Tyler Skaggs passes away

bsj

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Is that really the takeaway? Throw shit out there and when it sticks get vindicated?
Its certainly not the overall takeaway, but their reporting was correct and they were slammed for it. Just as if it was proven wrong I would expect and consider justified lawsuits up the ass
 

YTF

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The only angle involving the Angels that I can see here is the Angels athletic trainer unknowingly gave him pain pills that were laced. I can not believe that athletic trainers give fentanyl as a pain reliever. It's way, way too potent and obviously deadly.
Why do you limit it to the trainer? The family was shocked that it may involve "an employee" of the Angels. Could be a clubhouse attendant, some sort of lower level staffer who might be willing to do things for a few extra dollars, security, anyone who the player may interact with. Was Jared Remy not once employed by the Red Sox?
 

RedOctober3829

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Why do you limit it to the trainer? The family was shocked that it may involve "an employee" of the Angels. Could be a clubhouse attendant, some sort of lower level staffer who might be willing to do things for a few extra dollars, security, anyone who the player may interact with. Was Jared Remy not once employed by the Red Sox?
I wasn’t thinking from a drug dealing angle. That could be possible I guess.
 

jcd0805

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Why would a team physician give him black market meds for pain killers? Don't these guys have top of the line pharmaceuticals and prescription pad? If Skaggs was actually suffering from some type of pain, I can't imagine a team physician couldn't easily get him meds to be doled out at a pharmacy.

That isn't to say something shady didn't happen, but if Skaggs' arm/shoulder/something was hurting him I think finding legit pain killers shouldn't be a problem
Oh jeez I’m not talking about the team physician or anyone legit, I’m talking about a clubbie or lackey of some sort.
 
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Why would a team physician give him black market meds for pain killers? Don't these guys have top of the line pharmaceuticals and prescription pad? If Skaggs was actually suffering from some type of pain, I can't imagine a team physician couldn't easily get him meds to be doled out at a pharmacy.

That isn't to say something shady didn't happen, but if Skaggs' arm/shoulder/something was hurting him I think finding legit pain killers shouldn't be a problem
I doubt that him using fentanyl had anything to do with pain management. He wasn't on the IL when he died and usually arm injuries only hurt while throwing. Fentanyl is often used as a recreational drug (from Addiction Center):

Those ingesting fentanyl at unprescribed levels experience an intense euphoria and sense of relaxation similar to a heroin “high.”

That his blood alcohol level was .12% is further indication he was trying to get "high". I believe he was cursed with a vulnerability for drug addiction and don't see it as being a defect in character in any way.
 

Average Reds

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Why would a team physician give him black market meds for pain killers? Don't these guys have top of the line pharmaceuticals and prescription pad? If Skaggs was actually suffering from some type of pain, I can't imagine a team physician couldn't easily get him meds to be doled out at a pharmacy.

That isn't to say something shady didn't happen, but if Skaggs' arm/shoulder/something was hurting him I think finding legit pain killers shouldn't be a problem
A team physician would absolutely not prescribe him black market meds. Which is why the allegations made by his family are carefully couched to avoid any legal blowback. (" ... it may involve an employee of the Los Angeles Angels.")

My guess is that the family believes that the Angels got him hooked on pain meds, and Skaggs sought out black market meds when the team physician and/or trainer would not continue to supply him. Or some other sort of indirect connection.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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A team physician would absolutely not prescribe him black market meds. Which is why the allegations made by his family are carefully couched to avoid any legal blowback. (" ... it may involve an employee of the Los Angeles Angels.")

My guess is that the family believes that the Angels got him hooked on pain meds, and Skaggs sought out black market meds when the team physician and/or trainer would not continue to supply him. Or some other sort of indirect connection.
I really hope that's not the case, that they think the Angels medical staff prescribed him meds and then cut him off knowing he was still seeking them. That implies that they were aware that he might have had an addiction (if he was asking for them and was denied) and did nothing.

The family may simply be lashing out in denial of the notion that Skaggs had an addiction issue at all. He may have hidden it well, and they're grasping at anything that allows them to absolve him of blame in their minds.

I think if there was a failing on anyone's part as far as team employees, it's most likely that a clubhouse attendant was aware of Skaggs' addiction and didn't tell his superiors who may have been able to get Skaggs help. Clubbies are running errands for players all the time, whether it's picking up dry cleaning or running down to Popeyes for a mid-game snack. It doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility that some clubbies might be willing to do errands that are outside the scope of legal activities, like scoring a player drugs.
 

jon abbey

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"A public relations employee for the Los Angeles Angels told federal investigators that he provided oxycodone to Tyler Skaggs and abused it with him for years, and that two team officials were told about Skaggs' drug use long before his death, according to two sources familiar with the investigation.

