
Opioid makers spent nearly a million dollars on Utah doctors in recent years, ties now used against the companies in lawsuits
The money and meals flowed to doctors even as more and more Utahns fatally overdosed on opioids, including painkillers and heroin. The death toll rose from 306 in 2010, to 381 in 2013, to 449 in 2016, according to the Utah Department of Health. Two years ago, Utah was tied for the third-highest prescription opioid death rate in the country.