Inside big pharma's fight to block recreational marijuana

Pharma and alcohol companies have been quietly bankrolling the opposition to legal marijuana, raising questions about threats to market share
The Guardian (UK)
Saturday, October 22, 2016

In August, the pharmaceutical company Insys Therapeutics cited concerns for child safety when, with a $500,000 contribution, it became the largest donor to Arizona’s anti-legalization drive. But their stated concerns have raised a few eyebrows across the state. Insys manufactures Subsys, a prescription painkiller derived from fentanyl, the synthetic opioid that is up to 100 times more powerful than morphine. Critics say the Insys contribution in Arizona is a ploy to protect market share, mirroring other large donations to anti-marijuana campaigns by pharmaceutical and alcohol companies that fear the growing clout of legal marijuana. (See also: A maker of deadly painkillers is bankrolling the opposition to legal marijuana in Arizona)