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How the Sacklers Shifted $10.8 Billion of Their Opioid Fortune
As the U.S. bumbles its way through the coronavirus pandemic, it can be easy to overlook the opioid epidemic that’s shattered so many lives. But a trove of documents that Bloomberg Businessweek has spent months analyzing helps By Emma Vickers 
How should art address addiction? Julia Robert's film "ben Is Back"gives us a clue.
NY POST NEWS
"Page Six" Miami shuns Sackler family: ‘We don’t want you here’ By Paula Froelich February 8, 2020 
New York State Attorney General Letitia James filed an amended lawsuit against eight members of the Sackler family.
The billionaire owners of Purdue Pharma LP must face a New York lawsuit claiming they triggered the U.S. opioid epidemic
The billionaire owners of Purdue Pharma LP must face a New York lawsuit claiming they triggered the U.S. opioid epidemic,
Since OxyContin came on the market in 1996, more than 400,000 Americans have died from opioid overdoses—including some 200,000 from prescription opioids. Millions more continue to struggle with addiction, and entire communities have been devastated by the epidemic. Recovery Boys
The statistics around the opioid epidemic are terrifying, but Recovery Boys explores the crisis on the ground floor. The 90-minute documentary, also a Netflix original, is one of the few that doesn't dramatize or wallow in the cyclic tragedy of ecstatic heroin highs, the scratching withdrawal pangs. Instead, it honestly follows four young men struggling to recover from opioid addiction over a year and a half at Jacob's Ladder, a farming-based recovery center in Aurora, West Virginia.
JOSS SACKLER — WIFE OF OXYCONTIN HEIR DAVID SACKLER — JUST WANTS HER “F - - KING NEON HOODIES” REVIEWED AT NYC'S FASHION WEEK.
JOSS SACKLER — WIFE OF OXYCONTIN HEIR DAVID SACKLER — JUST WANTS HER “F - - KING NEON HOODIES” REVIEWED AT NYC'S FASHION WEEK. Mrs. Sackler is married to David Sackler, whose family owns Purdue Pharma, the makers of the prescription painkiller OxyContin. Purdue and the members of the Sackler family behind it have been accused of fomenting, and profiting from, the American opioid epidemic...NY Post Page 6 by Mara Siegler...The Hoodie is featured in the video below.
Purdue’s Richard Sackler Allegedly Calls Opioid Addicts ‘Victimizers’
The former chairman of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP blamed victims of opioid abuse for their own suffering in emails from 2001 that predicted a liberal backlash if his views were made public, according to a court filings and this report from Bloomberg News
Best of Late Night
“One of their children likes to grow herbs as ‘a self-taught student of traditional medicines.’ Ha, traditional medicines! What a great hobby for the 40,000 children in foster care because of their parents’ opioid addiction. Maybe they wouldn’t be in this predicament if they just crushed up a wholesome yaro root for Mommy’s headache. Aw.” — SAMANTHA BEE, NY Times quoting from a 2013 Vogue article on Mortimer and Jacqueline Sackler’s vacation home
The Sackler family and Purdue Pharma’s Project Tango looked into how to profit off opioid addiction
A look at how opioids hijack the brain, from temptation and tolerance to relapse and recovery. Overdoses have passed car crashes and gun violence to become the leading cause of death for Americans under 55. The epidemic has killed more people than H.I.V. at the peak of that disease, and its death toll exceeds those of the wars in Vietnam and Iraq combined. Funerals for young people have become common. Every 11 minutes, another life is lost.
So why do so many people start using these drugs? Why don’t they stop?. ...Read The NY TIMES ARTICLE BY SHREEHYA SINHA Protesters target OxyContin family at the Guggenheim
..Protests erupted at the Guggenheim in New York City over the museum’s ties to OxyContin. The anti-opioid demonstrations came just as the Massachusetts attorney general implicated the Sackler family — who own Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin — for their alleged role in America’s opioid crisis.
“Sacklers lie, people die,” Goldin chanted.
