the hotspots in the country
for OxyContin abuse, in the entire nation.
444
00:25:40,830 --> 00:25:43,124
St. Bernard Parish, a community
445
00:25:43,208 --> 00:25:46,169
of 75,000 people,
446
00:25:46,253 --> 00:25:49,381
led the per capita overdose rate
447
00:25:49,464 --> 00:25:52,384
in Louisiana and in the southeast region
448
00:25:52,467 --> 00:25:56,012
and probably in a great portion
449
00:25:56,096 --> 00:25:58,640
of the United States at the time.
450
00:26:02,435 --> 00:26:03,995
There was national coverage,
451
00:26:04,020 --> 00:26:06,314
including Newsweek
and Time
magazine.
452
00:26:06,982 --> 00:26:08,942
It was written in the Times-Picayune.
453
00:26:09,442 --> 00:26:12,320
There were television exposés on it.
454
00:26:13,196 --> 00:26:15,365
There is a prescription painkiller
in the news today
455
00:26:15,448 --> 00:26:16,950
for all the wrong reasons.
456
00:26:17,033 --> 00:26:18,076
OxyContin.
457
00:26:18,159 --> 00:26:20,829
No new prescription drug
in the last 20 years
458
00:26:20,912 --> 00:26:24,416
has been as widely abused
as quickly as OxyContin.
459
00:26:25,166 --> 00:26:27,752
It is now
the most heavily prescribed narcotic
460
00:26:27,836 --> 00:26:28,670
in the country.
461
00:26:28,753 --> 00:26:30,255
Sales topped a billion dollars.
462
00:26:30,338 --> 00:26:33,550
Six million prescriptions
for the legitimately suffering
463
00:26:33,633 --> 00:26:36,386
and, for thousands of others,
an addictive nightmare.
464
00:26:41,224 --> 00:26:42,517
Around that time...
465
00:26:43,518 --> 00:26:45,562
I remember calling on a doctor...
466
00:26:46,646 --> 00:26:50,442
and I hand him one of the sales aids
or whatever
467
00:26:50,525 --> 00:26:53,653
and, right in front of me,
he just dumped it in the trash.
468
00:26:55,739 --> 00:26:56,573
"Bye.
469
00:26:58,658 --> 00:27:00,201
That's what I think of this."
470
00:27:01,828 --> 00:27:04,289
When the reports
continued to come out...
471
00:27:05,665 --> 00:27:08,001
Purdue executives
testified before Congress
472
00:27:08,084 --> 00:27:10,420
about the OxyContin abuse problem.
473
00:27:13,048 --> 00:27:14,591
My name is Paul Goldenheim.
474
00:27:14,674 --> 00:27:17,218
I'm the senior physician
at Purdue Pharma.
475
00:27:17,302 --> 00:27:18,303
And, as you noted,
476
00:27:18,386 --> 00:27:21,014
its executive vice-president
for research and development.
477
00:27:22,182 --> 00:27:25,602
OxyContin is widely recognized
as a highly-effective treatment
478
00:27:25,685 --> 00:27:26,685
for pain.
479
00:27:27,062 --> 00:27:30,649
When properly used
under the supervision of a physician,
480
00:27:30,732 --> 00:27:33,485
it is also an extremely safe medication.
481
00:27:34,027 --> 00:27:37,572
Addiction is rare in the pain patient
482
00:27:37,656 --> 00:27:38,990
who is properly managed.
483
00:27:40,241 --> 00:27:41,660
We were told
484
00:27:41,743 --> 00:27:44,329
physicians that understood
what this medication was,
485
00:27:44,412 --> 00:27:45,997
and the benefits of it,
486
00:27:46,081 --> 00:27:48,583
would give it to appropriate patients.
487
00:27:50,168 --> 00:27:54,339
The appropriate patient is not the market.
488
00:27:55,382 --> 00:27:58,551
We've tried to teach doctors
how to use these medicines appropriately.
489
00:27:58,677 --> 00:28:01,429
We have never encouraged misuse
or diversion.
