Though the drug death data isn’t limited to opioids, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has indicated that prescription opioids and heroin account for the majority of drug deaths.
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Data show more than 10 million opioid prescriptions issued statewide last year, down slightly from the previous two years.
Between 2006 and 2015, the drugmakers and their allies contributed more than $122,000 to state candidates and parties in MA, though data for 2015 is not complete.
Nationwide, the industry and its allies spent more than $880 million on lobbying and campaign contributions from 2006 through 2015 – more than 200 times what those advocating for stricter policies spent and eight times more than the influential gun lobby recorded for similar activities during that same period, the AP and Center for Public Integrity found.
Promising new research published by researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Health found that states that had legalized medical cannabis saw an overall reduction in fatal auto crashes in which one of the drivers had opioids in their system. FDA leaders said they decided requiring certification for prescribers would have been overly burdensome, disrupting care for patients and doctors. Last year, 227 million opioid prescriptions were doled out in the USA, enough to hand a bottle of pills to nine out of every 10 American adults.
The drug companies say they are committed to solving the problems linked to their painkillers. She said Hawaii is behind states with more aggressive laws, such as those that limit opioid prescriptions to a seven-day supply, but she and others are pushing to catch up.
OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty and agreed to pay more than $600 million in fines in 2007 for misleading the public about the risks of its drug.
Lawmakers across the country have started attempting to limit the flood of prescribing and prevent overdoses. Pat Tiberi, a Columbus-area Republican who chairs the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health.
New Mexico has been working for years to curb what has now been identified by the highest levels of government as a national epidemic. Among them were longtime players considered among the most influential advocates in Santa Fe. Among all states, Nevada has the highest portion of total political contributions that come from Pain Care Forum members. Some state officeholders saw tens of thousands of dollars in contributions.
The report comes as Arizona voters will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana in the November election – a campaign that has also seen big-money influence by an opioid maker. Patients must sign a treatment agreement that includes requirements of not sharing medication with others and consenting to drug testing if the doctor suspects abuse.
So far, lawmakers have introduced scores of bills on the topic, with at least 21 using almost identical language – some of it supplied by lobbyists.
The company said it supports a range of advocacy groups, including some with differing views on opioids.
The investigation by the AP and Center for Public Integrity comes as the number of overdose deaths from prescription painkillers has soared, claiming the lives of 165,000 people in the US since 2000. The bill passed unanimously and will take effect in October 2017. Powerful doctors’ groups are part of the fight in several states, arguing that lawmakers should not tell them how to practice medicine. By that measure, New Hampshire ranked ninth among the states.
Rick Dixon, the clinical supervisor at the Coeur d’Alene substance abuse treatment center Port Of Hope, said the state saw a spate of legislation created to curb methamphetamine use 10 years ago, but as meth use declined, heroin and opioid abuse increased. “ACS CAN’s only constituents are cancer patients, survivors, and their loved ones nationwide”, spokesman David Woodmansee said. But they did hear from a patient advocate with ongoing back pain who works with and volunteers for groups that receive some of their funding from pharmaceutical companies.
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Legislatures have begun considering limits on the length of first-time opioid prescriptions. Purdue said: “Purdue does not oppose – either directly or indirectly – policies that improve the way opioids are prescribed, including when those policies may result in decreased opioid use”. “It is imperative that we have legitimate policy debates without trying to silence those with whom we disagree”.