Eric Kay, the Angels' director of communications, also gave U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents the names of five other players who he believed were using opiates while they were Angels, the sources said."

https://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/27828247/los-angeles-angels-employee-details-team-knowledge-tyler-skaggs-drug-use-federal-dea-investigators-espn
 

RedOctober3829

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"A public relations employee for the Los Angeles Angels told federal investigators that he provided oxycodone to Tyler Skaggs and abused it with him for years, and that two team officials were told about Skaggs' drug use long before his death, according to two sources familiar with the investigation.

Eric Kay, the Angels' director of communications, also gave U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents the names of five other players who he believed were using opiates while they were Angels, the sources said."

https://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/27828247/los-angeles-angels-employee-details-team-knowledge-tyler-skaggs-drug-use-federal-dea-investigators-espn
Wow, this is something.

Kay told DEA investigators that hours before Skaggs' death in July, Skaggs was in his Southlake Hilton hotel room and texted Kay to visit him, according to a source familiar with what Kay told the DEA. Kay also told investigators that Skaggs snorted three lines of crushed opioids in front of him, the sources said. Kay recognized that two of the lines could have been crushed oxycodone, but the third was not a substance he recognized, the sources said. Kay said he did not take any drugs despite being offered them by Skaggs, the sources said, because he was on a medication that would have negated the effects.
 

Van Everyman

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Wow, this is something.

Kay told DEA investigators that hours before Skaggs' death in July, Skaggs was in his Southlake Hilton hotel room and texted Kay to visit him, according to a source familiar with what Kay told the DEA. Kay also told investigators that Skaggs snorted three lines of crushed opioids in front of him, the sources said. Kay recognized that two of the lines could have been crushed oxycodone, but the third was not a substance he recognized, the sources said. Kay said he did not take any drugs despite being offered them by Skaggs, the sources said, because he was on a medication that would have negated the effects.
Not following. Is he suggesting (which creepily autocorrected to “Sudafed ring”) that Skaggs got some other shit (and presumably died) from someone else?
 

soxhop411

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Anyone in the LAA organization who knew about this and aided Skaggs and the other players, rather than help them overcome their addiction should be fired before sundown.

if this was the NCAA the team would be served with a lack of institutional control punishment. I wonder what the MLB equivalent is for that.

Angles just released a statement

26254
 
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Marciano490

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Wow, this is something.

Kay told DEA investigators that hours before Skaggs' death in July, Skaggs was in his Southlake Hilton hotel room and texted Kay to visit him, according to a source familiar with what Kay told the DEA. Kay also told investigators that Skaggs snorted three lines of crushed opioids in front of him, the sources said. Kay recognized that two of the lines could have been crushed oxycodone, but the third was not a substance he recognized, the sources said. Kay said he did not take any drugs despite being offered them by Skaggs, the sources said, because he was on a medication that would have negated the effects.
I don’t quite understand this. There were 3 lines of opioids. But Kay couldn’t recognize one of the lines, so how did he know it was an opioid and not coke or ketamine or something else?
 

jcd0805

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I don’t quite understand this. There were 3 lines of opioids. But Kay couldn’t recognize one of the lines, so how did he know it was an opioid and not coke or ketamine or something else?
It seems he'd done drugs with Skaggs previously and also supplied him with drugs and the only things Skaggs seemed interested in were opioids. I"m super surprised there isn't more talk of this, it is a really damning report from OTL. If true that Angels higher ups knew of the drug problems Skaggs was having and did nothing what can MLB do to the team?
 

Rovin Romine

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Not following. Is he suggesting (which creepily autocorrected to “Sudafed ring”) that Skaggs got some other shit (and presumably died) from someone else?
Yeah, that's 100% CYA. The fuzz doubtless have some evidence the employee was supplying Skaggs with drugs. So the fallback is - "Oh, I only gave him the drugs that wouldn't have killed him, and I most certainly did not give him the drugs that did. How do I know? I happen to have eyewitness knowledge that one of the lines he snorted was mystery shit."

Also, I'm curious about the medication he's on that would just stop opioid effects. Thoughts on that?

(PS - not the medication itself, but why it's an important fact for him to put out there.)
 
