‘Scum of the earth’: Drug victims face Purdue Pharma owners
More than two dozen Americans whose lives were upended by the opioid crisis finally had their long-awaited chance Thursday to confront in court some members of the family they blame for fueling it.
They were angry, defiant, tearful, sometimes trying to be forgiving — and sometimes definitely not — as for nearly three hours they addressed three members of the Sackler family who own Purdue Pharma, the company that makes OxyContin.
“I hope that every single victim’s face haunts your every waking moment and your sleeping ones, too,” said Ryan Hampton, of Las Vegas, who has been in recovery for seven years after an addiction that began with an OxyContin prescription to treat knee pain led to overdoses and periods of homelessness.