>>> 130.
>>> 130. THAT IS HOW MANY AMERICANS DIE
EVERY SINGLE DAY FROM OPIOID
OVERDOSES.
OVERDOSES. PRESIDENT TRUMP AND FIRST LADY
MELANIA TRUMP WILL SPEAK AT A
DRUG ABUSE SUMMIT IN ATLANTA,
GEORGIA.
GEORGIA. IT’S A CRISIS THAT THE PRESIDENT
HAS VOWED TO TACKLE SINCE HE
FIRST TOOK OFFICE AND NOW FOR
THE FIRST TIME EVER,
PHARMACEUTICAL DISTRIBUTORS ARE
BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE
ON TUESDAY, FEDERAL PROSECUTORS
CHARGED RDC FOR THEIR ROLE IN
FUELING THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC
THROUGH DRUG TRAFFICKING
THOSE EXECUTIVES WERE CHARGED
WITH WILLFULLY FAILING TO FILE
SUSPICIOUS ORDER REPORTS
PROSECUTORS SAY THE COMPANY
IGNORED RED FLAGS AND SHIPPED
MILLIONS OF OXYCODONE PILLS TO
PHARMACIES THEY KNEW WERE
DISTRIBUTING DRUGS ILLEGALLY TO
HELP THEIR PROFITS STORE
BETWEEN 2010 AND 2018, THE
COMPANY SOLD MORE THAN 143
MILLION OXYCODONE PILLS TO NEW
YORK CUSTOMERS ALONE
ON A NATIONWIDE SCALE, ROUGHLY
21% TO 29% PATIENTS PRESCRIBED
OPIOIDS EVENTUALLY MISUSED THIS.
MORE THAN 90,000 PEOPLE DIED
FROM OPIOID OVERDOSES.
THAT NUMBER IS HIGHER THAN THE
58,220 U.S. SERVICE MEMBERS THAT
DIED DUE TO THE VIETNAM WAR.
AND GET THIS, ACCORDING TO A
REPORT CONDUCTED BID THE
NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL, PEOPLE
ARE NOW MORE LIKELY TO DIE FROM
AN OPIOID CRISIS THAN A CAR
CRASH.
CRASH. >> THIS IS REMARKABLE.
JOINING US NOW IS NEW YORK
ATTORNEY GENERAL
ATTORNEY GENERAL WE’RE WAITING TO HEAR FROM THE
PRESIDENT ON THIS.
IS THERE SOMETHING YOU’RE HOPING
TO HERE FROM THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT ON DEALING WITH
OPIOIDS?
OPIOIDS? >> MORE RESOURCES, MORE
RESOURCES ACROSS THE NATION, ANY
CUTS THAT HE HAS PROPOSED,
PARTICULARLY CUTS IN THE AREA OF
THE NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL ACT,
THEY NEED TO BE RESTORED
THEY WERE CUT IN THE YEAR’S
BUDGET
BUDGET IT’S IMPORTANT THAT HE RESTORES
THOSE FUNDS.
THOSE FUNDS. WE NEED ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR
BEDS, EDUCATION, A NUMBER OF
WORKERS, SUBSTANCE ABUSE WORKERS
IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, THEY WILL BE
REDUCED SIGNIFICANTLY.
REDUCED SIGNIFICANTLY. IT’S IMPORTANT THAT WE FOCUS ON
PREVENTION, EDUCATION, DETECTION
AND TREATMENT.
AND TREATMENT. AND WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT
TREATMENT AS WELL.
>> WHY HAVE THERE BEEN CUTS
SINCE THE CRISIS IS GROWING?
>> THAT’S A GOOD QUESTION.
AND I CAN’T ANSWER THAT.
I CAN ONLY TELL YOU ABOUT THE
INDIVIDUALS I HAVE MET WHO HAVE
URGED ME TO FILE A LAWSUIT
AGAINST MANUFACTURERS AND
DISTRIBUTORS AND AS WELL AGAINST
A FAMILY THAT BENEFITTED FROM
THIS CRISIS.