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Cesar Crespo

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Yeah, that's 100% CYA. The fuzz doubtless have some evidence the employee was supplying Skaggs with drugs. So the fallback is - "Oh, I only gave him the drugs that wouldn't have killed him, and I most certainly did not give him the drugs that did. How do I know? I happen to have eyewitness knowledge that one of the lines he snorted was mystery shit."

Also, I'm curious about the medication he's on that would just stop opioid effects. Thoughts on that?

(PS - not the medication itself, but why it's an important fact for him to put out there.)
The first question I'd have asked the guy is if he took the drugs too. He was probably just getting ahead of the story.
 

jcd0805

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Did any of you read the article? the guy was a drug addict right along with Skaggs but he went to rehab, while he was in rehab Skaggs was texting him asking him for drugs. Kay's mother went to the Angels asking that they tell Skaggs to stop texting her son for drugs while he's in rehab trying to clean himself up, so them saying they had no clue is nonsense if Kay's mother is to be believed. Don't they give drug addicts certain drugs to block the drug's effect on them? That's what I believe he was referring to.
 

jcd0805

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The first question I'd have asked the guy is if he took the drugs too. He was probably just getting ahead of the story.
He IS the story, he showed OTL the Venmo's from Skaggs to him to pay him for the drugs he was getting him.
 

Dahabenzapple2

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Did any of you read the article? the guy was a drug addict right along with Skaggs but he went to rehab, while he was in rehab Skaggs was texting him asking him for drugs. Kay's mother went to the Angels asking that they tell Skaggs to stop texting her son for drugs while he's in rehab trying to clean himself up, so them saying they had no clue is nonsense if Kay's mother is to be believed. Don't they give drug addicts certain drugs to block the drug's effect on them? That's what I believe he was referring to.
They give out Naltrexone (known commercially as Vivitrol) shots to stop/hinder the effects of Opioids. It is said to also reduce the desire to use heroin/opioids. I know some people who have been administered it. Usually by a monthly injection. Always used for some temporary period of time.
 

doc

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Yeah, that's 100% CYA. The fuzz doubtless have some evidence the employee was supplying Skaggs with drugs. So the fallback is - "Oh, I only gave him the drugs that wouldn't have killed him, and I most certainly did not give him the drugs that did. How do I know? I happen to have eyewitness knowledge that one of the lines he snorted was mystery shit."

Also, I'm curious about the medication he's on that would just stop opioid effects. Thoughts on that?

(PS - not the medication itself, but why it's an important fact for him to put out there.)
Revia/Vivitrol : both naltrexone which blocks the desire for opiates and blunts the effects of opiates

Suboxone : an opiate/naltrexone combo which prevents withdrawal and blocks the opiate receptor

Methadone an opiate that is really long acting and used to treat addiction, generally blocks other opiates from the receptors preventing a high
 

YTF

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Wondering if any of this weighed into the dismissal of Brad Ausmus after just one season. The Angels certainly expected better in terms of wins and loses, but Ausmus is supposed to be one of the up and coming new breed of manager.
 

mauf

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Did any of you read the article? the guy was a drug addict right along with Skaggs but he went to rehab, while he was in rehab Skaggs was texting him asking him for drugs. Kay's mother went to the Angels asking that they tell Skaggs to stop texting her son for drugs while he's in rehab trying to clean himself up, so them saying they had no clue is nonsense if Kay's mother is to be believed. Don't they give drug addicts certain drugs to block the drug's effect on them? That's what I believe he was referring to.
I read the article.

Sounds like Kay has admitted that he supplied Skaggs with drugs within 24 hours of his death. Kay therefore has an obvious motive to claim that other people supplied Skaggs with drugs, or at least that his drug use was notorious enough that other suppliers can’t be ruled out. Maybe Kay's claims will ultimately be proved true, but I think people are right to be skeptical of claims which, for the moment, haven’t been corroborated by anyone besides Kay, his attorney, or his mother.
 

Bergs

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They give out Naltrexone (known commercially as Vivitrol) shots to stop/hinder the effects of Opioids. It is said to also reduce the desire to use heroin/opioids. I know some people who have been administered it. Usually by a monthly injection. Always used for some temporary period of time.
An oral dose also completely eliminates alcohol-related cravings in about 20 minutes.
 

jcd0805

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I read the article.

