American Cartel: Inside the Battle to Bring Down the Opioid Industry
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- Create Date：2022-08-02 07:16:36
- Update Date：2025-09-23
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- Author：Scott Higham
- ISBN：1538737205
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Summary
The definitive investigation and exposé of how some of the nation's largest corporations created and fueled the opioid crisis—from the Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporters who first uncovered the dimensions of the deluge of pain pills that ravaged the country and the complicity of a near-omnipotent drug cartel。
AMERICAN CARTEL is an unflinching and deeply documented dive into the culpability of the drug companies behind the staggering death toll of the opioid epidemic。 It follows a small band of DEA agents led by Joseph Rannazzisi， a tough-talking New Yorker who had spent a storied thirty years bringing down bad guys; along with a band of lawyers， including West Virginia native Paul Farrell Jr。， who fought to hold the drug industry to account in the face of the worst man-made drug epidemic in American history。 It is the story of underdogs prevailing over corporate greed and political cowardice， persevering in the face of predicted failure， and how they found some semblance of justice for the families of the dead during the most complex civil litigation ever seen。
The investigators and lawyers discovered hundreds of thousands of confidential corporate emails and memos during courtroom combat with legions of white-shoe law firms defending the opioid industry。 One breathtaking disclosure after another—from emails that mocked addicts to invoices chronicling the rise of pill mills—showed the indifference of big business to the epidemic’s toll。 The narrative approach echoes such work as A Civil Action and The Insider， moving dramatically between corporate boardrooms， courthouses， lobbying firms， DEA field offices， and Capitol Hill while capturing the human toll of the epidemic on America’s streets。
AMERICAN CARTEL is the story of those who were on the front lines of the fight to stop the human carnage。 Along the way， they suffer a string of defeats， some of their careers destroyed by the very same government officials who swore to uphold the law before they begin to prevail over some of the most powerful corporate and political influences in the nation。
AMERICAN CARTEL is an unflinching and deeply documented dive into the culpability of the drug companies behind the staggering death toll of the opioid epidemic。 It follows a small band of DEA agents led by Joseph Rannazzisi， a tough-talking New Yorker who had spent a storied thirty years bringing down bad guys; along with a band of lawyers， including West Virginia native Paul Farrell Jr。， who fought to hold the drug industry to account in the face of the worst man-made drug epidemic in American history。 It is the story of underdogs prevailing over corporate greed and political cowardice， persevering in the face of predicted failure， and how they found some semblance of justice for the families of the dead during the most complex civil litigation ever seen。
The investigators and lawyers discovered hundreds of thousands of confidential corporate emails and memos during courtroom combat with legions of white-shoe law firms defending the opioid industry。 One breathtaking disclosure after another—from emails that mocked addicts to invoices chronicling the rise of pill mills—showed the indifference of big business to the epidemic’s toll。 The narrative approach echoes such work as A Civil Action and The Insider， moving dramatically between corporate boardrooms， courthouses， lobbying firms， DEA field offices， and Capitol Hill while capturing the human toll of the epidemic on America’s streets。
AMERICAN CARTEL is the story of those who were on the front lines of the fight to stop the human carnage。 Along the way， they suffer a string of defeats， some of their careers destroyed by the very same government officials who swore to uphold the law before they begin to prevail over some of the most powerful corporate and political influences in the nation。
Reviews
Madi Samuell
，
Reads like a movie。 American Cartel tells the insider story of the US drug epidemic from 2005 - present and an unconventional true crime novel。 Extremely well researched to the point of reading like a movie。 The narrative is broken up into two segments: 2005 - 2016 which highlights the difficulties of building a case against 'big pharma' and 2016 - 2022 which discusses the intricacies of prosecuting those earlier findings。 I feared that the novel might be dry despite the topic， but that was neve Reads like a movie。 American Cartel tells the insider story of the US drug epidemic from 2005 - present and an unconventional true crime novel。 Extremely well researched to the point of reading like a movie。 The narrative is broken up into two segments: 2005 - 2016 which highlights the difficulties of building a case against 'big pharma' and 2016 - 2022 which discusses the intricacies of prosecuting those earlier findings。 I feared that the novel might be dry despite the topic， but that was never the case。 Occasionally I found myself mired in names and places， but the relevant figures tend to feature in successive chapters which was helpful for continuity。 In a pinch I would either revisit the semi-daunting 'cast list' at the front of the book （extremely helpful resource） or feign ignorance working off context clues in order to push forward。 