{"product_id":"prescription-for-pain-how-a-once-promising-doctor-became-the-pill-mill-killer-1","title":"Prescription for Pain: How a Once-Promising Doctor Became the Pill Mill Killer","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn obsessive true crime investigation of a bizarre and unlikely perpetrator, who's serving the opioid epidemic's longest term for illegal prescriptions -- four life sentences \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWritten in the tradition of \u003ci\u003eI'll Be Gone in the Dark\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eTrue Crime Addict\u003c\/i\u003e, combining \u003ci\u003eDopesick's\u003c\/i\u003e heart rending portrayal of the epidemic's victims with \u003ci\u003eEmpire of Pain's\u003c\/i\u003e examination of its perpetrators \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis haunting and propulsive debut follows a journalist's years-long investigation into his father's old classmate: former high school valedictorian Paul Volkman, who once seemed destined for greatness after earning his MD and his PhD from the prestigious University of Chicago, but is now serving four consecutive life sentences at a federal prison in Arizona. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eVolkman was the central figure in a massive \"pill mill\" scheme in southern Ohio. His pain clinics accepted only cash, employed armed guards, and dispensed a torrent of opioid painkillers and other controlled substances. For nearly three years, Volkman remained in business despite raids by law enforcement and complaints from patients' family members. Prosecutors would ultimately link him to the overdose deaths of 13 patients, though investigators explored his ties to at least 20 other deaths. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis groundbreaking book is based on 12 years of correspondence and interviews with Volkman. Eil also traveled to 19 states, interviewed more than 150 people, and filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration that led to the release of nearly 20,000 pages of trial evidence. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe American opioid epidemic is, like this book, a true crime story. Through this one doctor's story, an era of unfathomable tragedy is brought down to a tangible, and devastating, human scale.","brand":"Steerforth Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51937014415591,"sku":"9781586423827","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0449\/4075\/5096\/files\/imageloader_11cb507f-af42-4a2c-87e0-0ffcc725a49e.jpg?v=1774996214","url":"https:\/\/arvidabookco.com\/products\/prescription-for-pain-how-a-once-promising-doctor-became-the-pill-mill-killer-1","provider":"Arvida Book Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}