Alabama State Bar President Honors Salem-News Investigative Reporter Marianne Skolek

Alabama bar president pays tribute to the efforts and spirit of our writer Marianne Skolek, who works tirelessly to expose the real motivations and stark realities of big pharmaceutical giants like Purdue Pharma.

Phillip W. McCallum

(BIRMINGHAM, AL) - The video below is from the JUST Story series with Phillip W. McCallum, attorney and President of the Alabama State Bar. (youtube.com/watch?v=tmPG1VjD61U&list=UUWoHUEr4ZAbQOfIqtOArjgg&index=6&feature=plcp)

Marianne Skolek

In this installment, Mr. McCallum pays tribute to the efforts and spirit of our writer Marianne Skolek, who works tirelessly to expose the real motivations and stark realities of big pharmaceutical giants like Purdue Pharma.

She is a mother who paid the ultimate price to this company. Marianne's daughter Jill died from an OxyContin-related respiratory failure.

Because of this unexpected human loss, Marianne took on the loving task of raising her grandson and at the same time, made the decision to battle the pharmaceutical giant Purdue which initially marketed the lethal OxyContin as a substance that was 'non-lethal' and 'non-addictive' by exposing the raw truth of this high dollar business that impacts so many families and individual lives.

Rudy Giuliani negotiated the agreement to keep Purdue Pharma's officials from going to prison. Current Attorney General Eric Holder also served as an attorney for the company at one point. Giuliani represented them in their Federal trial where Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty to being dishonest about the dangers of OxyContin.

These are the conditions that this mother and nurse-turned investigative reporter has been fighting under, while millions are continually invested into defending these deadly addictive drugs. The 'pill mills' and shady pain clinics come and go, but the legal and illegal dealers always reemerge in different venues. Between prescription and illegal use, Oxycontin and similar drugs have led to an alarming number of deaths in both the U.S. and Canada.

I appreciate the kind words of Alabama State Bar President-Elect Phillip W. McCallum and the credit he extends to Marianne Skolek, who is a Superwoman among activists and journalists.