Doctor Defends Pharma Companies In Oklahoma Opioid Trial

On day 30 of Oklahoma's opioid trial, a doctor said he was paid by pharmaceutical companies to speak at medical conferences.

The state of Oklahoma's attorneys brought in several doctors throughout the trial.

Many of these doctors said they were paid to speak to other doctors about the benefits of opioids and the risks of them.           

Dr. Lynn Wester defended the pharmaceutical companies during the trial on July 10.          

Webster said he didn't do much work for Johnson & Johnson that he knows of, but never felt he was being used by pharmaceutical companies for his "influence" in the medical world.              

He said opioids can be dangerous, but also life saving, and that's what he talked about when speaking to people.

"I always lectured about how harmful they were," Webster said. "That's what I lectured about. I rarely said anything other than how harmful opioids were. It was all about risk mitigation and that they can cause overdose and death. I think that they did engage me because that's exactly what I said."

When asked if making money should be a drug company's priority, Webster told the attorney if drug companies made no money, there would be no innovation and improvement on important things, like finding the cure for cancer.