Because sometimes needing to know what happened next was more important that making sure I knew who exactly said what。 Short easy-to-digest chapters make for a bigger impact as Higham and Horwitz highlight the struggles of the 'underdogs' vs。 corporate drug manufacturers and distributors。 I would argue that highly successful DEA operatives and litigation lawyers are not exactly pitiable- white privilege at its finest; but for the most part their intentions are admirable throughout。 It has been a long time since I have been able to read a full non-fiction novel in one or two sittings， and despite knowing the outcome of the case， I could not tear myself away from this read。 For anyone who has been impacted by the national opiate crisis （directly or indirectly） or are curious to learn more- I strongly encourage you to pick up this book。 Warning， however: if you do， prepare to be outraged。 [Thank you to NetGalley and Twelve Books for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。] 。。。more
David Kutch
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Not done yet， but， thus far， this is the best public policymaking reporting I have ever read
Bookreporter。com Biography & Memoir
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The death toll from opioid overdoses has steadily climbed in the United States over the last two decades。 Unlike previous drug crises， the opioid epidemic was sparked by U。S。 drug manufacturers and further stoked by those same drug companies， pharmaceutical distributors， pharmacies and doctors。Numerous books have been written on this topic， notably DEATH IN MUD LICK by Eric Eyre， the Charleston Gazette-Mail reporter who broke the story about the drug distributors dumping over 780 million oxycodo The death toll from opioid overdoses has steadily climbed in the United States over the last two decades。 Unlike previous drug crises， the opioid epidemic was sparked by U。S。 drug manufacturers and further stoked by those same drug companies， pharmaceutical distributors， pharmacies and doctors。Numerous books have been written on this topic， notably DEATH IN MUD LICK by Eric Eyre， the Charleston Gazette-Mail reporter who broke the story about the drug distributors dumping over 780 million oxycodone and hydrocodone pills into West Virginia between 2007 and 2021。 Additionally， Patrick Radden Keefe’s EMPIRE OF PAIN highlighted the Sackler family’s role in secretly creating the epidemic and the manner in which they worked to avoid liability at all costs。AMERICAN CARTEL by Scott Higham and Sari Horwitz tells a broader story of the epidemic。 It chronicles how a small group of DEA agents and an array of lawyers worked diligently for years to stop these bad actors from flooding the market with opioids and make them pay for the horrific mess they created。 The book is an expansion of an award-winning series that the authors and others wrote for The Washington Post called “The Opioid Files。”The sheer scope and magnitude of the crisis and the number of parties involved is demonstrated by the four-page Cast of Characters that appears at the beginning of the book --- which includes DEA agents， DOJ employees， the plethora of lawyers on both sides， the drug manufacturers and distributors， the pharmacies， the Congressional office holders who influenced policy， and the federal judges --- as well as by the chart showing how the opioids found their way into the hands of consumers。To set the stage for how the epidemic began， Higham and Horwitz explain how Purdue Pharma （the Sackler family’s company） changed the narrative on pain management。 They then promoted the untruth that opioids were not addictive while simultaneously paying doctors to speak at medical conferences and in advertisements about the benefits of oxycodone。 Other drug companies followed suit， and soon opioids were flooding the markets in inconceivable numbers as pill mills popped up and internet purchases skyrocketed。When several Drug Enforcement Administration （DEA） agents began sounding the alarm， they were met with unexpected resistance， which they had never encountered on the job before at the DEA。 Over time， they came to understand that they were pitted against large American corporations that wielded political influence and wealth at an unprecedented level and had absolutely no regard for human life。 Greed was their sole motivating factor。Eventually lawsuits were filed， and a complex consolidation pulled many of those into a mega-lawsuit。 Discovery related to the suits uncovered proof of the drug companies’ blatant disregard for the people they were knowingly pushing towards addiction， including a “Beverly Hillbillies” parody that mocked users （calling them “Pillbillies”）， acknowledging that opioids were as addicting as Doritos， and other highly inflammatory evidence。While the book starts slow and requires an immense amount of focus to become familiar with the various parties and events， it picks up as it progresses and most of the key individuals and corporations are introduced。 The last half reads like a thriller， though if it were fiction， the “bad guys” would seem comically drawn and unrealistic。 The actions these drug companies and distributors engaged in seem so over the top that it's hard to fathom that they and the scores of people working for them actually behaved so abominably。AMERICAN CARTEL is a must read that demonstrates the continued importance of high-quality investigative journalism in today’s world and how greed allowed a national emergency to sweep the country unchecked。Reviewed by Cindy Burnett 。。。more
Fatso Judson