I don’t know how they live with themselves' – artist Nan Goldin takes on the billionaire family behind OxyContin...The photographer became an addict after getting hooked on a prescription opioid. Now clean, she is waging war on the art philanthropists who have profited from the crisis...READ THE STORY
America's Opioid Epidemic Is Anytown And Anyone
The NJ opioid epidemic is the focus of 'Anytown" an educational musical theater offering from George Street Playhouse -Cheryl Makin
Carthage College Theater Professor Turns To 'Lombardi' Playwright For Timely Drama About Opioid Addiction.
"Lombardi" playwright Eric Simonson has teamed with Carthage College to create a timely production about opioid addiction- "Up & Away" Here's one staggering fact about opioids and young adults: According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 20 percent of the deaths of Americans ages 24 to 35 in 2016 involved opioids. by Jim Higgins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
PHARMA OPIOIDS ON BROADWAY: This Past Decade More Than 225 On & Off-Broadway Equity Actors Exited Their Stages Permanently After Sustaining Injuries---Not Because They Did Not Recover From Those Injuries But Because They Did Not Recover From The Opioid's Prescribed To Them For Their Pain From Their Injuries. SERIOUS ADDICTION STARTS WITH A SIMPLE PRESCRIPTION Roseanne Overdoses On Opioid Prescribed For Her Chronic Pain From A Long-Delayed Knee Surgery.
However, the name on the bottle wasn’t Roseanne’s. It was the name of a neighbor, Marcy Bellinger.
Dan, feeling a mix of anger and despair, hangs a sign on his truck, calling attention to Marcy’s role in his wife’s death. “Thank you Marcy Bellinger for the pills that killed my loving wife Roseanne,” he writes. Marcy, played by Mary Steenburgen, comes to the Conners’ home to ask Dan to remove the sign. In her request, she unveils another aspect of life at the economic seams. Medication is expensive. Insurance isn’t generous. And some people do things that’re less than legal to get by. “Nobody can afford their meds. We all help each other,” a visibly distraught Marcy says. “When Sally Benson needed Lipitor for her husband’s cholesterol, they got some from Maria Ramirez, and they gave her the anxiety meds she needed for her son because they dropped her insurance. Rosie needed painkillers. I had some, so I gave them to her.” "Respiratory suppression is a common problem with opioid medications, added Stephen Odom, PhD, chief executive officer and chief clinical officer of New Vista Behavioral Health in California and a healthcare and addiction treatment professional with more than 25 years of expertise in the behavioral health field. “It’s very common for opioid overdoses to result in death due to respiratory suppression,” Odom told Healthline. “During medical detoxification, patients are monitored closely for breathing status, as opioid medications are central nervous system depressants.” read the story at healthline.com 
The White Face Of The Opioid Epidemic Has Forged A More Forgiving Public Reaction.
HealingNYC Founder First Lady Chirlane McCray
“If we want to end this epidemic we must all be part of the solution, every one of us,” said First Lady Chirlane McCray, who has often spoken about mental health and addiction. “The bottom line is people suffering from addiction need our help and support.”
At least 2.1 million U.S. residents have an opioid addiction, according to government estimates, with those recently struggling with the condition...its a long roster of boldfaced names: Macklemore, Demi Lovato, Rush Limbaugh, Cindy McCain, Matthew Perry, Jamie Lee Curtis, Eminem, Charlie Sheen, Courtney Love, Steven Tyler.... 
Lionheart Talent Group Friend Attorney General Josh Stein Is A Holistic Healthcare Advocate & Won't Back Down. Lionhearted Holistic Healthcare Advocate Attorney General Josh Stein has aggressive strategies and programs to fight America's Opioid epidemic:"There are more effective, safer and less dangerous ways of treating most kinds of pain. Fentanyl is killing more and more people. It also killed Prince and Tom Petty.” -
Josh Stein Attorney General 
Don’t Call Her a Victim: After Surviving Opioids, The Planets Best Photographer Of The Human Condition Nan Goldin Goes After the Makers
Over the course of a decades-long career, Ms. Goldin has pushed the medium of photography to be more honest about the human condition. She has documented domestic violence — including her own battering at the hands of a boyfriend — as well as the scourge of H.I.V. and the death of close friends. But she called withdrawal from OxyContin the darkest time of her life.
