The Trade investigative team followed the path of pharmaceutical opioids that are fueling addictions on the street. It’s a story with a long history — and a lot of money — behind it. Pharmaceutical companies make billions of dollars from opioids such as hydromorphone, oxycodone and fentynal. Aggressive marketing campaigns have led to high prescription rates, patient addiction and pharmaceutical-grade drugs ending up in the hands of street dealers. In 2017, Purdue Pharma paid a $20 million dollar legal settlement for any damages done from their extensive marketing of OxyContin to the medical community and the public. The money goes towards aiding anyone who could prove they were harmed by OxyContin between January, 1996 and February, 2017. Two million dollars also went to provincial governments.
