The Drug Bust That Never Happened

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Toby Talbot/AP Photo
The U.S. government considers OxyContin, a prescription drug, to have a “high potential for abuse.”
Photo: OxyContin pill bottle
OxyContin pills are arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt.

Investigators from the Drug Enforcement Administration's Denver office say they had a powerful case against the nation's largest drug company. But, as Washington Post reporter Lenny Bernstein tells Colorado Matters host Nathan Heffel, investigators say justice department attorneys and the DEA's own lawyers stepped in and let the McKesson Corporation get away with a slap on the wrist. The story is part of a joint reporting effort by the Washington Post and "60 Minutes."

An earlier version of the aired interview noted that heroin and fentanyl use was dropping in Colorado. Data shows that overdose deaths from those drugs are rising.