--By The NY Times COLIN MOYNIHAN 
10 Years After Heath Ledger’s Death, The Opioid Epidemic Rages On And With No Hollywood Ending.
The Same Deadly Fix, Just Cheaper...Cops and paramedics and judges and drug counselors are overwhelmed. The painkiller epidemic and the heroin epidemic are one and the same. By John Temple at the Huffington Post.
A Brief, Blood-Boiling History of the Opioid Epidemic From OxyContin coupons to fentanyl-laced heroin, this is how the crisis unfolded...
1995: The American Pain Society promotes the “Pain Is the Fifth Vital Sign” standard, urging doctors to monitor pain along with pulse, breathing, blood pressure, and temperature. Purdue Pharma is one of 28 corporate donors. 1996: Purdue Pharma debuts OxyContin with the most aggressive marketing campaign in pharmaceutical history, downplaying its addictiveness. Over the next five years, the number of opioid painkiller prescriptions jumps by 44 million. 2004: With input from a Purdue exec, the Federation of State Medical Boards recommends sanctions against doctors who undertreat pain. 2012: Health care providers write 259 million opioid painkiller prescriptions—nearly enough for every American to have a bottle of pills. The increasingly white face of addiction changes how policymakers frame the problem, from a moral failing necessitating prison time to a disease requiring treatment. 2016: An estimated 64,000 Americans die of drug overdoses—more than all US military casualties in the Vietnam and Iraq wars combined. In December, Congress passes legislation allotting $1 billion to fund opioid addiction treatment and prevention efforts over two years Read more from Mother Jones Author Julia Laurie 
A PREVENTABLE DEATH- Petty Dead From Opioid Overdose
Filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon's Netflix Documentary “Heroin(e)
It chronicles the lives of three women in Huntington, W.Va. — a fire chief, a drug court judge and a street missionary — who are battling America's opioid epidemic at the epicenter in Huntington WV.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the total “economic burden” of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is over $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.
Celebrities Addicted To Oxycontin
Celebrity and entertainment industry drug addicts are nothing new, there's always someone that's going to rehab for some addiction or another. But now these celebrities and entetainment industry professional are not addicted to just any drug, they are addicted to Oxycontin- an oral dose pill form. The pill is supposedly time released in order to block pain for 24 hours and help lower dependency, but that didn't work out so well for over 500,000 Americans the last few years who died by self overdosing. Jamie Lee Curtis, Eminen Matthew Perry...the list goes on and on of the survivors for the celebrities addicted to opiates, and there's a long road to recovery ahead. Some veer off the road to recovery and crash, burn and die.
Article by Ranker's John Barryman 
Ohio’s Otterbein Has One Of, If Not The Best, BFA Musical Theater Program In The Country. Double the entire undergraduate population at Otterbein University, more than 4,300 Ohioans died of opioid drug overdoses in 2016. As states and the nation continue to grapple with a deadly opioid epidemic, higher education institutions are.
-Article Written By Columbia's Ariel Hurley Why Wall Street Stays Silent About Its Opioid Epidemic.
"Why aren’t more professionals seeking help? The fear of losing their clients and jobs, the fear of stigma and shame and the lack of information on how to handle treatment while abiding by their professional standards and ethics among peers....”
-By Gregory Bresiger NY POST The Bronx’s Quiet, Brutal War With Opioids
"On Bronx streets, the epidemic’s devastation is next door, down the street, all around..."
Written by JOSE A. DELREAl NY TIMES The Scourge Of Opioids And Heroin Has Reached Disastrous Proportions In Pennsylvania.
With opioids killing more people than any other health crisis in Pennsylvania's modern history, Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday declared a disaster emergency that suspends regulations hindering access to addiction care.
