Sacklers Settle for Pennies on the Dollar, Victims Get 'Thoughts & Prayers'
A federal judge is poised to approve a settlement where the Sackler family , owners of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, will pay roughly $6 billion , gaining immunity from future opioid lawsuits. The AP frames this as closure, despite 900,000 opioid-related deaths since 1999 (AP). A lawyer for Purdue even stated, 'The plan is entirely lawful, does the greatest good for the greatest number in the
shortest available timeframe.' (AP News) (One might wonder for whom it does the 'greatest good.') This 'swift justice' for the drug kingpins responsible for the opioid epidemic stands in stark contrast to how communities devastated by their product are left to pick up the pieces—often with dwindling resources. While families grieve, the Sacklers are set to retain billions, shedding the 'stigma' of
their role for a fraction of their estimated $11-14 billion fortune , (Forbes, 2020) secured comfortably behind a bankruptcy shield. Imagine if your 'unfathomable losses' could be balanced with a mere 55% discount.