marino.house.gov

We are fighting a Tsunami of addiction and deaths throughout the country. Any politicians giving free reign for pill mills to flourish and tie the hands of the DEA need congressional resources to investigate their ability to profit financially.

Marianne Skolek-Perez Global News Centre

(MYRTLE BEACH)   On October 19, 2014 I wrote an article for Global News Centre and Salem-News.com entitled “Congressman Tom Marino (PA) and Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (TN) “prescribe” Walgreens be unaccountable for errors in loss of lives …. Why?” A link to both articles regarding a bill they sponsored HR 4709 is shown below.

When my article was published by both newspapers, a congressional aide/press secretary to Tom Marino advised that he was going to “use congressional resources” to investigate not only me, but my newspaper editors. Unfortunately Congressman Marino did not explain the meaning of “abuse of power” to his congressional aide/press secretary. The facts in my article were researched and were accurate.

My article in 2014 concerning the Blackburn and Marino bill was written because it sparked my interest. We were fighting a huge prescription opioid health crisis and Bill HR 4709 tied the hands of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) big time. Consider if a pharmacy made a serious mistake with an opioid prescription, the offending pharmacy would not be sanctioned by the DEA. Rather it would only have to provide a remedy to the mistake in writing. Congresswoman Blackburn’s conflict with the DEA arose over HR 4709, the “Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2014″ because she and Congressman Tom Marino wanted a provision to make sure that ” law-abiding pharmacists aren’t swept up in efforts to bust the pill mills that sometimes consist of licensed pharmacies and doctors’ offices selling prescription painkillers illegally.”

But Mark Trouville, DEA special agent in charge of the Miami Field Division was quoted as saying “All DEA licensees have an obligation to ensure that medications are getting into the hands of legitimate patients. When they choose to look the other way, patients suffer and drug dealers prosper.”

In 2011, Congressman Marino introduced a bill that would exempt particular pharmacies from anti-trust laws. Five weeks later, the NCPA (a powerful pharmaceutical association) and ten of its member corporations began contributing a total of $47,500 to Marino’s campaign committee. A majority (56%) of Marino’s contributions can be tied to groups that either benefit directly from legislation the Congressman has authored or that regularly lobby on issues that come before the subcommittees Marino sits on.

In 2007, Congressman Marino resigned from his position as a U.S. Attorney in Pennsylvania after a Department of Justice investigation was launched against him for giving a reference to a convicted felon to operate slot machines. Marino claimed he had written permission from the Justice Department to issue the reference — the Justice Department confirmed Marino was being less than truthful. Marino resigned as U.S. Attorney and the internal probe against him was dropped by the Justice Department. He then took a position with the convicted felon earning $250,000 a year — until he was elected to Congress.

Last month President-Elect Donald Trump appointed Blackburn and Marino to his transition team. Could Mr. Trump consider Ms. Blackburn and Mr. Marino for administration positions as a stepping stone from the transition team? Hopefully no given their ties to the pharmaceutical industry as a prescription opioid/heroin epidemic ravages the U.S.

We are fighting a Tsunami of addiction and deaths throughout the country. Any politicians giving free reign for pill mills to flourish and tie the hands of the DEA need congressional resources to investigate their ability to profit financially.

President-elect Trump has been quoted as saying he is going to “drain the swamp” in Washington, DC. He may need to expand the swamp draining to Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Hopefully Mr. Trump will not allow the “alligators” with financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry in his administration.

http://www.globalnewscentre.com/congressman-tom-marino-pa-and-congresswoman-marsha-blackburn-tn-prescribe-walgreens-be-unaccountable-for-errors-in-loss-of-lives-why/#sthash.D6LvT7tL.dpbs. ;

http://salem-news.com/articles/october212014/pillmills-storefrontms.php

Back in 2012 I wrote an article about Walgreen and its huge supply of OxyContin in stock. Here is a link to the article http://www.salem-news.com/articles/september232012/pill-deaths-ms.php.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Global News Centre’s Marianne Skolek, is an Investigative Reporter who focuses on the Prescription Opioid/Heroin Epidemic in the U.S. and Canada. In particular, Marianne has covered the criminal marketing of OxyContin going back to 1999 and continuing to the present.

In 2002, Marianne lost her daughter, Jill to prescribed OxyContin which her physician referred to as “mobility in a bottle.” It was, in fact, death in a bottle. After doing extensive research on the maker of OxyContin, Purdue Pharma, Marianne began working with the Department of Justice in Virginia in their criminal investigation into Purdue Pharma and in July 2007 was asked by the U.S. Attorney John Brownlee prosecuting the case to testify against the three CEO’s of Purdue Pharma, Michael Friedman, Paul Goldenheim, MD and Howard Udell, Chief Counsel. The CEO’s pleaded guilty to misleading the medical profession about the dangers of OxyContin. Marianne also testified against Purdue Pharma at a Judiciary Hearing of the U.S. Senate in July 2007.

In addition, a dangerous and highly addictive opioid named Zohydro has been approved by the FDA against their Advisory Committee’s advice and Marianne continues to alert Attorneys General, Senators and Congressmen as to the FDA’s irresponsibility in the out of control prescription opioid/heroin epidemic killing and addicting in the tens of thousands each year. Zohydro has been referred to as “heroin in a capsule” and its lowest dosage (10mg) contains twice as much hydrocodone as found in a Vicodin pill. The highest single dose of Zohydro contains as much hydrocodone as 5 to 10 tablets of Vicodin or Lortab. Zohydro mixed with alcohol can be fatal and has no abuse deterrent built in which will make it easy to crush and deliver a fatal dose of the opioid.

Currently Marianne has been instrumental in calling for the termination of Margaret Hamburg, MD, Commissioner of the FDA as well as Bob A. Rappaport, MD and Douglas Throckmorton, MD for their lack of commitment to safeguarding the American public against the prescription opioid/heroin epidemic. Marianne’s research, writing and contact with government agencies and attorneys has also exposed the heavily funded pain foundations set up by the pharmaceutical industry and their paid physician spokespersons who convinced the medical boards in 50 states and Canada that dangerous opioids such as OxyContin were less likely to be addictive. These physicians — in particular Scott Fishman, MD, J. David Haddox, DDS, MD, Perry Fine, MD, Lynn R. Webster, MD, Russell Portenoy, MD also downplayed the risks of addictive opioids in books as authors. These books are still available for sale and promoted to the medical profession.

Here are links to Marianne’s involvement in exposing the national conspiracy of the prescription opioid/heroin epidemic, the FDA, the pharmaceutical industry, their pain foundations and paid physician spokespersons.

http://www.salem-news.com/by_author.php?reporter=Marianne%20Skolek

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmPG1VjD61U&list=UUWoHUEr4ZAbQOfIqtOArjgg&index=6&feature=plcp

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=855537227796352&set=vb.658186307531446&type=2&theater

Save