“I think the answer to the question is: It’s imperative that we find the time. It’s imperative that we take ownership over our bodies and our health,” he reasoned. “Because the government is fallible and pharmaceutical companies are governed by the bottom line.”
McDorman added that it’s not just underprivileged communities that are afflicted by addiction. The Greek actor said that prior to this project, he wouldn’t have thought that he could become hooked on OxyContin, but now, “when I get prescribed the medication, specifically a painkiller, my first thought is: I better be careful with this… This is dangerous.”
In a way, Hoogenakker, Keaton and more signed on to the project with the hope of righting the wrongs of Big Pharma. Because, as Hoogenakker told E! News, entire communities were “maligned in service of pharmaceutical profits.”
The actor, who was born and raised in North Carolina, reasoned that people feel far removed from the opioid epidemic, because addicts have been painted in such an extreme light. Beth Macy, who wrote the book the series is based on, previously told CBS News, “In those early years, [pharmaceutical companies] were always blaming the overdose deaths, the skyrocketing crime, especially in these distressed, rural areas, on the people that were misusing their drugs.”
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