“What happens next?” Bosch asked.
“The pills get distributed,” Edgar said.
“They hit the streets, go to the addicts. Fifty-five thousand dead and counting
since this all started. Almost as many as we lost in the Vietnam War. That is
sadly quantifiable, but the money, forget it. It’s off the charts. So many
people are making money off this crisis—it’s the growth industry of this
country. Remember what they used to say about the banks and Wall Street being
too big to fail? It’s like that. But too big to shut down.”
“David and Goliath,” Bosch said.
“Worse than that,” Edgar said. “Let me tell
you one story that to me says it all. Opiate addiction, in case you don’t know,
clogs the pipes. It stunts the gastrointestinal tract. Bottom line is, you
can’t shit. So one of the big pharmaceutical companies comes up with a
prescription laxative that does the job and costs about twenty times what your
over-the-counter laxative runs. The next thing you know the pharma’s stock goes
through the roof. They’re selling so much of this that they’re advertising on
national television. Of course, they don’t say dick about addiction or anything
like that. They just show some guy mowing the lawn and, oh, he can’t shit, so
get your doctor to give you this. So now you’ve got Wall Street invested and
the national media selling ads. Everybody is making bank, Harry, and when that
happens it can’t be stopped.”
“I thought they were trying to change things
in Washington,” Lourdes offered. “You know, new laws, putting a big focus on
this.”
“Not likely,” Edgar said. “The pharmas are
major campaign contributors. Nobody’s going to bite the hand that feeds them.” (ibid,
pp 103-104)