490
00:28:01,513 --> 00:28:02,430
There's some notion
491
00:28:02,514 --> 00:28:06,101
that because it's a pill
manufactured by a pharmaceutical company,
492
00:28:06,184 --> 00:28:08,812
it's completely safe,
even if you crush it and inject it
493
00:28:08,895 --> 00:28:13,066
and wash it down with a six-pack
and snort some cocaine.
494
00:28:13,566 --> 00:28:14,901
Where the growth...
495
00:28:14,984 --> 00:28:17,153
Where the amazing growth
496
00:28:17,237 --> 00:28:19,948
and all the dollars
that went to the company
497
00:28:20,031 --> 00:28:22,909
and went to the territory reps...
498
00:28:23,493 --> 00:28:25,078
It came from...
499
00:28:25,954 --> 00:28:28,289
physicians that were not
doing the right thing.
500
00:28:31,543 --> 00:28:32,543
Plain and simple.
501
00:28:33,545 --> 00:28:37,424
We've never done anything
that could remotely be suggested
502
00:28:37,507 --> 00:28:40,093
that it was a good idea
for a criminal physician
503
00:28:40,176 --> 00:28:41,469
to sell a prescription.
504
00:28:42,095 --> 00:28:44,556
The pharmaceutical opioid industry...
505
00:28:45,181 --> 00:28:48,184
didn't overtly encourage
pill mill doctors,
506
00:28:48,268 --> 00:28:50,520
but they certainly
didn't do anything about them.
507
00:28:51,104 --> 00:28:54,649
We had to make sure
that we were always calling on, uh...
508
00:28:55,900 --> 00:28:58,445
targets of opportunity, right?
509
00:28:59,154 --> 00:29:01,823
Management would have access to the data.
510
00:29:01,906 --> 00:29:05,201
They would see the physicians
that were high targets.
511
00:29:05,744 --> 00:29:07,912
"Man, we really need to convert
this person.
512
00:29:07,996 --> 00:29:09,122
Let's go see them."
513
00:29:10,039 --> 00:29:12,208
We would call those people "whales,"
514
00:29:12,292 --> 00:29:13,626
"monsters,"
515
00:29:14,335 --> 00:29:15,670
"huge."
516
00:29:15,754 --> 00:29:17,839
And it was almost
517
00:29:17,922 --> 00:29:20,383
a bit of a bragging, uh, point.
518
00:29:20,467 --> 00:29:21,968
It was pitched to me that
519
00:29:22,051 --> 00:29:23,845
Purdue spends more money...
520
00:29:24,804 --> 00:29:27,766
compiling this data
to give to representatives
521
00:29:27,849 --> 00:29:30,268
than any other company in the business.
522
00:29:38,443 --> 00:29:41,613
In 2001,
finally people started speaking out
523
00:29:41,696 --> 00:29:44,574
and yet nothing seemed to happen
that reduced the problem.
524
00:29:47,452 --> 00:29:49,329
Dr. Cleggett was still out there.
525
00:29:52,248 --> 00:29:56,252
I thought that the US Attorney
was moving too slow.
526
00:29:56,753 --> 00:29:58,922
So I personally went to her house
527
00:29:59,005 --> 00:30:00,423
and asked Dr. Cleggett
528
00:30:00,507 --> 00:30:05,136
to surrender her controlled-substance
license voluntarily.
529
00:30:07,639 --> 00:30:10,266
Dr. Cleggett's house was in disarray.
530
00:30:11,017 --> 00:30:13,478
Of course, she was sleeping,
because it was early morning.
531
00:30:14,229 --> 00:30:15,855
Although we did wake her up,
532
00:30:15,939 --> 00:30:18,274
she still seemed, um, disoriented.
533
00:30:18,775 --> 00:30:22,904
We suspected that she was using
prescription pills herself.
534
00:30:25,907 --> 00:30:28,993
I never witnessed
her abusing the pills myself.
535
00:30:29,619 --> 00:30:31,788
But there was talk in the waiting room
536
00:30:31,871 --> 00:30:33,832
that maybe Dr. Cleggett had gotten
537
00:30:33,915 --> 00:30:35,959
caught up in the same system
538
00:30:36,042 --> 00:30:37,627
that her patients were caught up in.
539
00:30:38,419 --> 00:30:40,547
But, you know, it's hearsay.
