The majority of doctors—the overwhelming majority of doctors—treated opioid painkillers such as OxyContin with appropriate caution. The medical community as a whole behaved admirably. They were thoughtful. They looked at the evidence. They heeded the wisdom of the Hippocratic Oath: First do no harm. But that was not enough to prevent us from the worst overdose crisis in history. Why? Because a tiny fraction of doctors was not so thoughtful. And that tiny fraction was enough to kick-start the epidemic. Once again we are well beyond the Law of the Few here. This is the Law of the Very, Very,
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