When Purdue Pharma patented its “slow-release” Oxycodone-based painkiller, OxyContin, in 1995, it faced significant logistical, regulatory, and societal hurdles: thebaine—the drug’s primary opiate ingredient—was scarce, tightly regulated, and controversial within the medical community. That same year, however, a Johnson & Johnson–backed research group, following decades of genetic modification trials and substantial investment, engineered a breakthrough. A new thebaine-rich poppy, grown in Tasmania—now home to 80% of the world’s licit opiate crop—transformed the island’s agricultural sector and ensured a steady, scalable raw material supply. Profits were swiftly diverted into lobbying, leading to the loosening of U.S. import restrictions in 2001 and opening the floodgates for OxyContin. Meanwhile, Purdue aggressively promoted the drug—publishing selective studies, incentivizing doctors, and saturating the market to quell scepticism and drive mass prescription. The result was over 75 billion Oxycontin pills being prescribed in the US between 1995 and 2019, equating to ̴220 pills per person (or 55 days worth of medicine); and, as it has acted as a widespread gateway drug, thousands of new heroin and/or fentanyl addicts. Whilst Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family has now faced several lawsuits, the legacy and PR cleansing continues in the UK through the registered charity, The Sackler Trust, which since 2019 has been donating millions to cultural, educational, and research institutions.
