Just after he was offered a job at Purdue Pharma, Michael Andersen was watching the news with his wife when a report came on. It was about abuse of Purdue’s pain pill OxyContin, the product he would be convincing doctors to prescribe to their patients at his new gig.“So we had to think about that," he told VICE News. “I mean, is this really what we want to do?”Ultimately, Andersen not only took the job at Purdue, but he went on to be one of the company's most productive employees. He even received an award for Salesman of the Year in 2008. For a time, that netted him large bonuses from the company.Andersen said he helped a lot people. But he also witnessed unscrupulous doctors in his sales territory divert pills to drug seekers and heard from doctors whose patients had become addicted.Andersen no longer works for Purdue. He doesn't blame them for OxyContin abuse, nor does he think that opioids should be taken off the market — partially because he depends on them to manage his own debilitating back pain.VICE News visited his home in Fontana, California, to hear why he still wants to stay in the business of pain.
This is the eighth installment of our series "World of Hurt," which examines the ways different regions are responding to the nation’s opioid crisis. If you or anyone you know would like to share their story as part of our ongoing coverage, please email Seth Dalton and Cassandra Giraldo at seth.dalton@vice.com and cassandra.giraldo@vice.com.Watch more episodes of “World of Hurt” hereThis segment originally aired April 12, 2018 on VICE News Tonight on HBO.Seth Dalton and Cassandra Giraldo contributed to this report.
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