Ron French: “It’s hard to deny that Congressman Rogers was definitely involved… in the opioid crisis.”
LANSING — On Bridge Michigan’s Elections FAQ yesterday, Bridge Michigan reporter Ron French discussed his reporting on Mike Rogers being a “leading advocate for expansion of opioid prescriptions,” and how “it’s hard to deny” that Rogers was “definitely involved… in the opioid crisis.”
French highlighted how Rogers “was considered a champion for the pharmaceutical industry at the time.” Rogers received “$226,000 in donations from companies, the same companies that are now paying billions of dollars to states including Michigan, for their role in expanding the opioid crisis” as well as “$162,000 from seven opioid distributors that supplied 83% of prescription opioids to Michigan during about a 13-year period.”
French discussed how Rogers’ work made opioids “available for people who became addicted and some of them actually died.”
Isabel Lohman, Bridge Michigan reporter: Ron, you did some really interesting reporting last week about Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers. He says his time in the FBI will help him address the opioid epidemic, but an investigation, by you, finds that Rogers while in Congress supported efforts to expand access to these drugs. Ron, was Rogers’ views about opioids unique amongst lawmakers at the time?
Ron French, Bridge Michigan reporter: Sure, thank you for that question. The 2000s, when Mike Rogers was in Congress, was just an incredibly critical moment in what we now call the opioid crisis. It was a time when opioid prescriptions were increasing and so were addictions and deaths and something we’re still battling today. The reason we did the story is because when looking back through the records, we found that Mike Rogers was a leading advocate for expansion of opioid prescriptions.
French: Unfortunately, the downside of that is it also made them available for people who became addicted and some of them actually died.
Lohman: Yeah that’s an unfortunate reality. Of what we saw, you also looked into the
drug companies’ campaign contributions into Rogers’ previous campaigns. What did
you find?
French: …[Rogers] was considered a champion for the pharmaceutical industry at the time. For example, Rogers received $226,000 in donations from companies, the same companies that are now paying billions of dollars to states including Michigan, for their role in expanding the opioid crisis. He received $162,000 from seven opioid distributors that supplied 83% of prescription opioids to Michigan during about a 13-year period. So it’s hard to deny that Congressman Rogers was definitely involved… in the opioid crisis.
See also: Bridge Michigan: Mike Rogers vows to fight drug war, but urged opioid access in Congress.
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