THIS CRISIS. EVERY DAY IN NEW YORK STATE NINE
INDIVIDUALS DIE AND AS YOU
MENTIONED ACROSS THIS COUNTRY,
43 INDIVIDUALS DIE
IT’S AN EPIDEMIC THAT WE NEED TO
GAIN CONTROL OF, BUT THE ONLY
WAY WE CAN DO IT IS WHEN ALL
FORCES, LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT GET
TOGETHER AND ENSURE THAT WE HAVE
THE NECESSARY RESOURCES TO
ADDRESS THIS BECAUSE THIS IS AN
EPIDEMIC THAT KNOWS NO POLITICAL
AFFILIATION, KNOWS NO RACE OR
ETHNICITY OR GEOGRAPHY
>> WE HEAR FROM VICTIMS ALL
ACROSS THE SPECTRUM.
THE MILESTONE YESTERDAY AND THE
CHARGES AGAINST RDC WAS
INTERESTING IN THAT IT’S SIMILAR
TO WHAT WE’VE TALKED WITH PURDUE
PHARMA
PHARMA THE COMPANY WAS MADE AWARE OF
THAT THEY CAN’T POSSIBLY BE
SENDING THESE DRUGS TO A
PHARMACY IN NEW YORK THAT WAS
BUYING THESE DRUGS AT A RATE
THAT JUST DIDN’T MAKE SENSE.
IT WASN’T LOGICAL.
AND YET WHEN BROUGHT TO THEIR
ATTENTION, THEY SAID, DON’T
WORRY ABOUT IT
KEEP GOING.
KEEP GOING. >> WHAT’S THEIR LEGAL
OBLIGATION
OBLIGATION >> THEY FAILED TO EXERCISE THEIR
DUTY AS IT RELATES TO PREVENTING
AND PROTECTING DRUGS FROM GOING
INTO UNLAWFUL HANDS.
THEY IGNORED ALL OF THE RED
FLAGS.
FLAGS. AND THE PROTOCOLS THAT WERE PUT
IN PLACE, THEY WERE NOT MANAGED,
THEY WERE NOT PROPERLY FUNDED
AND IN SITUATIONS, PHARMACIES
DISPENSE MILLIONS AND MILLIONS
OF PILLS TO INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE
ADDICTS.
ADDICTS. >> IS THAT A CRIMINAL VIOLATION?
IF YOU LOOK IN BANKING, YOU NEED
TO GET A LICENSE AND FILE
PROTOCOLS AND IF YOU DON’T, YOU
COULD BE IN VIOLATION.
YOU COULD GO TO JAIL
IN PHARMACEUTICALS, WHAT ARE THE
RULES FOR AN EXECUTIVE
>> YESTERDAY, AS YOU KNOW, THE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
ANNOUNCED CHARGES AND THEY
ENTERED INTO A SETTLEMENT WHERE
THE CORPORATION WOULD PAY
$20 MILLION AND A PROSECUTION
AGREEMENT WAS PUT OFF.
THEN THERE WERE PRIVATE
INDIVIDUALS, THE CEO AND OTHER
OFFICERS WITHIN ROCHESTER THAT
WERE CHARGED WITH CRIMINAL
CHARGES PERSONALLY AND THOSE
CASES ARE STILL ONGOING.
AND SO IT’S REALLY CRITICALLY
IMPORTANT THAT INDIVIDUALS KNOW
THAT IN NEW YORK STATE WE HAVE A
SUBSTANCE ABUSE ACT AND IT
SPEAKS ABOUT ENSURING THAT
CORPORATIONS, THAT
CORPORATIONS, THAT PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES, AND
MANUFACTURING COMPANIES ARE
DOING ALL THEY CAN DO TO
IDENTIFY RED FLAGS AND RESPOND
TO RED FLAGS AND WHENEVER
THERE’S ANY SUSPICIOUS ORDERS,
THAT THEY ALERT --
>> THERE WERE RED FLAGS AND THEY
DID IGNORE THEM.
IN THE CASE OF YOUR LAWSUIT
AGAINST PURDUE, PURDUE HAS PUT
OUT A STATEMENT SAYING THAT
YOU’RE GOING AFTER FORMER
DIRECTORS OF THE COMPANY AND
YOU’RE GOING AFTER THIS FAMILY
>> THE PURDUE COMPANY WAS OWNED,
MANAGED BY THIS FAMILY, AND THEY
MADE MILLIONS IF NOT BILLIONS.