540
00:30:42,131 --> 00:30:44,276
Sometimes you can go to a doctor
and say, "Doc,
541
00:30:44,300 --> 00:30:46,719
I think you're using drugs yourself
542
00:30:46,803 --> 00:30:48,972
and I think it's in your best interest
543
00:30:49,055 --> 00:30:51,307
to surrender your license right now.
544
00:30:51,766 --> 00:30:54,143
You have the right to apply
to have it returned.
545
00:30:54,227 --> 00:30:57,355
once you seek treatment and help
for yourself."
546
00:30:57,438 --> 00:30:59,315
Some of the doctors will say,
"You know what?
547
00:31:00,358 --> 00:31:03,486
I am having problems,"
and will surrender their license.
548
00:31:03,570 --> 00:31:05,130
And that happens more than you'd think.
549
00:31:06,698 --> 00:31:10,451
I knew that it would not be easy
for her to give up her license.
550
00:31:10,535 --> 00:31:14,372
And I also know that it's not an easy road
to become a doctor.
551
00:31:14,956 --> 00:31:16,457
So I talked to her...
552
00:31:17,041 --> 00:31:19,419
woman to woman, profession to profession,
553
00:31:19,502 --> 00:31:23,089
explained to her
the violations that she faced.
554
00:31:24,424 --> 00:31:26,050
She understood. She...
555
00:31:26,634 --> 00:31:27,634
understood.
556
00:31:28,803 --> 00:31:32,348
However,
upon going towards her living room
557
00:31:32,432 --> 00:31:36,269
to get an ink pen and sign the DEA form,
558
00:31:36,352 --> 00:31:38,688
I mentioned her kids.
559
00:31:40,690 --> 00:31:41,691
You know...
560
00:31:41,816 --> 00:31:44,193
...she went down the, uh, row
561
00:31:44,611 --> 00:31:47,030
and explained one was going to college,
562
00:31:47,113 --> 00:31:49,198
one was 13 and the other one was ten.
563
00:31:49,741 --> 00:31:50,783
And, uh...
564
00:31:52,535 --> 00:31:54,162
then told me, no, she couldn't.
565
00:31:54,245 --> 00:31:55,663
She had to pay for college.
566
00:31:58,750 --> 00:32:00,430
She said,
"I'm not signing that.
567
00:32:00,501 --> 00:32:01,669
I'm not gonna do that."
568
00:32:01,753 --> 00:32:05,340
And she told them to get out,
she was never surrendering her license.
569
00:32:05,423 --> 00:32:09,719
They didn't have anything on her
and just leave her alone, you know.
570
00:32:10,345 --> 00:32:13,389
And she refused to surrender
her DEA number.
571
00:32:15,808 --> 00:32:17,888
Nothing seemed to happen
to reduce the problem.
572
00:32:19,228 --> 00:32:20,980
I'm at the wits' end right now.
573
00:32:21,064 --> 00:32:22,774
I really didn't know
what to do.
574
00:32:28,237 --> 00:32:29,864
This is the American statue.
575
00:32:29,948 --> 00:32:32,075
- That's enough.
- 1987.
576
00:32:33,242 --> 00:32:35,995
So, Danny boy,
I love you. I'm in your room.
577
00:32:37,246 --> 00:32:38,414
I'm looking at the Beatles.
578
00:32:39,540 --> 00:32:42,377
And, God,
please help me and Annie...
579
00:32:43,378 --> 00:32:47,215
Annie to have more faith in me
and help her support me.
580
00:32:49,050 --> 00:32:51,094
Will he make it to the other side?
581
00:32:52,470 --> 00:32:53,596
Oh, Lord!
582
00:32:54,263 --> 00:32:55,306
Almost!
583
00:32:56,808 --> 00:32:59,060
But, God, most of all, please,
584
00:32:59,143 --> 00:33:01,104
I need help in the direction that I take.
585
00:33:01,604 --> 00:33:02,604
We need a break.
586
00:33:07,652 --> 00:33:10,154
And then I happened to be watching 20/20.
