In a fair and sensible world, social and medical policies would be worked out on the basis of the best evidence about the pluses and minuses of available choices about what to encourage, discourage, allow, disallow, etc.
However, in the emotional medical cannabis debate, with its 80 year overlay of never-warranted prohibition, some stray far from these standards, playing fast and loose with the public’s best interests, evidence and even illegal and unethical life-threatening actions.
Protecting and expanding opioid distribution as the only mainstay approach to chronic pain is a particular motive here. One such company in particular is Insys, now facing criminal charges from the State of Arizona.
“Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich says Insys has been deceptive and fraudulent in their marketing and selling of Subsys, a spray form of [the powerful and frequently deadly synthetic opioid drug] Fentanyl. Charges were officially filed late last month.
‘Insys lied to insurers, concealed key facts from doctors and patients, and paid doctors sham ‘speaker fees’ in exchange for writing prescriptions, all in order to increase the sales of Subsys, without regard for the health and safety of patients,’ Brnovich said. ‘Insys made hundreds of millions of dollars from its deceptive scheme, but also put countless patients in harm’s way, exposing them to unacceptable and unnecessary risks of addiction and death.’
Insys was ALSO the company which was found to have contributed $500,000 to a campaign to defeat a cannabis law reform measure in AZ in 2016. “Since then, Insys has received Schedule II approval for their own synthetic THC drug, Syndros,” which doesn’t require any cannabis law reforms.
The company’s also a repeat offender: “Insys has paid settlements of various lawsuits over the years in Illinois, New Hampshire and Oregon.”
As the debate goes on in Utah, we realize reformers are up against various vested interests and we caution citizens to evaluate defamatory claims by looking carefully at their sources.
And for the record, TRUCE receives no support from the makers of any medical cannabis products. The only parties we advocate for from our founding through today are patients and caretakers.
#MMJ #Insys #Drugcos #AZpol #DirtyPool #UTpol
http://ift.tt/2y0Ihij
See full article – Opioid Maker That Fought AZ Marijuana Legalization in More Trouble | The Marijuana Times
