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Opioid (6/16) Afternoon
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AGs across country probe opioid makers’ marketing
Jun 16, 2017 | Boston Herald
By Jordan Graham
Attorney General Maura Healey and other attorneys general across the country have opened an investigation into pharmaceutical companies over allegations of illegal marketing and sales tactics for prescription opioids. -
Drugmakers must take the lead on opioid epidemic comms, say experts
Jun 16, 2017 | PR Week
By Chris Daniels
Communications experts are calling on drugmakers to come together in a leadership role to take on the country’s opioid crisis head on, going well beyond compliance with Food and Drug Administration warnings about the addiction risks posed by prescription painkillers. -
A Bipartisan Committee to Probe Opioid Manufacturers
Jun 16, 2017 | Financial Buzz
A broad coalition of state attorneys general from have partnered together, forming a bipartisan committee with the goal of investigating the marketing and sales practices of opioid manufacturers. The goal is to discover how big of a role the manufactures have played in creating the current opioid epidemic the country is going through. -
Attorney General Becerra and bipartisan coalition to help address opioid crisis
Jun 16, 2017 | East Valley Times
SACRAMENTO – Attorney General Xavier Becerra today announced that the state of California along with a bipartisan coalition of Attorneys General from across the country are investigating whether drug manufacturers have engaged in unlawful practices in the marketing and sale of opioids. The Attorneys General are investigating opioid manufacturers’ potential role in creating or prolonging this epidemic. According to the California Opioid Overdose Surveillance Dashboard, in 2015 there were nearly 2,000 opioid overdose deaths, approximately 4,000 emergency department visits for opioid overdoses and nearly 25 million opioid prescriptions. California has the third most deaths related to opioid overdose in the country because of the state’s size. -
CT Attorney General Jepsen joins coalition looking into opioid manufacturers’ practices
Jun 16, 2017 | Westfair Online
By Kevin Zimmerman
State Attorney General George Jepsen has announced that Connecticut is joining the growing bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from across the country on an ongoing investigation to evaluate whether pharmaceutical manufacturers have engaged in unlawful practices in the marketing and sale of prescription opioids. -
RI Attorney General Joins Nationwide Probe Of Prescription Opioid Marketing
Jun 16, 2017 | Rhode Island NPR
By Ximena Conde
State Attorney General Peter Kilmartin is the latest to join a bipartisan investigation into pharmaceutical companies’ marketing tactics of prescription opioids. -
DeWine sues opioid manufacturers
Jun 16, 2017 | Piqua Daily Call
By Bennett Leckrone
COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine filed a lawsuit against several pharmaceutical companies on May 31, alleging they contributed to Ohio’s opioid epidemic with false marketing. -
Attorneys General Look To Stick It To Drug Companies Over Addiction Crisis
Jun 16, 2017 | Daily Caller
By Steve Birr
A bipartisan group of attorneys general from a majority of states are joining together to investigate if deceptive advertising by drug manufacturers fueled the opioid addiction crisis. -
SC Attorney General investigating opioid manufacturers
Jun 16, 2017 | WSAV.com
By Robert Kittle
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) — South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced Thursday that he’s working with attorneys general from a majority of other states to investigate drug manufacturers and whether they’ve engaged in unlawful trade practices in their marketing and sale of opioids -
Opioid manufacturers can’t escape
Jun 16, 2017 | Al Dia News
By Jamila Johnson
Attorney General Josh Shapiro just effectively declared war on opioid manufacturers, according to WHYY. -
Legal medications taking illegal paths
Jun 16, 2017 | Kota Territory News
By Mary Helen Jones
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA TV) - South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced he is working with other Attorneys General from across the country to evaluate whether drug manufacturers have engaged in unlawful practices in marketing and selling opioids. -
SD drug overdoses climb 59 percent in three years
Jun 16, 2017 | Mitchell Republic
By Jake Shama
An increase in overdose deaths and two nearby opioid seizures could mark the potential for a larger drug outbreak, according to the state's top prosecutor. -
Attorney General Madigan Announces Ongoing Investigation of Prescription Opioid Manufacturers
Jun 16, 2017 | eNews Park Forest
Chicago —(ENEWSPF)—June 16, 2017. Attorney General Lisa Madigan yesterday announced an investigation by her office and with attorneys general across the country into several opioid manufacturers to determine whether the manufacturers have engaged in unlawful practices in the marketing and sale of opioids and what role the companies may be playing in creating or prolonging the country’s opioid epidemic. -
Attorney General Peterson announces ongoing investigation addressing opioid crisis
Jun 16, 2017 | Nebraska TV
By KHGI
Nebraska is taking part in an investigation looking into what role manufacturers have played in creating or prolonging the epidemic. -
Minn. AG joins probe of drug makers' role in opioid crisis
Jun 16, 2017 | Minnesota Public Radio
By Emma Sapong
ST. PAUL — Minnesota has joined a national investigation of drug makers to determine their role in the opioid epidemic. -
PA Attorney General investigating role of drug companies in opioid crisis
Jun 16, 2017 | Leicester Post
By Jared Roy
The national coalition of Attorneys General is reviewing what role manufacturers of opioid drugs may have played in establishing or prolonging the nation's opioid epidemic.
