The Rise and Fall of Original OxyContin: A Rhetorical Study of Blame, Scapegoating, and Our Unrelieved Pain

Perhaps one of the most notorious prescription painkillers on the market, OxyContin may be the best documented opioid in the country. The Rise and Fall of Original OxyContin traces how blame shifted among drug makers, regulators, doctors, patients, and others over time, leaving some as scapegoats.

Michael J. Madson is an Assistant Professor at Arizone State University, where he teaches on technical communication and user experience. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. His research interests include how communication impacts health and wellness, focusing primarily on drugs. He is the founding organizer of the Conference on Teaching Writing in the Health Professions (WIHPcon) and has served as a consultant for the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In 2016, he earned his doctorate in rhetoric and scientific and technical communication from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.