"Worst Drug Crisis In American History"
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MARLENE MEYERSON (1940-2017) |
In the spirit of inclusivity, openness and a $20 million gift, Friday, February 2 and Saturday, February 3 2018 the JCC sprang into the future as the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. Read More From NY Times Feature Writer ROBIN POGREBIN
NOVEMBER 13 2017--FILM FINISHED
In a small town in Southern Appalachia, a trucker must decide if he will stand up and take action against sex trafficking at his truckstop
In a small town in Southern Appalachia, a trucker must decide if he will stand up and take action against sex trafficking at his truckstop
January 31 2016
I am sitting and having a Sunday brunch with Lionheart friend, Pearl Gluck, east of Union Square in a second avenue diner in New York City. Speaking clear and direct, she shares with me the agenda of finishing her remarkable film, The Turn Out. Pearl is a pretty much totally awesome friend and what I appreciate most about her is her momentum— Pearl has a driving force and advancing strength that enables her to complete tasks and finish projects. (And here I thought I got stuff done. Fuggedaboutit.)
Pearl is a Brooklyn girl, a self-discovered creative genius confirmed by many, and all-around fascinating. Pearl has a fast, decisive pace and it really pumps me up.
More about Pearl:
Pearl Gluck calls her process of making films "personal archeology." Each of her films combine an element of autobiographical storytelling with a crafted three-act structure, whether it be her debut film about her own trajectory from her Hasidic upbringing in Brooklyn to her latest film, The Turn Out, which turns the lens on domestic sex trafficking in Southern Appalachia. Pearl and her work have been part of the Sundance Lab, as well as played at the Cannes Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, and PBS.
Pearl founded Palinka Pictures, which is a multimedia production company with a twist— creating, writing and producing productions involving artists, media makers, and educators to make a difference through the arts.
Now she is raising finishing funds for her latest film, a documentary-fiction hybrid, which is nothing short of remarkable. The Turn Out tells the story of a trucker who discovers that an under-aged girl is being sex-trafficked at his local truck stop in Mineral Wells, West Virginia. He must decide if he will be moved to get involved or if he will remain a bystander. The cast includes truckers, trafficking survivors , and activists. It is a fictionalized storyline which emerged from her documentary research and shot on location where efforts are being made to combat local trafficking at truck stops.
I am sitting and having a Sunday brunch with Lionheart friend, Pearl Gluck, east of Union Square in a second avenue diner in New York City. Speaking clear and direct, she shares with me the agenda of finishing her remarkable film, The Turn Out. Pearl is a pretty much totally awesome friend and what I appreciate most about her is her momentum— Pearl has a driving force and advancing strength that enables her to complete tasks and finish projects. (And here I thought I got stuff done. Fuggedaboutit.)
Pearl is a Brooklyn girl, a self-discovered creative genius confirmed by many, and all-around fascinating. Pearl has a fast, decisive pace and it really pumps me up.
More about Pearl:
Pearl Gluck calls her process of making films "personal archeology." Each of her films combine an element of autobiographical storytelling with a crafted three-act structure, whether it be her debut film about her own trajectory from her Hasidic upbringing in Brooklyn to her latest film, The Turn Out, which turns the lens on domestic sex trafficking in Southern Appalachia. Pearl and her work have been part of the Sundance Lab, as well as played at the Cannes Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, and PBS.
Pearl founded Palinka Pictures, which is a multimedia production company with a twist— creating, writing and producing productions involving artists, media makers, and educators to make a difference through the arts.
Now she is raising finishing funds for her latest film, a documentary-fiction hybrid, which is nothing short of remarkable. The Turn Out tells the story of a trucker who discovers that an under-aged girl is being sex-trafficked at his local truck stop in Mineral Wells, West Virginia. He must decide if he will be moved to get involved or if he will remain a bystander. The cast includes truckers, trafficking survivors , and activists. It is a fictionalized storyline which emerged from her documentary research and shot on location where efforts are being made to combat local trafficking at truck stops.
The New Studio on Broadway integrates foundational acting training with vocal and physical techniques drawing upon the repertoire of the American musical, contemporary American plays, and the traditional classical canon to hone the actor's instrument in all aspects of all three disciplines essential to be an actor in the Musical Theatre: Acting, Singing and Dancing. Collaboration with the Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program teaches students how to work with composers, lyricists, librettists, choreographers and directors on readings, workshops and full productions of new works. This is the only theatre collaboration training program in this country.
The Real Star Of The Phantom Of The Opera On Broadway Is The Score And Conductor Richard Carsey.
8/9/2017
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera holds a special place in the hearts of actors, casting directors, agents, producers and the general public of theater goers.
Why? Because they are left in awe of the music--the score.
