For opioid victims, payouts fall short while governments reap millions

Christopher Julian's opioid journey is familiar to many Americans.

He was prescribed painkillers as a teenager for a series of sports injuries. He said the doctor never warned him they could be addictive. Julian didn't learn that fact until years later, when he was cut off and began suffering withdrawal symptoms. At that point, he started siphoning pills from family members and buying them from others in his southern Maine community.

After his brother died of brain cancer in 2011, Julian used opioids to cope with more than physical pain.