John Oliver Takes a Closer Look at the Opioid Addiction Epidemic in the US on ‘Last Week Tonight’

Here’s a clip from last night’s Last Week Tonight, where John Oliver takes a closer look at opioid addiction in the US and how doctors prescribing painkillers to patients who don’t need them – not to mention the deceptive marketing of drug companies like Perdue and Cephalon – has resulted in an addiction crisis to painkillers as well as heroin. “This is going to take a massive effort and a significant investment. It won’t be cheap, it won’t be quick, and it won’t be easy. And it is hard not to be angry at the drug companies like Perdue whose promise of cheap, quick, easy pain solutions helped put us in this fucking mess,� Oliver says. “Because while they may not be solely responsible, if you were to ask me if they bear significant blame for reckless, greedy behavior which contributed to this massive public health crisis, I might not say yes exactly, but I would definitely say ‘Uh huh.’