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The book failed to mention that executives from at least two regional drug wholesalers did face criminal charges for their roles in flooding various markets with opioids。 The two businesses being Rochester Drug Cooperative based in Rochester， NY and Miami-Luken based in Springboro， OH。 Anyone who has held a management role in the drug distribution business knows the business has a responsibility to identify， report and prevent excess or suspicious purchases of controlled substances。 The big thre The book failed to mention that executives from at least two regional drug wholesalers did face criminal charges for their roles in flooding various markets with opioids。 The two businesses being Rochester Drug Cooperative based in Rochester， NY and Miami-Luken based in Springboro， OH。 Anyone who has held a management role in the drug distribution business knows the business has a responsibility to identify， report and prevent excess or suspicious purchases of controlled substances。 The big three distributors were clearly negligent in this regard due to bad management and inconsistent compliance procedures。 And this negligence contributed to a horrific opioid epidemic。 。。。more
Dallas Shattuck
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American Cartel is yet another book that uncovers the serious， disgusting depths opioid manufacturers， distributors， and pharmacies have gone to in order to market， target， and fill communities with pills。 I learned a lot from this book， and I really appreciated that it was understandable and accessible for those who may not have much background knowledge or information on this topic。Every time I read a book about the opioid epidemic， I get angry。 Yet I continue to read them， because knowing abo American Cartel is yet another book that uncovers the serious， disgusting depths opioid manufacturers， distributors， and pharmacies have gone to in order to market， target， and fill communities with pills。 I learned a lot from this book， and I really appreciated that it was understandable and accessible for those who may not have much background knowledge or information on this topic。Every time I read a book about the opioid epidemic， I get angry。 Yet I continue to read them， because knowing about this is SO IMPORTANT。These companies have ruined communities， destroyed families， and stigmatized this medication that actually serves a critical purpose for those suffering from chronic pain and other conditions。 If you aren’t infuriated， then you’re not paying enough attention。 This book has crucial information， and I highly recommend it。 Highly。 。。。more
Ed Bisch
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This page turner reveals that front line agents were trying to save lives but they were thwarted and even persecuted by some of their former colleagues who went through the revolving door of government to the industry they once policed and regulated。Having lost my son in 2001 and following closely the mushrooming opioid epidemic I always wondered why no one in power was doing anything concrete to stop it？ Now the sickening details are being revealed。My hope is this book generates more jaw droppi This page turner reveals that front line agents were trying to save lives but they were thwarted and even persecuted by some of their former colleagues who went through the revolving door of government to the industry they once policed and regulated。Having lost my son in 2001 and following closely the mushrooming opioid epidemic I always wondered why no one in power was doing anything concrete to stop it？ Now the sickening details are being revealed。My hope is this book generates more jaw dropping outrage not at just to the people who participated but to the system that actually encouraged the nefarious behavior that has claimed over a million lives and counting。This is a true crime book and with 1 in 3 Americans now affected by drug use the system needs to change and people need to know the truths in this jaw dropping book。 。。。more
Ula Tardigrade
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If you are a fan of Patrick Radden Keefe’s ‘Empire of Pain’ and were similarly consumed by the tale of the Sackler family and the roots of the opioid crisis， this book will probably interest you as well。 The authors， Washington Post investigative journalists， are digging deeper into one part of this story – the DEA fight against Big Pharma and distributors responsible for selling millions of pills to Americans。 It is a well-written， fast-paced book that reads like a thriller。 You will find here If you are a fan of Patrick Radden Keefe’s ‘Empire of Pain’ and were similarly consumed by the tale of the Sackler family and the roots of the opioid crisis， this book will probably interest you as well。 The authors， Washington Post investigative journalists， are digging deeper into one part of this story – the DEA fight against Big Pharma and distributors responsible for selling millions of pills to Americans。 It is a well-written， fast-paced book that reads like a thriller。 You will find here even more examples of the moral corruption of the pharmaceutical business and its connection to DC politics。 Unfortunately， the problem is widespread and while the Sackers may be the most famous case， thanks to Radden Keefe’s investigation， their behavior， unfortunately， is not isolated nor uncommon。 Thanks to the publisher， Twelve Books， and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book。 。。。more
Carla Bayha
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