The Center for Public Integrity teamed up with The Associated Press for this series examining the politics behind the nation’s opioid addiction epidemic.
It’s an epidemic that has cost 165,000 Americans their lives and surrounds the prescription opiod manufacturers with controversy.
Drug companies have developed a 50-state strategy to combat laws that would stem the tide of prescription painkillers, complete with lobbying and campaign contributions adding up to more than $880 million nationwide from 2006 through 2016.
