Former New York Times reporter Barry Meier, whose book about OxyContin is the main basis for the Netflix drama “Painkiller,” acknowledges that the drug is “valuable for treating severe pain caused by cancer or chronic health issues.” The problem, he says, was that OxyContin’s manufacturer, Purdue Pharma, “could only make billions from it by lying, by saying it was good for everyday, common pain.”
Netflix’s six-part miniseries highlights that second point, vividly portraying Purdue Pharma’s reckless marketing of OxyContin. But it dismisses the caveat: that there are legitimate medical uses for this drug and other prescription opioids, which can make life bearable for patients who otherwise would suffer from excruciating pain.