Attorney General Opioid Investigation
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AGs across country probe opioid makers’ marketing
Jun 16, 2017 | Boston Herald
By Jordan Graham
Attorney General Maura Healey and other attorneys general across the country have opened an investigation into pharmaceutical companies over allegations of illegal marketing and sales tactics for prescription opioids.
“The opioid epidemic is a public health crisis that is claiming lives in our state and across the country, and we want to assure our residents that we are doing all that we can to combat it,” Healey said yesterday in a statement. “I am working with my colleagues in actively investigating whether manufacturers used illegal practices in the marketing and sale of opioids and worsened this deadly crisis.”
Healey’s office said the AGs are subpoenaing documents and testimony, but didn’t name any of their targets citing an ongoing investigation. Drug makers have been accused of pushing doctors and medical providers to prescribe opioids to patients without regard for the possibility of addiction.
Ohio has sued Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, Johnson & Johnson, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Allergan PLC and Endo International, alleging the companies intentionally downplayed the risk of addiction to drive sales.
The opioid crisis was responsible for an estimated 2,000 deaths in the Bay State in 2016, according to the Department of Public Health. Across the country, opioid overdoses have quadrupled since 1999, and were responsible for more than 33,000 deaths in 2015, Healey’s office said.
The opioid crisis has drawn the attention of the White House, which has formed an Opioid Task Force that includes Gov. Charlie Baker.
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Drugmakers must take the lead on opioid epidemic comms, say experts
Jun 16, 2017 | PR Week
By Chris Daniels
Communications experts are calling on drugmakers to come together in a leadership role to take on the country’s opioid crisis head on, going well beyond compliance with Food and Drug Administration warnings about the addiction risks posed by prescription painkillers.
PRWeek contacted more than a dozen major drugmakers with opioid products. They either declined to comment or did not respond to interview requests. However, a number of experts speaking on a not-for-attribution basis say the opioid epidemic has reached a crisis point in part because pharmaceutical companies have failed to pool their resources in a concerted, community-focused effort.
Kelly Dencker, EVP and healthcare director at Coyne Public Relations, says the misuse of and addiction to opioids has been an epidemic for years, but has passed a tipping point as it has scourged communities across the country. Someone in the U.S. dies from an overdose of a prescription painkiller such as OxyContin or Vicodin every 19 minutes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"There has been this hometown hit. You can’t pick up a local newspaper, turn on the local news, go on social media, or talk to people in communities where there hasn’t been a death of someone in their 20s or 30s because of an overdose," she says.
Dencker adds that pharmaceutical companies must step up their drug education and treatment initiatives, and publicly demonstrate they are doing so.
"The best pharma can do is to cooperate with authorities and show that they are applying money to education for doctors," she explains. "They also have to show that they support programs that educate people about opioid use, and, most importantly, support programs that help people who have developed a dependency. That is one of the greatest challenges, to identify and treat a dependency before something tragic happens."
Drugmakers are increasingly facing blame from regulators, lawmakers, and the public amid a growing list of lawsuits and investigations at the local and state levels. Last month, Ohio filed a lawsuit against five drugmakers, alleging they mispresented the addictive risks of their opioid products to the medical community. The lawsuit is targeting units of Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Allergan, and Endo International, accusing them of aiming their communications at general practitioners because they know less about pain management than specialists.
Just this week, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said she is leading a multi-state probe by a bipartisan group of attorneys general into the sales and marketing tactics of opioid drug manufacturers.
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, whose members include Purdue Pharma, Teva, and Allergen, has developed a set of solutions for combatting the epidemic and posted it on its website and social media channels. It also distributed the strategy to stakeholders.
The plan calls for drugmakers to "expand public awareness and education efforts focused on the dangers of prescription abuse and not sharing medications with others," as well as increased insurance coverage for a wider range of treatment options.
"We feel this is an issue that all health stakeholders have to come to the table and be willing to hear diverse points of view on," says Caitlin Carroll, PhRMA's director of communications. "So we’ve put out a set of pretty robust policy solutions that our member companies support, and we believe that stakeholders can gather around to address all the different driving factors of the problem."