THEY’VE DIVERTED THEIR PROFITS
TO OFF-SHORE ACCOUNTS.
THEY ILLEGALLY TRANSFERRED FUNDS
TO THEIR PERSONAL ACCOUNTS
IT’S IMPORTANT THAT WE HOLD THIS
FAMILY RESPONSIBLE
FAMILY RESPONSIBLE PURDUE INTRODUCED TO THE MARKET
BACK IN 1997 OX SIYCODONE WHICH
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS CRISIS
AND CLEARLY PURDUE, THIS FAMILY,
THE MANUFACTURERS, AS WELL AS
THE DISTRIBUTORS, NEED TO BE
HELD ACCOUNTABLE
HELD ACCOUNTABLE OUR LAWSUIT IS CIVIL IN NATURE
THE LAWSUIT THAT WAS FILED
YESTERDAY BY THE SOUTHERN
DISTRICT OF NEW YORK IS CRIMINAL
IN NATURE.
IN NATURE. THE BOTTOM LINE IS INDIVIDUALS
NEED TO BE HELD RESPONSE AND WE
NEED TO PUT FORTH REMEDIES AS A
RESULT OF THEIR FINANCIAL
SETTLEMENT, REMEDIES THAT WOULD,
AGAIN, FOCUS ON TREATMENT,
PREVENTION, EDUCATION, AND
DETECTION.
DETECTION. >> ONE OF THE THINGS, WHEN WE
THINK OF THIS 130 PEOPLE WHO DIE
IN AMERICA EVERY DAY, AND IT WAS
LIKE THE CRACK EPIDEMIC, WHICH
ALSO BECAME NORMALIZED AND
BECAME PART OF OUR CULTURE, AND
NOW THAT IS SORT OF HAPPENING
HERE
HERE THIS IS PART OF OUR CULTURE, WE
KNOW PEOPLE DIE, WE KNOW THEY
DIE ACROSS THE SPECTRUM, THERE’S
A DANGER IN THAT, IN NOT DEALING
WITH THIS AS THE CRISIS IT IS.
>> WHEN YOU BEGIN TO NORMALIZE
THIS TYPE OF BEHAVIOR AND YOU
TREAT IT LIKE A CRIMINAL
JUSTICE, WHEN YOU FOCUS
PRIMARILY ON CRIMINALIZING
INDIVIDUALS, THIS IS A PUBLIC
HEALTH CRISIS AND IT SHOULD BE
TREATED AS SUCH.
AND SO IT’S REALLY CRITICALLY
IMPORTANT THAT WE PROVIDE MORE
RECOVERY BEDS TO INDIVIDUALS
AS I TRAVEL THROUGHOUT THE STATE
OF NEW YORK, THERE’S LESS AND
LESS BEDS AVAILABLE, WE NEED
COUNSELORS IN SCHOOLS AND AS
EARLY AS GRADUATE SCHOOL, THERE
ARE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE BEEN
ADDICTED TO THESE OPIOIDS AS
YOUNG AS 10, 11, AND 12 AND IT’S
IMPORTANT THAT WE EDUCATE THEM
AND WE DO IT AS EARLY AS
POSSIBLE
POSSIBLE WE NEED TO PROVIDE MORE
RESOURCES TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, TO
INTERDICT THESE DRUGS, BOTH AT
THE BORDER AND ELSEWHERE AND
INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE IN THE
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, WE NEED
TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE HELD
ACCOUNTABLE FOR CAUSING THIS
EPIDEMIC, BUT LET’S NOT LOOSE
SIGHT OF THE FACT THAT THESE
MANUFACTURERS AND DISTRIBUTORS
AND THIS FAMILY WERE PART OF A
CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE AND THEY
NEED TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR
ALL OF THE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE
LOST LOVED ONES, AGAIN, IN THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 47632
A DAY ACROSS THIS NATION AND
NINE A DAY IN NEW YORK STATE.