They did not make billions from selling yet another opioid of which there are dozens available cheaply. They made billions by subverting the medical system largely though completely legal means. Essentially they sold yet another synthetic street drug through Doctors rather than on street corners. And this worked because they jumped through the correct hoops and advertised in the correct manner.
That mischaracterizes street drugs in production quality, goal, and financial model. Viagra is closer to the model of endorsed recreational usage.
If they went and produced 'Oxycotin gets you high and it is legal!' like a head shop the operation would have not reached multimillion dollar size before it got cracked down.
Jumping through the hoops is the part the system understands as important though.
Those two differences although irrelevant to end outcome being bad and condemnable are pretty damn big distinctions akin to claiming you "unleashed a savage wolf to attack unsuspecting children" when you sold out a pit bull puppy who was sourced from a dog fighting ring and the dog mauled a kid who yanked on his tail.
OxyContin was a massive street drug as it is and was literally sold on the street in massive quantities. The additional legal channel for the identical substance from the same manufacturer is both a legal and illegal at the same time. Which is why Bastiat‘s quote is so interesting in this context.
They did not make billions from selling yet another opioid of which there are dozens available cheaply. They made billions by subverting the medical system largely though completely legal means. Essentially they sold yet another synthetic street drug through Doctors rather than on street corners. And this worked because they jumped through the correct hoops and advertised in the correct manner.