American Pain

How a Young Felon and His Ring of Doctors Unleashed America's Deadliest Drug Epidemic

By: John Temple

Narrated by: Charlie Thurston

Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

The king of the Florida pill mills was American Pain, a megaclinic expressly created to serve addicts posing as patients. From a fortresslike former bank building, American Pain's doctors distributed massive quantities of oxycodone to hundreds of customers a day, mostly traffickers and addicts who came by the vanload. Inked muscleheads ran the clinic's security. Former strippers operated the pharmacy, counting out pills and stashing cash in garbage bags. Under their lab coats, the doctors carried guns, and it was all legal...sort of.

American Pain chronicles the rise and fall of this game-changing pill mill and how it helped tip the nation into its current opioid crisis. The narrative, which swings back and forth between Florida and Kentucky, is populated by a diverse cast of characters. This includes the incongruous band of wealthy bad boys, thugs, and esteemed physicians who built American Pain as well as the penniless Kentucky clans who transformed themselves into painkiller trafficking rings. It includes addicts whose lives were devastated by American Pain's drugs and the federal agents and grieving mothers who labored for years to bring the clinic's crew to justice.

©2015 John Temple (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Journalism professor Temple dissects the Georges' criminal operation and documents the rise and fall of American Pain with precision and authority in this highly readable true crime account." ( Publishers Weekly)

Worst part is that it was almost legal

The first thing I will note is that I found the characters a little difficult to keep straight - they all seemed very similar to each other in attitude and behaviour so when they referred to each other, it would take me a second to figure out which was the head guy and which the 'muscle', etc.

The second thing of note is that the 'vignette' stories chosen to demonstrate just how bad this Oxy issue is were a bit scattered, or perhaps the better word is thin... the author spent 80% of the book looking at the main characters and their drug marketing process but the 20% which looked at (real) people's issues with the drug, or the company, seemed randomly inserted. Sure, they were interesting, but the flow was not really logical - we read 4 chapters about the business, then a vignette chapter about an addict dying from a drug overdose, then 2 chapters of business, then a chapter with another set of characters drug addiction, etc. There didn't seem to be a pattern, unless it was meant to be a time-scale thing, but that was not clear.

I did, however, Google this organization when I finished the book and it seems the story was based on real characters, and real addicts, so perhaps the weird addition of certain addicts' details was because those were the ones whose information was public due to lawsuits, or whatever... and the rest of the addicts' story were just a conglomeration of stories blended together.

Anyway, all that being said, I couldn't put the book down. I don't understand how they were allowed to run this business this way, and/or why they had to go so far with it that they got arrested... because until some (unclear) tipping point, what they were doing was legal (which is sad in and of itself). Though I suppose once you start making so much money each day that you have to put it into garbage cans, you might realize you probably crossed a line somewhere.

The narration is fine. There is no graphic content but, of course, the material discusses drugs and drug addiction.

Eye opening book

Professor Temple shows how lax Florida laws were so outrageous that the criminals who ran the pill mills could not even believe they were allowed to do it until their greed and overwhelming evidence caught up to them. Compared to the millions of pills they put on
the streets all involved got off light especially the so called doctors.

Outstanding

If you could sum up American Pain in three words, what would they be?

A great story

What did you like best about this story?

The author paced the story perfectly; providing just enough detail and clarity, without ever getting bogged down in one part of the story. He drew all of it together seamlessly. This book was very well written. The author knows how to tell a story and did so effectively here.

What about Charlie Thurston’s performance did you like?

He inconsistently used accents for some of the characters involved in the story, and it was unintentionally hilarious. Yet, at the same time, I think it may have added to the story. He did a solid job overall. I enjoyed his performance.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It was a tragic story that never should have happened. All of the participants in the pain clinics clearly have some culpability. But the real villian in this story is the State of Florida who inexplicably allowed clinics like this to exist in the first place.

Any additional comments?

The author did a fantastic job telling the story.

Amazing!

I have a family member who was sucked into the ease of obtaining prescription narcotics in the early 2000's. It gives me a strange sense of comfort that others were affected just as much or even more so.

This story made me angry.

Well written, researched, and performed. Highly recommended. Trigger warning for anyone whose life has been turned upside down due to someone's opioid abuse.

Inspirational

I go through a lot of business books, and it is rare that I find one as inspiring as American Pain. It reminds you that you don't need to be born into wealth to start a successful business. At the same time, many successful companies can find themselves in trouble when they grow too quickly. Read this book. Learn from the mistakes of these entrepreneurs.

I had no idea this happened.

I must have lived in a cave during this time period, because this was a topic I knew nothing about. What a fascinating story. The author does a great job presenting the information. It reads like a novel - I was so engrossed in the story I had trouble putting it down. I thought the narrator did a great job with the voices.

Couldn't stop listening

Very good story and very well written!! You won't want to stop listening!! Buy it!!

American Pain enabled callous greed

American Pain is a well written and well-documented example of how the legal system was not prepared for the onslaught of pain medications entering the market. Pharma, doctors, pain clinics, and greedy bad actors were allowed to make money off of loose regulations. Addicts were easy targets for exploitative practices.

Great book no weak points

Yeah it’s just simply brilliant. I’ve listened twice. I’ll probably
listen again. Sadly enough, a true snapshot of American History. I despise the entrepreneurs. What worthless slime. Assembled in the tragic hell of Florida. Jesus God. It’s so ugly. Be glad, those whom were never even close to this evil. F these guys. And sad pity upon their prey. Yeah, don your polyester wide collars, Mercedes, meaningless futile predatory existence and worthless presence. F You. F You. Just die.