Sounds like Kay has admitted that he supplied Skaggs with drugs within 24 hours of his death. Kay therefore has an obvious motive to claim that other people supplied Skaggs with drugs, or at least that his drug use was notorious enough that other suppliers can’t be ruled out. Maybe Kay's claims will ultimately be proved true, but I think people are right to be skeptical of claims which, for the moment, haven’t been corroborated by anyone besides Kay, his attorney, or his mother.
Sure, but it just seemed people were skeptical of things that Skaggs admitted to doing-doing drugs with and supplying drugs to Skaggs. The Venmos seem a clear corroboration that Skaggs was paying Kay quite frequently hundreds of dollars for something, drugs seems to be a pretty obvious choice.
 

OCST

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So we have a front-office guy, a director of communications, involved in illegal/lethal drug use with a player? And no one gets wind of it, or does anything, or they look the other wauntil the player ODs?

I'm sure it's more common than we want to think. But this organization seems rotten.
 

ehaz

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As the trial approaches more information is coming out and it’s going to get really ugly.

https://sports.yahoo.com/amphtml/feds-ex-angels-staffer-eric-kay-used-tyler-skaggs-as-middleman-to-deal-drugs-to-multiple-mlb-players-212429811.html

Apparently 5 MLB players are prepared to testify that they also bought opiates from Kay with Skaggs as a middleman. Some of the details that have come out make it difficult to believe the Angels had no clue what was going on.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/08/23/tyler-skaggs-death-angels-federal-subpoena/

The trial is set to begin in early October as the MLB playoffs get underway. And even if they’re not among the 5 testifying, Skaggs’ two closest MLB friends (Heaney and Richards) are on playoff teams.
 

soxhop411

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Ummmmm. This is not good for the angels or Manfred
Indeed, the Angels have taken the extreme position that every single document responsive to the subpoena is protected by the work-product doctrine,” the motion said. “The Angels have sought to shroud in the work-product doctrine any documents, reports, or records or communication made or obtained (even before and) after [Skaggs] died but before it engaged outside counsel to prepare for litigation.”

The Angels eventually turned over two declarations and a privilege log — detailing responsive documents they didn’t turn over because of attorney-client privilege — the government described as “skeletal” and “apparently missing entries.”


“For example, the log was silent as to any discussions — about [Skaggs] — between the Angels and the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, and … the government has learned that the Angels and Commissioner’s Office have communicated on this topic,” the motion said.

The motion added: “In a recent call with the government, counsel for the Commissioner’s Office stated that her client would not answer questions about the content of those communications unless compelled to do so.”
.
https://www.latimes.com/sports/angels/story/2021-08-24/tyler-skaggs-prosecutors-angels-investigation-eric-kay-drugs
 

Wingack

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There is a lot going on in the Skaggs trial. Including that Garrett Richards was also getting drugs from Eric Kay and that Skaggs was getting drugs from team mate Matt Harvey.

Former Angels pitcher Matt Harvey will be called to testify in the trial of Eric Kay on Tuesday morning, attorneys for the federal government said Monday.
Harvey spent most of the 2019 season with the Angels. His suspected drug use surfaced at various points through the trial’s first five days as the government attempts to prove to the jury that Kay, a former Angels communications director, gave Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs the drugs that led to his death on the night of July 1, 2019 — and that Kay provided them in Texas, not in California.
The scope of possible drug activity in the Angels organization around Skaggs’ death broadened again Monday when a retired Drug Enforcement Administration special agent testified that former Angels pitcher Garrett Richards sent Kay $1,700 on Venmo across three transactions between Nov. 2016 and Nov. 2017.
Michael Ferry said he did not know why Richards sent Kay the money. He testified that Richards added the caption “delish” for a transfer for $750 on Nov. 29, 2017. Ferry said Skaggs also sent Kay hundreds of dollars on Venmo in transactions between Oct. 2016 and May 2018. Ferry said Skaggs added a heart emoji as a caption for a $150 transaction on May 18, 2018.
Defense attorney Reagan Wynn said Kay recalled seeing three lines of crushed drugs on the desk of Skaggs’ hotel room at the Hilton Dallas/Southlake Town Square the night he died. Two lines were blue. One line was pink. Wynn, according to Kay, said Kay didn’t recognize the pink drug and asked Skaggs about it. Skaggs, according to Kay, said it was Percocet from Harvey.
Skaggs’ mother last Wednesday testified that her son admitted having a Percocet “issue” to the family after the 2013 season. She said he then quit “cold turkey.”
An autopsy didn’t find Percocet in Skaggs’ system when he died. The Tarrant Medical Examiner’s Office determined Skaggs choked on his own vomit after ingesting fentanyl, oxycodone, and alcohol. Percocet, an opioid, is a mixture of oxycodone and acetaminophen.
On Monday, Ferry testified he found texts from Skaggs to Harvey months prior to his death asking for drugs to get “loosey goosey.” The Angels released Harvey three weeks after Skaggs died. He is a free agent after pitching for the Baltimore Orioles in 2021.
Lots of names mixed up in this are coming out at the trial. There could be more coming.
 

radsoxfan

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I don’t know. Sending someone to prison for 20+ years for a nonviolent, consensual crime seems wrong to me. Kay is an addict himself; it’s not like he was an organized crime figure knowingly preying on people’s weaknesses.

