Reporter explains how Johnson & Johnson came to dominate the opioid industry

In a landmark decision, an Oklahoma judge ruled that pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson must pay $572 million dollars to the state of Oklahoma as damages for its role in stoking the opioid epidemic in the state. This is the first time a drug manufacturer has been held accountable for the public health disaster. We spoke with Mother Jones senior reporter Julia Lurie, who explains that evidence laid out in the case paints a damning picture of Johnson & Johnson's involvement in the crisis. She describes Johnson & Johnson's "multipronged" model that starts at the production and wholesale distribution of painkiller active ingredients and ends with "a massive and misleading and false advertising [and] marketing campaign in which they had sales representatives target high-volume prescribers." But that's not all. Johnson & Johnson also works to "target people with cancer pain, noncancer pain, target old people, young people. In reality, that kind of targeting has devastating consequences," Lurie says. #DemocracyNow Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on nearly 1,400 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream 8-9AM ET: https://democracynow.org Please consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! today: https://democracynow.org/donate FOLLOW DEMOCRACY NOW! ONLINE: YouTube:    / democracynow   Facebook:   / democracynow   Twitter:   / democracynow   Instagram:   / democracynow   SoundCloud:   / democracynow   iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/demo... Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe