Kennedy asked to return $5,400 from opioid pushers

Senator Tim Kennedy (D-South Buffalo) is being asked by constituent groups to return $5,400 in campaign contributions that he has accepted from firms that have contributed to the Nation’s opioid epidemic.

Kennedy has accepted money from Allergan and Pfizer.  Allergan is being investigated for its role in the crisis by Attorney Generals in more than 41 states.  The firm sells two branded opioid products: Norco and Kadian.  The City of Chicago brought a lawsuit against Pfizer for deceptive marketing of opioids.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 80% of all new heroin users begin with using prescription opioids. The CDC says the number of fatal drug overdoses in 2016 was expected to top more than 64,000, more than the number of American troops lost in the Vietnam War.

Many of those deaths involve an opioid, either a legally prescribed narcotic or an illicit drug like heroin or fentanyl. Drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death in the US, killing more people than guns or car accidents.

Kennedy has only taken $5,400 in contributions from Allergan, Pfizer, and Pharmacy PAC of NYS, which spends heavily in State Senate elections; so the decision to return or donate the contributions should be an easy one.

His willingness to turn a blind eye while wining and dinning in Albany could become an electoral issue, certainly in Cheektowaga where the crisis has hit hard.

ALLERGAN USA, INC.	500	22-Dec-11	KENNEDY FOR SENATE	2012 January Periodic
PHARMACY PAC OF NYS	500	15-May-15	KENNEDY FOR SENATE	2015 July Periodic
PHARMACY PAC OF NYS	250	17-May-13	KENNEDY FOR SENATE	2013 July Periodic
PHARMACY PAC OF NYS	500	16-Jul-15	KENNEDY FOR SENATE	2016 January Periodic
PHARMACY PAC OF NYS	500	15-Oct-14	KENNEDY FOR SENATE	2014 11 Pre General
PHARMACY PAC OF NYS	300	11-Mar-14	KENNEDY FOR SENATE	2014 July Periodic
PHARMACY PAC OF NYS	500	11-Mar-14	KENNEDY FOR SENATE	2014 July Periodic
PHARMACY PAC OF NYS	250	19-Apr-12	KENNEDY FOR SENATE	2012 July Periodic
PHARMACY PAC OF NYS	100	6-Mar-12	KENNEDY FOR SENATE	2012 July Periodic
PFIZER PAC	300	20-Apr-17	KENNEDY FOR SENATE	2017 July Periodic
PFIZER PAC	500	22-Sep-11	KENNEDY FOR SENATE	2012 January Periodic
PFIZER PAC	300	26-May-16	KENNEDY FOR SENATE	2016 July Periodic
PFIZER PAC	300	12-Aug-14	KENNEDY FOR SENATE	2014 11 Pre Primary
PFIZER PAC	300	24-Jun-13	KENNEDY FOR SENATE	2013 July Periodic
PFIZER PAC	300	18-Jun-15	KENNEDY FOR SENATE	2015 July Periodic