The horrors of opioid addiction, greed, corporate interests, and the exploitation of the drug and patients are nothing new, and shows like “Dopesick” have done a great job of putting the epidemic in a great cultural, capitalistic and political context. But a new true-crime documentary, “American Pain” is showing one specific slice of the story that’s almost too unbelievable to believe.
Directed by Darren Foster, “American Pain” is the story of twin brothers and bodybuilders Chris and Jeff George, who operated a franchise of pain clinics in Florida where they handed out pain pills like candy.
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While operating through the black market, Jeff had met a physician who acted as a coach. With his guidance, the South Florida Pain Center was opened. By the end of the year, they had multiple locations and lines of people wrapping around the block daily. This almost-too-outrageous-to-be-true story debuting at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival weaves hundreds of hours of wiretap recordings, undercover videos, and exclusive interviews with both key players and rivals of the Georges’ business.
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One critical voice at the clinic was Derik Nolan, a man essentially in charge of security. He was the George Brothers called when things needed to get done. And now, he is telling his side of the story and the horrible, callous greed and exploitation the brother profited from. Ahead of the world premiere of “American Pain,” we are pleased to debut the following exclusive clip from the documentary. Watch it below.
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