I’ll preface this by saying I have not followed this case at all, but my initial reaction is the same as yours. Seems very harsh for a fellow addict supplying drugs to another addict on a small scale.

Is there something about this case different than other drug overdoses that makes Kay culpable to the level of 20 year minimum prison sentence? Did he know these drugs were particularly deadly? Was he trying to kill Skaggs? Asking honestly.

Not saying he is without blame but it feels confusing based on my very superficial knowledge of the case.
 
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LogansDad

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I’ll preface this by saying I have not followed this case at all, but my initial reaction is the same as yours. Seems very harsh for a fellow addict supplying drugs to another addict on a small scale.

Is there something about this case different than other drug overdoses that makes Kay culpable to the level of 20 year minimum prison sentence? Did the know these drugs were particularly deadly? Was he trying to kill Skaggs? Asking honestly.

Not saying he is without blame but it feels confusing based on my very superficial knowledge of the case.
These are the exact same questions I have. 20 years seems ridiculously harsh for this.
 

MuzzyField

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20 years? Not a fan.

This verdict and sentencing will certainly bring this deadly epidemic to an end. Problem solved!

I await, without holding my breath, the death sentences for the big Pharma reps and medical professional pill pushers when they get their day in court for their part in this.

Kay would have gotten less if he had just shot him in the head.
 

Adirondack jack

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20 years? Not a fan.

This verdict and sentencing will certainly bring this deadly epidemic to an end. Problem solved!

I await, without holding my breath, the death sentences for the big Pharma reps and medical professional pill pushers when they get their day in court for their part in this.

Kay would have gotten less if he had just shot him in the head.

Exactly. It wasn't that long ago, the drug companies were pushing these drugs on doctors telling all they were not addictive. Most all rage should begin there.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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Exactly. It wasn't that long ago, the drug companies were pushing these drugs on doctors telling all they were not addictive. Most all rage should begin there.
Quick clarification point here:

In the 22 years I've been working in the patient-facing side of the pharmacy industry, oxycodone, in ALL its forms, has been a Schedule-II narcotic, which is the "lowest" schedule of a controlled substance that is available in the professional settin, because they carry the biggest risk of long-term addiction and have only minimal medicinal value by comparison (the "lowest" schedule is for drugs that are considered to have no real medicinal qualities and carry the highest risk of long-term dependence).

Oxycontin, which is at the heart of the opioid epidemic, is a controlled-release (or extended release) version of oxycodone that is designed to release the entire dose over an extended period of time in the hope of achieving a constant level of the drug in the system. The problem wasn't that it was addictive, it's that the manufacturer (Purdue) stated that it didn't carry the high risk of long-term dependence that they knew it did. Oxycodone, by itself, is a widely used pain treatment across the medical industry. It's also sometimes called Roxicodone or Oxy-IR, where the IR stands for immediate release; in other words, it gives it to you all at once, then your system clears it and you have to take more, if needed, for short periods (mostly) . Oxycontin use, by and large, required regular dosing and would lead to patients requiring higher doses as time went on, especially in cases of misuse, because their bodies began to need more, and more often. It's almost literally synthetic heroin, if that gives you any idea of the difference between having it constantly in your system, at a steady dose, versus having to dose periodically because the level within the body was always decreasing.

Any drug can be habit-forming, at least on some level, but a lot of the "fun" drugs are CII-V, and as the schedule number decreases, the risk of addiction increases. And those are assigned by the DEA, so the drug companies can't even really say they sold them as having a low risk of addiction when they have to be transparent with the DEA about how addictive the medication can be. Purdue's crime was not showing what that addiction could look like AND pushing prescribers to order it for all of their long-term pain patients, instead of just for long-term pain patients with cancer or other terminal issues, which it originally intended to target. Overprescribing of Oxycontin, more than anything else, is what led to the epidemic; there's a reason you can't get the liquid version on the streets that easily, or something like hydromorphone (Dilaudid) or fentanyl patches.