This Feb. 19, 2013, file photo, shows OxyContin pills arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt., a location enduring the opioid drug epidemic.

The Global Consequences of the U.S. Opioid Epidemic

The Leonard Lopate Show | Jan 10, 2017

Jonathan Capehart guest hosts today!

Harriet Ryan, investigative reporter for The Los Angeles Times, joins us to discuss her three-part series, co-written with Lisa Girion and Scott Glover, about OxyContin. Across the U.S., doctors, government officials, and healthcare workers are turning away from prescribing OxyContin because of the opioid epidemic in this country. So the company is pursuing a new strategy: aggressively promoting and pushing the drug around the world, specifically in places ill-equipped to deal with opioid abuse.

Part I: "‘You want a description of hell?’ OxyContin’s 12-hour problem"

Part II: "More than 1 million OxyContin pills ended up in the hands of criminals and addicts. What the drugmaker knew"

Part III: "OxyContin goes global — 'We’re only just getting started'”

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