On Friday, Spectrum News reported that J.D. Vance, the Republican venture capitalist running for Senate in Ohio, has pulled out of a planned fundraiser after reporters uncovered the host as a key figure in the opioid epidemic.
Vance is facing off against Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan to fill the seat vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman.
"A weekend fundraiser for Ohio U.S. Senate candidate JD Vance was abruptly canceled Friday after Spectrum News notified the Vance campaign it would report the host is one of several Ohio pain doctors cited in a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma and others for the amount of opioids they prescribed and the amount of money they received from major drug companies," reported Taylor Popielarz.
"The fundraiser was scheduled for Saturday at the Cincinnati home of Dr. Rajbir Minhas. 'The Asian Indian Alliance invites you to [a] special reception with Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance,' according to a copy of the invitation obtained by Spectrum News," said the report. "The sweeping lawsuit was filed by Medical Mutual of Ohio against Purdue Pharma and other drug makers, distributors and pharmacies for their roles in the opioid crisis. In an updated filing in 2018, Medical Mutual of Ohio listed Minhas and 11 other Ohio doctors in a section focusing on a widespread industry practice of drug manufacturers paying doctors to pitch opioids to their colleagues. The filing alleges the companies 'regularly used' these “speaker program monies to reward ‘high writer’ Ohio doctors.'"
Ohio is one of the worst affected states by the opioid epidemic, which was particularly concentrated in rural Appalachian communities due to the region's disproportionate manual-labor employment injuries and lack of funding for alternative forms of pain treatment.
This is not the first time Vance, who was catapulted to national fame by his book "Hillbilly Elegy" describing his younger experience of the problems in the rural Midwest, has come under scrutiny for his ties to the pharmaceutical industry. Earlier this year, it was reported he once worked for a white-shoe law firm that represented Chinese companies lobbying on behalf of Purdue Pharma.
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