NASHUA, N.H. — In today’s Union Leader, Opioid Lobbyist Cinde Warmington is offering yet another excuse for lobbying for Purdue Pharma: she was duped. Instead of apologizing to Granite Staters for her work as an opioid lobbyist for Purdue Pharma and a notorious pill mill, Warmington continues to lie to cover up her decades of work.
“Opioid Lobbyist Cinde Warmington is offering yet another excuse in a desperate attempt to distract from her disqualifying record,” said Ayotte campaign spokesman John Corbett. “Voters know Warmington is lying to downplay her advocacy on behalf of Purdue Pharma and a notorious pill mill, and they will reject her in November.”
Hillsborough County Sheriff Brian Newcomb added, “Warmington lied then and she’s lying now. I saw firsthand the damage her work for the opioid industry did to our state, and she’s disqualified from serving as Governor.”
Highlights from “Warmington: Purdue Pharma duped me into becoming opioid lawyer/lobbyist” by Kevin Landrigan in today’s Union Leader:
“A quarter century ago, little was known about Purdue Pharma’s drug prescribing practices that got citizens hooked on opioids, Warmington said… At the same legislative hearing where Warmington called OxyContin a ‘miracle drug,’ then-Health and Human Services Commissioner Donald Shumway testified the savings for the taxpayer were ‘very minor,’ while the risks of addiction were serious. ‘We believe that Purdue Pharma has manufactured a drug which is highly addictive and it’s in a form… they produced in a form which makes it abuseable; that is a problem that they need to correct, and I hope they do,’ Shumway said at the time.”
“For more than a decade, Warmington served as a lawyer for Dr. Michael O’Connell and his PainCare network with one providing staffer convicted for taking illegal kickbacks. Warmington defended O’Connell after he surrendered his medical license, helped negotiate a settlement for a doctor tied to the kickback scandal and lobbied against legislation to prevent doctors with revoked licenses from owning a medical practice. She also accepted more than $50,000 in campaign donations from O’Connell, family members and his business associates… Warmington campaign spokesman Jon Levin said health care providers like PainCare were duped, too.”
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