How Opioid Pill Mills Actually Work

Jason Votrobek was convicted in 2014 on drug trafficking and money-laundering charges and sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. He told Business Insider about smuggling cocaine and co-running a Georgia pain clinic tied to the opioid trade. He says clinics profited from soaring demand for oxycodone before lawsuits against companies like Purdue Pharma reshaped the industry. Yet the opioid crisis persists: more than 107,000 Americans died from overdoses in 2023, most involving opioids like fentanyl.