Hammer on the abusers
Purdue Pharma Public Relations — press release & patient brochure, National Pain Management Campaign
“OxyContin provides 12 hours of smooth, continuous pain relief. Clinical studies demonstrate that the risk of addiction in legitimate pain patients is exceedingly rare (under 1%).”
Richard Sackler — Co-Chairman and Senior VP, Purdue Pharma, Confidential email to Purdue executives
“We have to hammer on the abusers in every way possible. They are the culprits and the problem. They are reckless criminals who steal our product and ruin it for legitimate sufferers.”
The Split:Purdue aggressively marketed OxyContin as non-addictive to doctors. When devastating community addiction exploded, Richard Sackler sent private emails instructing staff to blame and criminalize the victims: 'hammer on the abusers... they are reckless criminals.'
When an institution creates a lethal defect and pivots to blaming the moral degeneracy of the victim, look for an executive memo directing the scapegoating.