Insys Therapeutics, a major pharmaceutical company, has spent over $500,000 fueling the opposition to marijuana legalization in the United States. Now we know why.

The Big Pharma company is a major manufacturer of deadly painkillers and is one of the chief backers of the anti-legalization movement. They have been in legal trouble in the last several years for “alleged improper marketing of a highly addictive prescription painkiller.” They are currently the subject of several state and federal criminal investigations, and a shareholder lawsuit, over their marketing of a product that contains the deadly opioid painkiller fentanyl. The company is curiously developing a drug to treat opioid overdose as well as fueling the addiction.

Therapeutics donated $500,000, an amount equal to ten percent of all the money raised by Arizonas for Responsible Drug Policy, the group behind the strong opposition to medical marijuana. The donation was one of the largest single contributions to any anti-legalization campaign ever. Insys was the only Big Pharma company known to give money to oppose marijuana legalization last year.

Now the company has received preliminary approval from […]