But an investigation by The Associated Press and the Center for Public Integrity found that they often employ a statehouse playbook of delay and defend.

Tiberi, who received the second-highest amount from the Pain Care Forum of any OH politician, has also taken stances against heroin and opioids in recent years.

In 2015, Healey pushed for legislation - later signed into law by Baker - making trafficking of fentanyl a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Utah legislators, state officials and political parties received the fifth-highest amount of contributions in the nation, collecting at least $298,000 in donations since 2006, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics. Yet a researcher whose work contributed to the number said it was being misquoted, since most people included in the figure had common pain ailments and managed them without opioids.

In 2010, Sargent sponsored a bill that authorized physicians to refer workers' compensation patients for "pain management" treatment and limited their treatment to one year. The company said in a statement that it contributes to a range of advocates, including some with differing views on opioid policy.

A bill that would require insurance companies to cover opioid antagonists for individuals deemed by his or her health care provider as at-risk for an overdose passed the Senate on a 44-2 vote and passed multiple House committees, but it was not brought to the floor by House leadership. By comparison, groups advocating for limits on opioid prescribing spent about $4 million.

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Across the state, the ratio of prescriptions to patients exceeds national averages.

"The idea of people being able to travel to different pharmacies is getting harder and harder", Anderson said. "I don't keep track of it".

In Ohio, that pushed those who got their drugs from doctors to buying drugs on the street. The subcommittee deals with numerous issues of interest to the pain-management industry. In 2011 he introduced legislation that would have required insurers to cover "tamper-resistant" opioids. MA - hit hard by the opioid overdose epidemic - has worked to pass tough restrictions on the drugs. Evidence, too, is mixed on whether those formulations actually prevent abuse. "Overall, we thought it was good". Washington state came in third. The money comes from members of the Pain Control Forum — a group that touts prescription opioids as having a vital role in improving the quality of life for millions of Americans.

Drugmakers and allied advocacy groups employed a yearly average of 1,350 lobbyists in legislative centers. He didn't mention pharmaceutical companies in those remarks. Pfizer also is seeking FDA approval for a long-acting drug with abuse-resistant properties called Troxyca ER.

Prescription opioids are the cousins of heroin and are prescribed to relieve pain. It's a mixture of the opioid hydrocodone and the primary ingredient in Tylenol. Federal lawmakers from Idaho saw even bigger contributions, including more than $121,000 for U.S. Sen.

"I'm not as concerned about the number of prescriptions per capita as I am with the length of the prescription", Hill said.