Lobbyist Efforts to Weaken Anti-Opioid Measures Lackluster in Massachusetts: AP

BOSTON, MA — Prescription painkiller makers have been pushing hard to soften state laws reining in the addictive painkillers fueling a national drug crisis, but they appear to have had less success in such bids in Massachusetts.

That's according to the Associated Press and the Center for Public Integrity, who report drugmakers who claim to be combating the addiction epidemic have "adopted a 50-state— including hundreds of lobbyists and millions in campaign contributions — to resist proposals to rein in drugs like OxyContin, Vicodin and fentanyl."

Despite that effort, Massachusetts' newly passed anti-opioid legislation is considered one of the strongest efforts in the country to tamp down on opioid-related deaths that have continued to climb through 2016. That rate so far has already surpassed the number of such overdose deaths in Massachusetts in 2015.

Read More: Governor Signs Opioid Abuse Prevention Bill Into Law

Mass. Opioid-Related Overdoses Continue Deadly Climb in 2016

The AP and Center for Public Integrity report that Massachusetts ranked 46th in the nation in its tally of candidate and party contributions made by drugmakers from 2006-2015.

The grand total for Massachusetts was $122,000, they report.

According to their report, that breaks down something like this:

• $16,000+: Gov. Charlie Baker (R), going back to 2009 (but bear in mind that Baker has a reported nearly $4 million in his campaign account)
• $3,600: House Speaker Robert DeLeo (D), since 2006
• $200:Senate President Stan Rosenberg (D)
• $750: Attorney General Maura Healey (D)

Reporters on the story attribute these relatively measly sums to the fact that "Massachusetts — hit hard by the opioid overdose epidemic — has worked to pass tough restrictions on the drugs."

Read the full story from the AP here.

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