Mikie Sherrill Holds Jack Ciattarelli Accountable For Enriching Himself Off the Opioid Crisis

Mikie Sherrill Holds Jack Ciattarelli Accountable For Enriching Himself Off the Opioid Crisis

Standing alongside recovery advocates and families of those touched by the opioid crisis yesterday, Mikie Sherrill held Jack Ciattarelli accountable for perpetuating and profiting off the deadly epidemic that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of New Jerseyans. Ciattarelli made millions by peddling misinformation from drug companies that downplayed just how addictive opioids are, worsening the crisis across New Jersey.

Read more below on how Jack lined his pockets as the opioid epidemic tore through New Jersey:

• Fox News: Sherrill spoke during a press conference on the Garden State’s opioid epidemic, accusing Ciattarelli of “looking at ways to help people get access to the drugs that were killing them” through his ties to pharmaceutical-backed training programs. “So you heard it, Jack made millions,” she said.

• NorthJersey.com: Sherrill said that back in 2016, the drugs were a “well-known scourge affecting our communities and affecting our families,” and that her opponent Ciattarelli’s medical publishing firm published manuals on the prescription of opioids that said the “risk of opioid misuse is low among patients with chronic pain who do not have preexisting substance use disorders.”

• PIX11: Sherrill noted her work in the community and as a prosecutor to combat overprescribing, while taking a shot at her opponent, Republican Jack Ciattarelli. “We needed doctors to stop the overprescription,” said Sherrill. “We needed pharmacies to stop filling those scripts, and so we were looking at ways to shut that down, and Jack [Ciattarelli] was looking at ways to help people get access to the drugs that were killing them.”

• ABC7: Congresswoman Sherrill brought in colleagues, drug counselors and those directly impacted by opioid abuse to talk about Ciattarelli’s publishing business… Sherrill claims Ciattarelli’s business made millions printing articles that downplayed opioid addiction and developed an app to find doctors who could prescribe opioids.

• Insider NJ: She noted that Ciattarelli has run for governor three times and has always stressed his experience as a small businessman. “The minute we started to talk about that small business, he wants his lawyers to shut it down – that’s ridiculous.” Asked if she thinks Ciattarelli is directly responsible for opioid deaths, Sherrill said he is “complicit.”

• New York Times: The latest twist in the race came on Monday when Ms. Sherrill, joined by a substance abuse counselor and a man whose brother overdosed on prescription painkillers, again blamed her Republican opponent, Jack Ciattarelli, for spreading misinformation about opioids.

• NJ 101.5: “Jack and his company got paid millions. And New Jerseyans got hooked,” Pallone said. Howard Beson, who lost his brother to an overdose, called for more than just blame-shifting. “Admit your responsibility and move forward,” Beson urged.

• News12: As she did so in last week’s gubernatorial debate, Sherrill again pointed out that Ciattarelli’s company, Galen Publishing, took $12 million to knowingly print misinformation about the addictive nature of opioids. Sherrill had fellow Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone, an addiction counselor and a relative of a victim of opioid addiction, by her side to say that Ciattarelli needs to account for his actions.

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