At least one pharma company has started a patient awareness campaign. Pacira Pharmaceuticals has launched an online resource called Plan Against Pain, which includes a doctor discussion guide for patients. The company makes a non-opioid local analgesic for postsurgical pain.
Amber Sears, senior director of corporate communications at Pacira, says the company built the website as a resource for all treatment options from opioids and non-opioid drugs to cognitive behavioral therapy and acupuncture. She says treating pain is complex and requires a multi-disciplinary approach, and alternative options need to be better communicated to the public.
The company launched the site in partnership with the American Society of Enhanced Recovery, and Pacira says it is adding nonprofits and groups to the initiative. BreastCancer.org will begin promoting the site this month, bringing the number of its partners to six.
"We’re really trying to build a coalition of like-minded organizations that are supportive of a patient’s right to advocate for alternative treatments," says Sears. "The more people who are endorsing the content on their websites and social media, the more credible it becomes."
Read more at http://www.prweek.com/article/1436770/drugmakers-lead-opioid-epidemic-comms-say-experts#Csyl8goSGvs1si80.99 -
A Bipartisan Committee to Probe Opioid Manufacturers
Jun 16, 2017 | Financial Buzz
A broad coalition of state attorneys general from have partnered together, forming a bipartisan committee with the goal of investigating the marketing and sales practices of opioid manufacturers. The goal is to discover how big of a role the manufactures have played in creating the current opioid epidemic the country is going through.
According to data published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioids were responsible for the death of more than 33,000 lives in 2015. About half of them estimated to have had prescriptions for opioids. In fact, 3 out 4 new heroin users start with legal narcotics, such as oxycodone or hydrocodone, CNN reports.
Just how many states will participate in the probe is not clear as of yet, as the investigation still at its early stages. In the meantime, several attorneys general have commented on the role of the committee:
"The multistate investigation will help us determine the appropriate course of action we can take as attorneys general to address the opioid epidemic," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said, according to CNN.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said, "I want to know whether drug companies, seeking higher profits, have recklessly and unlawfully pushed addictive opioids."
Madigan added, "We must hold drug companies accountable for their role in the epidemic levels of opioid overdoses and deaths in Illinois and around the country."
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Attorney General Becerra and bipartisan coalition to help address opioid crisis
Jun 16, 2017 | East Valley Times
SACRAMENTO – Attorney General Xavier Becerra today announced that the state of California along with a bipartisan coalition of Attorneys General from across the country are investigating whether drug manufacturers have engaged in unlawful practices in the marketing and sale of opioids. The Attorneys General are investigating opioid manufacturers’ potential role in creating or prolonging this epidemic. According to the California Opioid Overdose Surveillance Dashboard, in 2015 there were nearly 2,000 opioid overdose deaths, approximately 4,000 emergency department visits for opioid overdoses and nearly 25 million opioid prescriptions. California has the third most deaths related to opioid overdose in the country because of the state’s size.
“The opioid crisis is a serious public health threat that is taking the lives of too many Californians, destroying our communities, ripping apart families, and impacting the work of law enforcement,” said Attorney General Xavier Becerra. “We cannot sit back as this crisis claims more lives everyday. It’s critical that we continue to address this epidemic from all angles.”
The coalition of Attorneys General is using its investigative tools, including subpoenas for documents and testimony, to determine the appropriate course of action to address the opioid epidemic. In California and nationwide, opioids—prescription and illicit—are the main driver of drug overdose deaths. Opioids were involved in 33,091 deaths nationwide in 2015, and opioid overdoses have quadrupled since 1999.
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CT Attorney General Jepsen joins coalition looking into opioid manufacturers’ practices
Jun 16, 2017 | Westfair Online
By Kevin Zimmerman
State Attorney General George Jepsen has announced that Connecticut is joining the growing bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from across the country on an ongoing investigation to evaluate whether pharmaceutical manufacturers have engaged in unlawful practices in the marketing and sale of prescription opioids.
Although Jepsen did not specify which pharma companies will be under investigation, it seems likely that Stamford’s Purdue Pharma, which manufactures OxyContin and is the subject of several lawsuits, will be included.
The attorneys general are investigating what role, if any, opioid manufacturers may have played in exacerbating or prolonging the nation’s opioid epidemic.
“The opioid epidemic continues to have a devastating impact in Connecticut,” Jepsen said. “It would be irresponsible to predict at this stage whether our efforts will lead to legal action or relief, but Connecticut residents can be assured that we will pursue this investigation fully.”
In Connecticut, 917 people died from drug overdoses in 2016, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Nationwide, prescription and illicit opioids are the main driver of drug overdose deaths. Opioids were involved in 33,091 deaths nationwide in 2015, and opioid overdoses have quadrupled since 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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RI Attorney General Joins Nationwide Probe Of Prescription Opioid Marketing
Jun 16, 2017 | Rhode Island NPR
By Ximena Conde
State Attorney General Peter Kilmartin is the latest to join a bipartisan investigation into pharmaceutical companies’ marketing tactics of prescription opioids.
