DENVER (AP) — Colorado's state legislators have been spared the intensive lobbying seen in other states by the pharmaceutical industry to oppose restrictions on prescription painkiller sales.
The National Institute on Money in State Politics says the industry spent more than $130,000 in state candidate contributions over the past decade in Colorado.
Those contributions came from the Pain Care Forum, a national network of drug firms and opioid-friendly groups. Nationally, the forum opposes regulations that would cut the availability or use of prescription opioids, especially painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin and fentanyl.
Colorado has enacted a law expanding access to Naloxone, a powerful drug that can stop overdoses from prescription painkillers and illegal drugs like heroin.
Another law removed criminal penalties, under certain conditions, for those who might hesitate to report drug overdoses to emergency responders.
