Opioids: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
LastWeekTonight5 HN recommenders · recommended in 5 months, 2016–2024
commentary · general · 2016–2024 on HN
A Last Week Tonight segment on the US opioid epidemic, tracing how prescription painkillers fed addiction and heroin use. It is the first of three episodes the show devoted to the crisis.
HN points to it as an informative, fact-heavy overview of the opioid crisis and Purdue Pharma.
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8 comments from Hacker News
I recently watched these 3 episodes of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Highly recommended. Opioids III: The Sacklers: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver ( link ) Opioids II: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver ( link ) Opioids: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver ( ▶ this video )
Good. For those that haven't watched them yet, there are 3 John Oliver segments on the subject that will back up the "Good." statement: Opioids ▶ this video Opioids II link Opioids III (this one focuses 100% on the Sacklers) link
John Oliver spoke about this in depth: ▶ this video Humor aside, he managed to compile an impressive amount of testimonials and facts.
> (under heavy regulation) ... and this is where most Heroin addicts start, actually, through prescription opiate use. Once a physical addiction is formed, heroin can be a cheaper or more accessible alternative to a prescription for say, Oxycontin. I thought John Oliver had a good segment on it: ▶ this video
John Oliver did a segment on Opioids that's pretty informative. Have a look: ▶ this video The quick answer though is that it starts with prescription painkillers that are highly addictive.
Besides that episode, he made two others about the Opioid Crisis / Purdue Pharma / Sacklers, 3 in total since 2016: 2016: ▶ this video 2019: link 2021: link In addition there's some sites made by them as well (referred to in the video): link (with Bryan Cranston, Michael Keaton, Richard Kind, Michael K Williams) link
For more on this, see ▶ this video "How many people here moved from prescription drugs to heroin?" Everybody raised their hands.
methadone gets you just as high as heroin. the only difference is that its made by in a lab pharmaceuticals companies and controlled by the government. and methadone withdrawal is fatal too. this recent John Oliver piece on opiods holds a lot of truth: ▶ this video Benzodiazepines are far more addictive than opioids, and while their abuse has declined a bit, a lot of people still abuse xanax and klonopin, and before that valium. that' a lot of doctors directly and indirectly enabling all those addicts. why hasn't the war on drugs taken on the opioid and benzo manufacturers? it makes me wonder why pharmaceutical companies and their executives aren't locked up like the drug kingpins they are?