Of course the illegal opiate industry wouldn't overtly lobby politicians. But I think we all know that "distasteful" things are routinely done through intermediaries to avoid scandal.
This opioid problem has been festering for quite a while now. I recall a story where big pharma had synthesized a new opioid that was far stronger than even fentanyl. They went to the regulators to get it approved. All the experts told the regulators that there was no need, even in the most extreme cases, for anything stronger than what was already available. Despite that, the regulators approved the new synthetic. That smells like the flow of corrupt money to me. That's what originally piqued my interest in this subject.
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