Opioid prescriptions still high in Mississippi
Companies that make prescription painkillers and their allies have contributed more than $366,000 to Mississippi candidates and hired an average of 18 lobbyists yearly in the state since 2006 to push their policies.
The spending comes as Mississippi's use of opioids reached the fifth-highest in the country last year.
A joint investigation by The Associated Press and the Center for Public Integrity found the organizations spent $880 million nationwide and hired an annual average of 1,350 lobbyists in state capitals around the country from 2006 through 2015. By comparison, groups seeking limits on opioid prescribing spent about $4 million.
Drugmakers and allied groups contributed to a total of 7,100 candidates for state-level office, according to the investigation, and hired more than 115 federal lobbying organizations each year during that 10-year period. The groups have an array of political interests that include opioid advocacy.
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