587
00:33:10,238 --> 00:33:13,241
Tonight,
secret police tapes of young,
588
00:33:13,324 --> 00:33:14,617
healthy people lining up
589
00:33:14,701 --> 00:33:16,077
at the doctor's office.
590
00:33:16,619 --> 00:33:17,745
It was a segment
591
00:33:17,829 --> 00:33:20,248
about a doctor in Portsmouth, Ohio.
592
00:33:20,331 --> 00:33:22,709
He had been arrested
and charged with running a pill mill.
593
00:33:23,501 --> 00:33:24,627
Authorities say
594
00:33:24,711 --> 00:33:28,423
Dr. Lilly wrote more than 4,000
bogus prescriptions,
595
00:33:29,007 --> 00:33:30,800
mostly for pain medications.
596
00:33:31,509 --> 00:33:33,803
I couldn't believe
how similar he was to Cleggett
597
00:33:34,470 --> 00:33:37,056
and he had been taken down
by one of the local prosecutors there.
598
00:33:37,432 --> 00:33:41,769
I think it's an old story.
I think, uh, it's greed, pure and simple.
599
00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:44,647
You could tell
he was not examining patients
600
00:33:44,731 --> 00:33:46,232
in such an examination room.
601
00:33:47,567 --> 00:33:49,694
I wanted to find out
what they had done,
602
00:33:49,777 --> 00:33:51,654
so I called the prosecutor on the case.
603
00:33:54,657 --> 00:33:55,657
Hello?
604
00:33:55,700 --> 00:33:58,077
- Yeah, Mr., uh, Brown?
- Just call me Rick.
605
00:33:58,161 --> 00:33:59,829
- Okay, Rick, how are you?
- Fine.
606
00:33:59,912 --> 00:34:01,672
Yeah, Rick,
I'm calling about that case
607
00:34:01,706 --> 00:34:04,459
- that reached national prominence.
- Yes.
608
00:34:04,542 --> 00:34:06,645
We have a situation down here.
I'm a pharmacist.
609
00:34:06,669 --> 00:34:08,796
I'm not in law enforcement,
although I'm...
610
00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:11,316
I've been trying to help out
law enforcement as much as I can.
611
00:34:11,340 --> 00:34:13,676
- Okay.
- And we have a doctor that, uh...
612
00:34:14,302 --> 00:34:17,406
- seems to make your doctor look good.
- What are the doctor's credentials?
613
00:34:17,430 --> 00:34:21,350
You're not gonna believe this.
She was trained as a pediatrician.
614
00:34:21,434 --> 00:34:22,727
Well, well, well.
615
00:34:22,810 --> 00:34:25,873
Let me tell you what else she does.
If you come in and pay an extra $100,
616
00:34:25,897 --> 00:34:27,065
you get stat service.
617
00:34:27,148 --> 00:34:29,752
Okay, well, this guy...
Okay, there must be a...
618
00:34:29,776 --> 00:34:31,136
They must have this in a playbook,
619
00:34:31,194 --> 00:34:33,780
because this doctor had two lines.
620
00:34:33,863 --> 00:34:35,865
One for refills, one for new patients.
621
00:34:36,365 --> 00:34:37,283
Wow.
622
00:34:37,366 --> 00:34:38,576
This prosecutor,
623
00:34:38,659 --> 00:34:40,912
he had seen them
do some of the same things she did.
624
00:34:40,995 --> 00:34:42,315
But he had never seen any of them
625
00:34:42,371 --> 00:34:44,874
that had a police department
actually on their doorstep.
626
00:34:45,625 --> 00:34:49,087
Holy cow.
You've got a major problem.
627
00:34:49,170 --> 00:34:51,130
The FBI and the DEA
have been involved also
628
00:34:51,214 --> 00:34:53,254
and they just seem to be
either dragging their feet,
629
00:34:53,299 --> 00:34:55,093
they don't give a damn or...
630
00:34:55,176 --> 00:34:58,846
I don't understand
what their problem is.
631
00:34:58,930 --> 00:34:59,930
I really don't.
632
00:34:59,972 --> 00:35:03,017
Well, it's bureaucratic crap
as near as I can make out.
633
00:35:03,101 --> 00:35:05,245
- We have that problem tremendously.
- We have...
