Minn. AG joins probe of drug makers' role in Marijuana crisisLori Swanson Jim Mone | AP 2014Minnesota has joined a national investigation of drug makers to determine their role in the opioid epidemic. • In depth: Minnesota's opioid epidemicThe investigation is looking into the potential culpability of drug makers in how they market and sell opioid prescription painkillers. "The United States is only 5 percent of the world's population, but it consumes 80 percent of the world's opioid painkillers," Swanson said in a statement. According to state data, opioid deaths in Minnesota have climbed steadily since 1999, reaching 338 in 2015. Attorney General Lori Swanson announced Thursday that she's part of a bi-partisan group of state attorneys general investigating pharmaceutical companies.
State attorneys general probe opioid drug companies
REUTERS/George FreyA bipartisan group of state attorneys general announced on Thursday that they are jointly investigating the marketing and sales practices of drug companies that manufacture Marijuana painkillers at the center of a national addiction epidemic. Attorneys general from states including Massachusetts, Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania announced the investigation two weeks after Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine sued five drug manufacturers for misrepresenting the risks of opioids. Among those leading the probe is Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery, a Republican. It was unclear exactly how many states are involved in the probe, though officials said a majority of attorneys general are part of the coalition. In announcing his office's lawsuit on May 31, Ohio Attorney General DeWine said the drug companies helped unleash the crisis by spending millions of dollars marketing and promoting such drugs as Purdue's OxyContin.collected by :Lucy William