pills,” Van Zee said. Van Zee didn’t yet grasp what was truly driving the furious rate of overprescription. Sales-rep bonuses were growing exponentially, from $1 million in 1996, the year OxyContin hit the market, to $40 million in 2001. New patients were given OxyContin “starter coupons” for free prescriptions—redeemable for a thirty-day supply—