Bravo to Richard and thanks in advance for the invite to see this magnificent production once again.
Why? Because they are left in awe of the music--the score.
Bravo to Richard and thanks in advance for the invite to see this magnificent production once again.
Founded in 1867, Boston Conservatory at Berklee trains exceptional performing artist for careers in music, dance, and theater.
Brava To The BoCo Communities Excellence In Education & Performance.
For Performance Opportunities At Boston Conservatory At Berklee
Click Here
A BoCo 2017 Best - Javier Cabrera
KENT GASH is the founding Director of NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ New Studio on Broadway and the director of the late fall 2016 Senior Showcase Production of THE RIOT OF THE TIPSY BACCHANALS!
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A member of the Tony Award Nominating Committee, Professor Gash is a graduate of the Carnegie-Mellon University School of Drama with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and the University of California at Los Angeles’ School of Theatre, Film and Television with a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Directing for the Theatre and Television.
Kent has put together the most amazing senior showcase I have ever scouted and I have been witness to over 300 senior showcases. His kids hustled. His kids were intense. His kids executed. His kids were talented. His kids took no prisoners. From the brilliant opening scene with the brilliant Portia Boston (singer & movie star) to the end with Panda bear rising worship, I was standing and applauding this group. You don't get results like that unless the head coach (Kent Gash) possesses some or all of the following listed below. I'm sure he has all of those traits plus more. It was a pleasure to meet him after the show.
Kent has put together the most amazing senior showcase I have ever scouted and I have been witness to over 300 senior showcases. His kids hustled. His kids were intense. His kids executed. His kids were talented. His kids took no prisoners. From the brilliant opening scene with the brilliant Portia Boston (singer & movie star) to the end with Panda bear rising worship, I was standing and applauding this group. You don't get results like that unless the head coach (Kent Gash) possesses some or all of the following listed below. I'm sure he has all of those traits plus more. It was a pleasure to meet him after the show.
- Unrelenting work ethic
- Recruiting and development
- Ability to adapt
- Attention to detail
- Making the process fun
NYU at the New Studio on Broadway for Acting senior Ram Kanneganti's performance as a hopeful romantic is like the force of a thousand mountains.
Ram Kanneganti is often times mistaken by people for the infamous Russian bad boy, Johnny Fire---I Love this kid.
Ram Kanneganti
Messenger To Mankind & Nobel Peace Winner Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel
"Our lives no longer belong to us alone; they belong to all those who need us desperately." -- ELIE WIESEL
"There are victories of the soul and spirit. Sometimes, even if you lose, you win." -- ELIE WIESEL
" Every Murder Is A Suicide" --ELIE WIESEL
Penn State Professors are— with the leadership of Boaz Dvir— producing a PBS documentary on unsung hero, Michel Cojot, narrated by Judd Nelson.
A preview of the film will be presented by the American Jewish Historical Society on March 23, 2016 in New York City.
The documentary, which Dvir fashions as a “suspenseful character study,” will focus on two pivotal events in Cojot’s life.
One, after his lifelong obsession of hunting down ex-Gestapo Commander, Klaus Barbie. Cojot has a clear shot and when he was about to pull the trigger, Goldberg relates that he was unable to kill Barbie for a number of complex psychological reasons, including a haunting quotation from Elie Wiesel that impeded his action: “Every murder is a suicide.”
The second tells the story of playing a pivotal role in one of history’s most daring and successful hostage-rescue operations.
A preview of the film will be presented by the American Jewish Historical Society on March 23, 2016 in New York City.
The documentary, which Dvir fashions as a “suspenseful character study,” will focus on two pivotal events in Cojot’s life.
One, after his lifelong obsession of hunting down ex-Gestapo Commander, Klaus Barbie. Cojot has a clear shot and when he was about to pull the trigger, Goldberg relates that he was unable to kill Barbie for a number of complex psychological reasons, including a haunting quotation from Elie Wiesel that impeded his action: “Every murder is a suicide.”
The second tells the story of playing a pivotal role in one of history’s most daring and successful hostage-rescue operations.
Almost everybody knows the story of the Romeo and Juliet-inspired musical, WEST SIDE STORY.
