State AG And Others Pressure Congress to Crack Down on Drug Companies
Two bills are being moved through Congress and debated, and Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson and 38 other states are reportedly pushing them to be passed.
The two Senate Bills, one of them sponsored by WA Senator Maria Cantwell (D) would greatly increase penalties and fines for pharmaceutical companies and distributors when it comes to black market drugs. Monday, Ferguson and the other AG's sent a letter to Congress pressuring them to pass the bills.
Ferguson, who's already opened a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma over Oxycontin, says such companies should work much harder to prevent their medications from falling into the 'wrong' hands, especially the Black Market.
Ferguson says Purdue Pharma and others deceived consumers about the addictive qualities of their drugs by engaging in a massive national marketing campaign to encourage prescribing Oxycontin and other powerful narcotics. He also says they oversold the "painkilling" qualities of the drugs.
These new bills would hold drug companies more accountable for Black Market narcotics and potentially for issues and deaths resulting from misuse and overdoses.