U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri and her sordid investigation!
Claire McCaskill and Orrin Hatch
Orrin Hatch is working for the wrong side…
Marianne Skolek-Perez Global News Centre
(MYRTLE BEACH) Someone may want to inform Senator Claire McCaskill that her recent call for an investigation into the prescription opioid epidemic was already launched by the U.S. Finance Committee in 2012 and as of 2017 there is still no report. So why would McCaskill demand action on an epidemic killing in the thousands every year when she is aware the waters are not unchartered? Let me try to enlighten those people, including McCaskill, why not everyone is buying what she is selling.
The initial call for an investigation by the U.S. Finance Committee into the prescription opioid health crisis was launched by U.S. Senators Max Baucus (Montana) and Chuck Grassley (Iowa) who have since moved on to greener pastures. They were succeeded by Senators Orrin Hatch (Utah), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and Ron Wyden (Oregon). Baucus and Grassley began an investigation in May 2012 into the ties of pharmaceutical giants Purdue Pharma, Endo Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson with pharma funded pain foundations and physicians who pushed for the increased use of prescription painkillers aka opioids. This push for physicians to prescribe painkillers was by the pharmaceutical companies and their paid foundations and physician spokespersons to advocate for the “under treatment of pain”.
Below are links to articles I have written since 2012 asking where the report was and more importantly where the outrage from families losing loved ones to the prescription opioid epidemic was.
McCaskill sent letters to Purdue Pharma, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Insys Therapeutics, Mylan, and Depomed, which she said make the top-five-selling prescription painkillers. She is seeking sales and marketing materials, any studies the companies might have conducted about the addictive properties of their drugs, information on compliance with legal settlements and figures on donations to advocacy groups.
Does someone want to ask Senator McCaskill why she did not include in her “waste of taxpayer money investigation” the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical company, Mallinckrodt who manufactures oxycodone and fentantyl and have been under U.S. Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) investigation for their contributions to the prescription opioid death toll? In fact, Mallinckrodt reached a $35 million settlement to resolve its monitoring and reporting of suspicious orders of controlled substances.
McCaskill did not call out Mallinckrodt because they are headquartered in her home state of Missouri. Something to hide Senator?
Now getting back to the good senator’s “Joan of Arc” fight for the families who have lost loved ones to the prescription opioid epidemic, may I make a suggestion to you Senator McCaskill? Hop a plane to Utah and bring back the sealed copy of the original investigation into the prescription opioid epidemic launched in 2012. Senator Orrin Hatch has sealed the report. Why would you be launching an investigation into a life and death crisis when you have to be aware that a report has already been conducted by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee?
You might want to ask Senator Hatch why he sealed the report as the death toll mounts?
While you are confronting Senator Hatch as to his unethical sealing of a report that the American people are entitled to have Senator McCaskill — and could save tens of thousands of lives — ask Mr. Hatch if he knows anything about a pain clinic in Salt Lake City, Utah. You might need to refresh Senator Hatch’s memory though so I will help you out. There was a pain clinic headed by Lynn R. Webster, MD in Salt Lake City, Utah. There was a DEA raid on the clinic when patients were dying. Rumor was up to 100 deaths. A U.S. Attorney in Utah was investigating the deaths. Lawsuits were filed and settled out of court by victim families. The pain clinic was shut down and the U.S. Attorney closed his investigation. Webster moved out of the pain clinic business when there were ripplings that his license to prescribe opioids was suspended. He reinvented himself and now is an “expert” on the research of the attributes of prescription opioids.
There couldn’t possibly be a connection between the sealing of a U.S. Finance Committee investigation report on the prescription opioid epidemic, Senator Hatch and Dr. Webster now could there Senator McCaskill? And then there is your allegiance to Mallinckrodt headquartered in your state of Missouri. Too sordid to even imagine, don’t you think?
http://salem-news.com/articles/november262012/baucus-grassley-ms.php
https://twitter.com/MarianneSkolek
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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
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