634
00:35:05,269 --> 00:35:07,271
You even have...
You even have that problem?
635
00:35:07,355 --> 00:35:09,524
Oh, crap,
we have a local federal task force.
636
00:35:09,607 --> 00:35:12,086
So they tell you
they're doing something and they're not?
637
00:35:12,110 --> 00:35:14,070
They are not telling us
what they're doing.
638
00:35:14,112 --> 00:35:17,240
If you can't cooperate with us,
we've got a job to do.
639
00:35:17,323 --> 00:35:18,323
Exactly.
640
00:35:18,825 --> 00:35:20,505
Which is the question I have to ask y'all.
641
00:35:20,576 --> 00:35:21,911
What was the smoking gun?
642
00:35:21,994 --> 00:35:24,539
What's the key
to getting a doctor like this?
643
00:35:24,622 --> 00:35:27,625
The key is you need the cooperation
of your medical board,
644
00:35:27,708 --> 00:35:31,963
who can go in at any time
and ask to see the doctor's records.
645
00:35:32,046 --> 00:35:33,646
Well, good. Look, I appreciate it.
646
00:35:33,673 --> 00:35:35,174
I may be back in touch with you,
647
00:35:35,299 --> 00:35:37,468
but I do appreciate
the information you've given me.
648
00:35:37,552 --> 00:35:39,262
- And, uh, wish us luck.
- Any time.
649
00:35:39,846 --> 00:35:42,348
He says, "I recommend
that you go to the medical board
650
00:35:43,015 --> 00:35:44,684
and try to process it through the board."
651
00:35:45,893 --> 00:35:46,727
So,
652
00:35:46,811 --> 00:35:48,563
in April 2001,
653
00:35:48,646 --> 00:35:52,400
I wrote a letter outlining
Dr. Cleggett's procedures and my concerns.
654
00:36:01,284 --> 00:36:03,744
For approximately 19 years,
655
00:36:03,828 --> 00:36:05,621
I served as complaint counsel
656
00:36:05,705 --> 00:36:08,666
to the Louisiana Board
of Medical Examiners.
657
00:36:10,293 --> 00:36:13,045
One of the primary functions
of the medical board
658
00:36:13,129 --> 00:36:16,799
is to make sure
the physicians that they license
659
00:36:17,550 --> 00:36:19,302
are practicing appropriately.
660
00:36:19,677 --> 00:36:20,511
And that means
661
00:36:20,595 --> 00:36:22,555
that if a complaint
is filed with the board,
662
00:36:22,638 --> 00:36:25,016
then it is the board's authority
663
00:36:25,099 --> 00:36:29,312
to investigate that complaint
for medical malpractice.
664
00:36:30,438 --> 00:36:33,983
So that put me in the role of, uh,
a prosecutor.
665
00:36:34,483 --> 00:36:37,945
And my job is to round up the evidence.
666
00:36:39,488 --> 00:36:43,701
We at DEA have to do a lot more
than a medical board does
667
00:36:43,784 --> 00:36:46,537
in order to shut down a doctor.
668
00:36:47,038 --> 00:36:49,957
The medical board
can do something administratively.
669
00:36:50,041 --> 00:36:50,875
With DEA,
670
00:36:50,958 --> 00:36:53,920
we have to prove without a doubt
671
00:36:54,503 --> 00:36:57,048
that something has occurred criminally.
672
00:37:00,009 --> 00:37:01,169
All of a sudden...
673
00:37:01,219 --> 00:37:04,722
this big box
of these records shows up.
674
00:37:05,514 --> 00:37:06,974
I call it my "Cleggett file."
675
00:37:08,684 --> 00:37:11,187
If the state board of medical examiners
676
00:37:11,270 --> 00:37:13,856
is suspending somebody's license,
677
00:37:13,940 --> 00:37:17,693
they need someone to review the records
and give an opinion.
678
00:37:19,904 --> 00:37:22,323
Every profession has a few bad apples.
679
00:37:22,406 --> 00:37:24,867
The problem in medicine
is that one bad apple
680
00:37:24,951 --> 00:37:27,870
can write hundreds and hundreds
of prescriptions.
