As the opioid addiction crisis reaches new heights, leading to more deaths and more expenses for affected communities, governments are increasingly looking for retribution.
The Opioid Epidemic
The opioid epidemic began in the 1990s and continues to this day. The term “opioid epidemic” applies not only to the skyrocketing use of prescription and non-prescription drugs from the opioid family but also to the exponentially increasing death toll of such use. The crisis originated with widespread opioid prescriptions for postoperative pain and as adjuncts for pain management. From 1990 to 2011, doctors tripled the number of painkillers they prescribed. In 2016, opioid prescriptions alone rose to 289 million.
Source: https://wisertogether.com/fighting-opioid-epidemic/
Close to 50,000 people died in the United States in 2017 from an opioid overdose. This does not even address the 1.7 million affected by opioid-related issues such as drug addiction, loss of productivity, infectious diseases, birth defects, and overdose. Only 19 percent (4 million) of the 23 million individuals who needed drug or alcohol abuse treatment within a particular year sought it. The burden of expenses for inner city issues like death, morbidity, crime, and homelessness stemming from rampant narcotics abuse and addiction has motivated municipalities and state governments to file lawsuits against drug manufacturers.
Oklahoma vs. Purdue Pharma et al
In June of 1970, Attorney General of Oklahoma Mike Hunter brought a suit on behalf of his state against Purdue Pharma (manufacturer of the pain medicine OxyContin and Fentanyl among others). The suit cited active and deceptive marketing practices overstating how effective the company’s pain medications were. The suit went on to say Purdue Pharma and its associates had campaigned for widespread opioid use even in non-cancer patients and had advocated that physicians treat signs of addiction with higher levels of narcotics. This suit joined the Everett vs. Purdue Pharma case that had been filed at the beginning of the same year.
Source: https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/drug-rehab/
Everett vs. Purdue Pharma
On January 19, 2017, the city of Everett, Washington, filed the first lawsuit of its kind against Purdue Pharma LP. The suit states Purdue Pharma willfully ignored suspicious physician and pharmacy actions that allowed highly addictive opioids to filter into the city streets via the Black Market. Kelley, Goldfarb, Huck, Roth, and Riojas, PLLC, legal counsel for the plaintiff, specifically named OxyContin as the drug responsible for the heroin and prescription drug addiction crisis in Everett.
Jefferson County vs. Purdue Pharma et al
On September 4, 2018, Jefferson County in Ohio, filed a lawsuit against 100 plaintiffs that included Purdue Pharma LP and its subsidiaries. Represented by Scott E. Smith LPA, the claim states that drug manufacturers and their distributors prescribed opioids for longer than medically necessary in the face of knowledge about how addictive they were. It further cites fraud and unjust enrichment.
Source: https://www.law360.com/cases/589df7fa6343cb46c2000001
And More
Purdue Pharma is no stranger to the ramifications of deceptive marketing practices and subsequent lawsuits. It reached an agreement in 2007 with Washington to alter its marketing and distributing practices. The company has settled in the past with the states of Illinois, Kentucky, and West Virginia. However, it now has to contend with suits brought by 24 more states in addition to local municipalities and individual counties who have filed.
Source: https://www.fiercepharma.com/special-report/purdue-pharma-oxycontin
Seeing their communities ravaged by the effects of an exploding opioid epidemic, municipalities and state governments can no longer cope with the financial and emotional toll. Many are now coming forward with lawsuits against drug manufacturers using irresponsible practices to market, sell, and distribute prescription pain medications.
Author Harper Harmon is a freelance writer and blogger who focuses on business, health and other various topics. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communication from UCLA and currently resides in Santa Cruz with her dog, Sassy.
