THE EXTRAORDINARY AND TRUE STORY OF OXYCONTIN EQUAL PARTS crime thriller, medical detective story, and business exposé, Pain Killer takes a hard-hitting look at how a powerful drug touted as the salvation for millions triggered a national tragedy. As Meier tells the dramatic story, some of the most deadly substances are produced and sold legally right here at home. The focus of our government's war on drugs has clearly misled many of us into thinking that only illegal drugs smuggled from beyond our borders can be abused. The dangers described in Pain Killer also reverberate far beyond the threat from a single drug at a particular moment in time. With the fast-rising abuse of prescription drugs by young people ringing alarm bells within government, the how and why behind the Ox圜ontin disaster is a gripping read not only for parents, but also for medical professionals, community leaders, business executives, and all those concerned with this crisis. Pain Killer takes readers on a journey of discovery that begins with the true story of Lindsay, a high-school cheerleader in Virginia who gets hooked on Oxys, and expands outward to explore the critical issues of legitimate pain management, prescription drug abuse, and how the misuse of science by the drug industry threatens the public good. Some patients, seeking relief from pain, also found themselves drawn to the drug's dark side.

It wasn't long, however, before thrill-seeking teenagers shattered that illusion of safety by simply crushing an 'Oxy,' they were able to tap into a high so seductive it would come to dominate their lives.

From the start, the drug's manufacturer aggressively marketed its patented time-release formula as a breakthrough in the effort to reduce prescription drug abuse. Pain Killer Ox圜ontin, a potent painkiller containing opium-derived oxycodone as its key active ingredient, was first sold in 1996 as a treatment for cancer patients and other chronic pain sufferers.

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