681
00:37:28,871 --> 00:37:30,998
I knew that, in order to proceed
682
00:37:31,082 --> 00:37:32,583
with a summary suspension,
683
00:37:32,667 --> 00:37:35,336
I would need lead pipe material.
684
00:37:37,129 --> 00:37:41,467
I felt that a licensed pharmacist
would have instant credibility
685
00:37:41,550 --> 00:37:42,593
with the board.
686
00:37:43,886 --> 00:37:45,930
It's around Christmas time,
I believe,
687
00:37:46,013 --> 00:37:48,724
and George Papale calls me and says,
688
00:37:48,808 --> 00:37:50,851
"Do you want to get involved in this?"
689
00:37:51,560 --> 00:37:54,146
I said, "Amen, I sure do."
690
00:37:56,440 --> 00:37:58,526
He was very grateful, uh...
691
00:37:58,609 --> 00:38:01,195
and invited me to come to his house...
692
00:38:02,405 --> 00:38:04,657
for a more in-depth discussion
693
00:38:04,740 --> 00:38:06,075
about what had gone on.
694
00:38:06,617 --> 00:38:08,619
My goodness, there were boxes
695
00:38:08,703 --> 00:38:11,831
and boxes of materials
and videos, and he...
696
00:38:12,331 --> 00:38:13,833
He couldn't move fast enough.
697
00:38:13,916 --> 00:38:16,168
He was trying to talk and show me things.
698
00:38:18,004 --> 00:38:20,381
He said,
"Look, you've got a wealth of information,
699
00:38:20,464 --> 00:38:21,507
but, you know...
700
00:38:22,383 --> 00:38:24,051
you really kinda need a smoking gun."
701
00:38:26,012 --> 00:38:28,597
And I realized I'm out of the loop.
702
00:38:29,348 --> 00:38:32,143
The only way
that I can get back in the loop,
703
00:38:32,226 --> 00:38:34,145
I had to go to work back at Bradley's.
704
00:38:44,071 --> 00:38:47,533
Mr. Claude, you know,
I pray that you want me back.
705
00:38:47,616 --> 00:38:49,660
Uh... And hopefully we can work it out,
706
00:38:49,744 --> 00:38:52,621
come to some resolution
as to how to proceed
707
00:38:52,705 --> 00:38:55,583
and what maybe I should do
and what I shouldn't do.
708
00:38:56,083 --> 00:38:59,545
So we'll discuss this
and we'll see how everything goes.
709
00:39:00,338 --> 00:39:01,172
God bless.
710
00:39:04,008 --> 00:39:06,469
I talked to Mr. Claude
at my drugstore.
711
00:39:06,969 --> 00:39:08,721
And we have a heart-to-heart talk.
712
00:39:10,598 --> 00:39:14,101
He says, "Danny, I'm not gonna force you
to fill Dr. Cleggett's prescriptions.
713
00:39:14,185 --> 00:39:18,481
But you can't be questioning
all the patients...
714
00:39:19,148 --> 00:39:20,274
about Dr. Cleggett."
715
00:39:21,984 --> 00:39:25,654
So, with some agreements
not to hassle the patients,
716
00:39:25,738 --> 00:39:27,948
I go back to work at Bradley's Pharmacy.
717
00:39:29,158 --> 00:39:32,411
I've gotta be careful
at the store as to what I say.
718
00:39:33,245 --> 00:39:36,082
However, that doesn't mean
I have to be completely quiet.
719
00:39:36,874 --> 00:39:38,584
I do believe that, in some sort of way,
720
00:39:38,667 --> 00:39:41,796
some proof will come to me
to stop Dr. Cleggett.
721
00:39:44,965 --> 00:39:47,843
Part of my agreement
was that I leave my tape recorder at home.
722
00:39:50,054 --> 00:39:51,305
But I didn't really do that.
723
00:39:53,432 --> 00:39:55,309
-
Rebecca?
- Uh-huh.
724
00:39:55,393 --> 00:39:57,353
How are you doing?
You're a little too soon.
725
00:39:57,395 --> 00:40:00,398
I don't know.
They're supposed to last 22 days
726
00:40:00,481 --> 00:40:01,649
and it's, like, been 15.
