Author Recounts ‘Pill Mill’ Trial In Southern Ohio

The opioid epidemic has long devastated Appalachia. Drug overdose deaths are falling both within West Virginia and the United States, but the epidemic has already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the past two decades — including tens of thousands of West Virginians.

In part, addiction experts have traced the origins of the opioid epidemic to the over-prescription of painkillers. In the 2000s, facilities dubbed “pill mills” began popping up and distributing narcotics to individuals without medical documentation to support their need for the medication.

A doctor based in southern Ohio, Paul Volkman, stood trial in 2011 after being charged with operating such a facility between 2003 and 2006. Author and journalist Philip Eil’s father attended medical school with Volkman, and recounted the case in his new book, “Prescription for Pain.”

In the 2000s, many doctors took jobs in Appalachia “at these sketchy pain clinics that were almost always not affiliated with local hospitals, that were often owned by people who did not have medical backgrounds,” Eil said. This “opened this spigot of prescription drugs into an area that was really vulnerable.”

Ultimately, Volkman’s trial resulted in his conviction. He received the longest sentence given to any U.S. doctor for drug-related crimes during the opiate epidemic: four consecutive life sentences in prison.

Eil said his book includes more than a decade’s worth of correspondence with Volkman. Volkman’s crimes resulted in the deaths of several patients in Ohio and across the Ohio River in Kentucky; his trial also included testimony from a West Virginia pharmacist.

“In the book, it was really important to me to zoom out to tell that broader story of Appalachia and the opiate epidemic,” he said.

While the fallout from Volkman’s criminal proceedings came more than a decade ago, Eil said its lessons on accountability are still resonant for readers today, especially in Appalachia.

“The opiate epidemic, I always emphasize, is a manmade crisis. It’s not a natural disaster. It’s not a hurricane. It’s not an earthquake,” he said. “This has a lot of different people and institutions and organizations that are in some way responsible.”

Philip Eil will visit West Virginia bookstores this month on his promotional tour for the new book. You can find more information on the events on his website.