ABSTRACT: Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, Vol. 6(3), Aug 2012, 224-230.
“Research in the field of entertainment-education demonstrates that narrative forms such as TV and radio can impact prosocial behaviors and attitudes. The current study addresses whether attitudes can also be affected by musical theater. Attitudes were assessed in 171 audience members before and after a professionally produced musical comedy that used social–cognitive principles to explore the theme of deer hunting. Measures included an 8-item Hunting Attitude Scale and an instrument assessing audience engagement (captivation, intellectual stimulation, emotional resonance, spiritual value, social cohesion/insight, and specific emotional reactions). A significant change was observed in attitudes targeted by the show. Audience members' reports of emotional engagement and insight were significantly related to hunting attitude change. Participants who had complex emotional reactions to the show (e.g., feeling both happy and sad) were significantly more likely than those who had only positive reactions to score higher on multiple engagement measures. Although previous research has found a link between strength of audience emotional involvement and personal efficacy, present results suggest an important additional role for complexity of emotional reaction.”
Overall, the study indicates that musical theater may be a promising method for promoting attitudinal change.
“So what’s the relationship between attitude and behavioral change?” you may be asking.
Behaviors usually, but not always, reflect established beliefs and attitudes. For example, a man who believes strongly in abstinence before marriage may choose to remain a virgin until his wedding night. Under other circumstances, that same man may engage in premarital sex despite his convictions after being influenced by social messages that his masculinity is dependent on sexual activity. Attitude is a feeling, belief, or opinion of approval or disapproval towards something. Behavior is an action or reaction that occurs in response to an event or internal stimuli (i.e., thought). People hold complex relationships between attitudes and behavior that are further complicated by the social factors influencing both.
Behavior can be influenced by a number of factors beyond attitude, including preconceptions about self and others, monetary factors, social influences (what peers and community members are saying and doing), and convenience. Someone may have strong convictions about improving the public school system in their town, but if it means a hefty increase to their property taxes, they may vote against any improvements due to the potential for monetary loss; or they may simply not vote at all because their polling place is too far from their home, or the weather is bad on Election Day. Psychology Journal Archives
“Research in the field of entertainment-education demonstrates that narrative forms such as TV and radio can impact prosocial behaviors and attitudes. The current study addresses whether attitudes can also be affected by musical theater. Attitudes were assessed in 171 audience members before and after a professionally produced musical comedy that used social–cognitive principles to explore the theme of deer hunting. Measures included an 8-item Hunting Attitude Scale and an instrument assessing audience engagement (captivation, intellectual stimulation, emotional resonance, spiritual value, social cohesion/insight, and specific emotional reactions). A significant change was observed in attitudes targeted by the show. Audience members' reports of emotional engagement and insight were significantly related to hunting attitude change. Participants who had complex emotional reactions to the show (e.g., feeling both happy and sad) were significantly more likely than those who had only positive reactions to score higher on multiple engagement measures. Although previous research has found a link between strength of audience emotional involvement and personal efficacy, present results suggest an important additional role for complexity of emotional reaction.”
Overall, the study indicates that musical theater may be a promising method for promoting attitudinal change.
“So what’s the relationship between attitude and behavioral change?” you may be asking.
Behaviors usually, but not always, reflect established beliefs and attitudes. For example, a man who believes strongly in abstinence before marriage may choose to remain a virgin until his wedding night. Under other circumstances, that same man may engage in premarital sex despite his convictions after being influenced by social messages that his masculinity is dependent on sexual activity. Attitude is a feeling, belief, or opinion of approval or disapproval towards something. Behavior is an action or reaction that occurs in response to an event or internal stimuli (i.e., thought). People hold complex relationships between attitudes and behavior that are further complicated by the social factors influencing both.
Behavior can be influenced by a number of factors beyond attitude, including preconceptions about self and others, monetary factors, social influences (what peers and community members are saying and doing), and convenience. Someone may have strong convictions about improving the public school system in their town, but if it means a hefty increase to their property taxes, they may vote against any improvements due to the potential for monetary loss; or they may simply not vote at all because their polling place is too far from their home, or the weather is bad on Election Day. Psychology Journal Archives