727
00:40:02,233 --> 00:40:04,735
- When did you see Cleggett?
- Yesterday.
728
00:40:05,194 --> 00:40:08,239
Doctor probably shouldn't
have gave you these this soon.
729
00:40:08,697 --> 00:40:10,759
Yeah, well,
I had a real, real bad surgery.
730
00:40:10,783 --> 00:40:11,863
- Did you?
- Yeah.
731
00:40:11,909 --> 00:40:13,629
Even still,
what you have to do now...
732
00:40:14,078 --> 00:40:16,539
If you have to take 'em more often...
733
00:40:16,747 --> 00:40:18,791
you've got to get her to write that.
734
00:40:19,250 --> 00:40:21,085
I'm pretty much biding my time,
735
00:40:21,210 --> 00:40:23,796
you know, tolerating some of this stuff,
okay?
736
00:40:26,841 --> 00:40:27,967
And all of a sudden...
737
00:40:28,551 --> 00:40:31,804
a girl, who appears to be
about 16 years of age...
738
00:40:33,431 --> 00:40:36,100
she comes skipping in the store.
She's actually skipping.
739
00:40:36,725 --> 00:40:38,769
And the mother presents...
740
00:40:39,562 --> 00:40:40,855
a stack of prescriptions.
741
00:40:43,315 --> 00:40:47,528
She says, "My daughter's got sickle cell
and she's really in great pain."
742
00:40:48,404 --> 00:40:49,905
I look at the prescriptions...
743
00:40:50,448 --> 00:40:53,534
and it's OxyContin, 80 mg.
744
00:40:54,201 --> 00:40:55,327
Eighty milligrams!
745
00:40:55,828 --> 00:40:57,496
This kid weighs 100 pounds!
746
00:40:59,915 --> 00:41:01,083
Soma, 100.
747
00:41:02,001 --> 00:41:03,043
Valium, 100.
748
00:41:04,044 --> 00:41:06,922
And roxicodone,
which is a short-acting opiate.
749
00:41:08,632 --> 00:41:11,343
These prescriptions
surely could have killed this girl.
750
00:41:13,179 --> 00:41:15,031
I delay the lady a little bit.
751
00:41:15,055 --> 00:41:17,535
I make copies of the prescription
and I go out and talk to her.
752
00:41:18,434 --> 00:41:20,594
She's trying to talk me into
filling the prescriptions.
753
00:41:20,644 --> 00:41:22,204
I'm not gonna fill these prescriptions.
754
00:41:23,272 --> 00:41:25,733
And I give them back,
because they don't want to wait.
755
00:41:28,527 --> 00:41:29,695
It's kind of crazy.
756
00:41:29,778 --> 00:41:32,198
But, unfortunately,
I didn't bring my recorder that day.
757
00:41:33,532 --> 00:41:36,327
So I've got to do this right.
I've got to be smart.
758
00:41:37,536 --> 00:41:40,706
I've gotta make sure
that Dr. Cleggett admits
759
00:41:41,290 --> 00:41:42,958
she wrote these prescriptions.
760
00:41:43,542 --> 00:41:47,004
Because sure as I try to nail her on it,
she's going to say they're forgeries.
761
00:41:50,841 --> 00:41:52,718
So, I called Dr. Cleggett.
762
00:41:54,345 --> 00:41:55,846
My adrenaline was really pumping.
763
00:41:55,930 --> 00:41:59,433
This was the chance at the smoking gun
that we needed to shut her down.
764
00:42:01,852 --> 00:42:03,062
I gave the child's name.
765
00:42:03,687 --> 00:42:05,773
And I said,
"Did you write these prescriptions?"
766
00:42:06,565 --> 00:42:07,942
"I certainly did."
767
00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:11,820
I said, "Well, Dr. Cleggett,
this is a definite overdose."
768
00:42:14,323 --> 00:42:15,366
She says,
769
00:42:15,866 --> 00:42:17,326
"Who the fuck made you a doctor?"
770
00:42:21,997 --> 00:42:22,997
Then she hung up.
771
00:42:31,215 --> 00:42:32,550
Smoking gun.
772
00:42:40,808 --> 00:42:42,142
I called George Papale.
