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It's late August 2001 in a municipal building in Ben Salem, Pennsylvania.

Purdue form a chief operating officer Michael Friedman rises from his chair and holds up his right hand.

He swears to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,

and he takes a seat and waits for the questioning to begin.

Today, Friedman has been called to testify in front of members of Congress for a subcommittee

in the House of Representatives. These kinds of hearings usually take place in Washington,

but Jim Greenwood, the subcommittee chair, chose to hold the meeting in a working class community

about 30 minutes outside Philadelphia, one which has been hit hard by opioid abuse.

Ben Salem has been experiencing one tragedy after another, the kind of story Friedman increasingly

has to publicly address. His company, Purdue Pharma, sells oxycontin, America's best-selling

painkiller. The drug is a powerful opioid capable of bringing relief to people suffering

agonizing pain, but increasingly, it's become associated with addiction and abuse.

Purdue is now facing civil lawsuits and mounting criticism from all sides.

Oxycontin is also staggeringly profitable for Purdue. This year, it's on track to bring in

over a billion dollars in revenue. It's heartbreaking to see what's happening in communities

like Ben Salem, but for high-ranking executives like Friedman, defending oxycontin and protecting

the company's profits has become a central part of the job.

Congressman Greenwood finishes giving his opening remarks and starts his questioning.

Well, Mr. Friedman, thank you for being here today. I want to begin by getting clarification on

a matter. Does Purdue have data on exactly how much oxycontin is prescribed and who is prescribing it?

...