Compared to the rest of the country, OH ranked 32nd in the nation for PCF contributions, and 43 for average number of lobbyists per year. And the companies and their nonprofit allies have a major presence as lobbyists in Trenton.
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Drug-makers that produce opioid painkillers and allied advocacy groups spent more than $880 million on campaign contributions and lobbying over the past decade to influence state and federal policies, the investigation found.
The investigation by AP and CPI found that the Pain Care Forum worked in Washington over the past decade to quietly derail efforts to curb US consumption of pain-killing drugs, such as OxyContin, by promoting the vital role of prescription painkillers in Americans’ lives.
“They have been writing prescriptions for more painkillers than people need”, Cuomo said.
The drugmakers and allied advocacy groups – such as the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network – also employed an annual average of 1,350 lobbyists in state capitals from Olympia to Tallahassee during that span, when opioids’ addictive nature came under increasing scrutiny.
Ten New Jersey legislators received at least $25,000 in campaign contributions from 2006 through 2015 from companies that make opioids and other groups that participate in the Pain Care Forum, which includes opioid makers and nonprofit groups.
Dixon said he doesn’t expect to see much legislation targeting opioid abuse until the matter becomes politicized, much like the creation of Mothers Against Drunk Driving helped lead to a national minimum drinking age. Contributions to Hawaii candidates from companies that manufacture opioids amounted to less than $40,000 from 2009 to 2014, about 1 percent of the campaign spending that poured into California.
In New Jersey, a state where drug companies have offices and headquarters, the reasons for the donations go beyond opioid policy. “Butch” Otter and more than $5,000 each for several Idaho lawmakers in positions to set legislative agendas or on health-related committees. That 81-percent increase is the 7th highest among US states over the period, the analysis found.
Gov. Chris Christie, who has championed measures to deal with addiction as a disease, and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno received more than $35,000 in contributions from forum participants. Only one group advocating stricter opioid laws and regulations made a donation to a New Hampshire candidate during that time.
New Hampshire had 886,243 prescriptions for opioids in 2015, or a per capita rate of.67. Frank Pallone leading the way at more than $450,000. A spokeswoman said Friday that Kasich has never allowed campaign contributions to affect the work of his office.
Hawaii’s isolation may contribute to its high overdose rate, because the quality of drugs brought onto the islands is inconsistent, Lenze said.
Pallone helped usher through Congress a bill signed into law earlier in July dealing with addiction and treatment.
The investigation looked at the 50-state strategy of contributions and lobbying by the Pain Care Forum – a coalition of drug-makers, trade groups and nonprofits supported by industry funding that has flown under the radar until now.
A second bill introduced this year would have kept insurance companies from key limitations on abuse-deterrent opioids.
Conaway, a physician, has not held hearings on the measure in his committee.
The drugs are hard to crush or dissolve, though they are no less addictive.
Both the academy and the cancer group have been active across the country, making the case that lawmakers should balance efforts to address the opioid crisis with the needs of chronic pain patients.
New Jersey lawmakers adopted legislation previous year to require coverage of the drugs, but the measure was vetoed by Gov. Chris Christie, who cited questions about effectiveness and the cost to taxpayers.
The number of overdose deaths increased 10 percent from 2006 to 2014.
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The drugmakers vow they’re combating the addiction epidemic, but The Associated Press and the Center for Public Integrity found that they often employ a statehouse playbook of delay and defend that includes funding advocacy groups that use the veneer of independence to fight limits on their drugs, such as OxyContin, Vicodin and fentanyl, the narcotic linked to Prince’s death. That puts its rate that year at 1.03 prescriptions per capita, the sixth-highest rate in the country.