773
00:42:43,894 --> 00:42:44,937
I said, "George...
774
00:42:46,021 --> 00:42:47,898
let me tell you about this situation."
775
00:42:50,150 --> 00:42:54,280
Dan Schneider
talked to the young lady's physician
776
00:42:54,363 --> 00:42:57,199
who had treated her for her illness
in the hospital...
777
00:42:57,825 --> 00:43:00,703
and had discharged her on Tylenol.
778
00:43:01,870 --> 00:43:06,625
As opposed to this huge amount
of OxyContin
779
00:43:06,709 --> 00:43:09,670
and other medications
prescribed by Dr. Cleggett.
780
00:43:12,339 --> 00:43:15,259
As soon as the medical board
received this affidavit...
781
00:43:15,843 --> 00:43:19,096
they did verify my concerns
with a Dr. Brobson Lutz.
782
00:43:20,306 --> 00:43:22,349
Eighty milligram OxyContin
783
00:43:22,433 --> 00:43:23,601
for her initial visit.
784
00:43:24,643 --> 00:43:27,187
"To take one or two every 12 hours."
785
00:43:27,271 --> 00:43:28,564
That's a tremendous dose.
786
00:43:28,647 --> 00:43:31,400
You would never start anybody out
on a dose like that.
787
00:43:33,569 --> 00:43:35,613
There is no way that Dr. Cleggett
788
00:43:36,530 --> 00:43:39,783
could have really thought
that she was practicing good medicine.
789
00:43:41,076 --> 00:43:43,287
When he put that in an affidavit,
790
00:43:43,370 --> 00:43:46,415
if there ever was a smoking gun,
that was it.
791
00:43:46,999 --> 00:43:48,667
He says, "Dan...
792
00:43:49,418 --> 00:43:51,003
I think this just might do it."
793
00:43:56,550 --> 00:44:00,012
The medical board sent SUVs there...
794
00:44:00,721 --> 00:44:02,723
with the St. Bernard Parish police...
795
00:44:03,807 --> 00:44:04,892
the DEA...
796
00:44:06,560 --> 00:44:09,438
Dan Schneider was the linchpin.
797
00:44:10,522 --> 00:44:14,652
As crazy and as out of control
as this guy was,
798
00:44:15,110 --> 00:44:16,320
he got results.
799
00:44:17,655 --> 00:44:19,657
The desk was piled high
800
00:44:19,740 --> 00:44:22,743
with tens and twenty-dollar bills
in big stacks.
801
00:44:23,327 --> 00:44:26,664
There were stacks and stacks
of prescriptions
802
00:44:26,747 --> 00:44:29,416
that had already been signed
by Dr. Cleggett
803
00:44:29,500 --> 00:44:32,252
and were only awaiting somebody
to put the date
804
00:44:32,336 --> 00:44:35,214
and the patient's name
on the prescription.
805
00:44:36,924 --> 00:44:38,425
When they served Dr. Cleggett
806
00:44:38,509 --> 00:44:41,929
with the summary suspension order,
she was not happy about it.
807
00:44:42,429 --> 00:44:44,473
She was mad as a hornet.
808
00:44:44,556 --> 00:44:49,770
She said, "DEA, NOPD, task force,
whoever you are,
809
00:44:49,853 --> 00:44:50,853
you're dead."
810
00:44:51,897 --> 00:44:55,150
She literally threatened federal agents.
811
00:44:55,234 --> 00:44:57,486
That was pretty unusual, yes.
812
00:44:57,569 --> 00:44:59,113
Pretty unusual.
813
00:44:59,780 --> 00:45:03,325
It was very clear to us
that she was not gonna let this go
814
00:45:03,409 --> 00:45:06,495
without a major defense and attack.
815
00:45:16,672 --> 00:45:18,424
- Here's your water.
- Uh-huh.
816
00:45:18,507 --> 00:45:20,360
When you need it.
I'm gonna put...
817
00:45:20,384 --> 00:45:23,095
Let me just take one little, quick glance
at that.
818
00:45:23,178 --> 00:45:26,056
And then tissues
are going be right here, too, okay?
819
00:45:26,140 --> 00:45:27,140
Okay.
67032