In an effort to find the role these companies may have played in the nationwide opioid abuse crisis, the coalition of attorneys general says it plans on issuing subpoenas for documents and testimonies. They have not released the names of any specific companies under investigation.
“While I certainly do not want to assume where this investigation may lead, I think it is fair to say that it wouldn’t be the first time pharmaceutical companies used deceptive sales and marketing of certain drugs for tremendous financial benefit,” Kilmartin said in a statement.
The Rhode Island Department of Health calls drug overdoses a public health crisis in the Ocean State, which they say began with prescription drugs.
“We owe it to the victims and their families to examine every aspect of this epidemic – from manufacturing of legal opioids to illegal diversion – if we are going to every truly get at the heart of the crisis,” Kilmartin said.
According to Health Department data there were a combined 336 drug overdose-related deaths in 2016, a majority of which were linked to opioids.
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DeWine sues opioid manufacturers
Jun 16, 2017 | Piqua Daily Call
By Bennett Leckrone
COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine filed a lawsuit against several pharmaceutical companies on May 31, alleging they contributed to Ohio’s opioid epidemic with false marketing.Top SearchesPiqua Daily Call HoursBrennan Hicks
In a statement, DeWine said the five pharmaceutical companies: Purdue Pharma, Endo Health Solutions, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and its subsidiary Cephalon, Johnson and Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen pharmaceuticals, and Allergan, engaged in false advertising and led prescribers to believe their products — which include painkillers like Oxycontin — were non-addictive when they really were.
“We believe the evidence will also show that these companies got thousands and thousands of Ohioans — our friends, our family members, our co-workers, our kids — addicted to opioid pain medications, which has all too often led to use of the cheaper alternatives of heroin and synthetic opioids,” DeWine said.
According to Purdue Pharma’s website, however, the company isn’t contributing to the epidemic, but rather fighting against it.
“Purdue is acutely aware of the public health risks these medications create, especially when they are abused or misused,” a statement on the company’s website said. “Pharmaceutical companies, including Purdue, are developing innovative technologies to create opioid medications in new forms that are more difficult to manipulate, and so are less gratifying to abusers.”
Steve Justice, a local attorney, said DeWine has to have a good faith evidentiary basis to file a lawsuit.
“(DeWine) is constrained by Rule 11 of the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure that when his office signs his name to a complaint like this, there has to be a good faith evidentiary basis,” Justice said.
Justice said he hasn’t read the lawsuit, but believes it may be necessary if there is evidence against the manufacturers.
“I presume this is an effort to ask the drug manufacturers to be responsible for the damage that has been caused by their products,” said Justice, Miami County Heroin Coalition facilitator. “I’m not someone who says that a manufacturer should be responsible for the misuse of its project, but if the attorney general has evidence that the drug manufacturers were aware of the overprescription and were aware that these medications were being abused and did nothing to stop it, and merely passively sat by and allowed it to occur or actively engaged in advertising their products while knowing it would lead to addiction, that would be a different story.”
Thom Grim, director of the Miami County Recovery Council, said there is not enough money to fight the opioid epidemic, and said he supports any effort to curb the effects of the epidemic.
“This opioid epidemic is unlike anything we’ve ever seen, any of us, in our careers,” Grim said. “We’re supportive of all areas that can be attempted to try to intervene and do something about this. This a very, very difficult dilemma that we’re in.”
The lawsuit was filed in Ross County due to its particularly high death rate per 100,000 citizens. According to a report by the Ohio Department of Health, the county averaged more than 28 deaths per year from 2010-2015. Miami County, by comparison, averaged 16. The Ohio average was just over 18.
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Attorneys General Look To Stick It To Drug Companies Over Addiction Crisis
Jun 16, 2017 | Daily Caller
By Steve Birr
A bipartisan group of attorneys general from a majority of states are joining together to investigate if deceptive advertising by drug manufacturers fueled the opioid addiction crisis.
Attorneys general from Nevada, Massachusetts, Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania announced Thursday they will probe marketing and sales practices used by pharmaceutical companies to distribute their painkillers. It is not yet clear how many states are involved in the investigation, but an official from Nevada said a majority of state attorneys general are participating, reports CNN.
Officials said they want to know “what role, if any,” drug makers played in causing the opioid epidemic, which claimed 33,000 lives in 2015. The New York Times recently culled through data from state health departments and county medical examiners and coroners, predicting there were between 59,000 and 65,000 drug deaths in 2016.
“I want to know whether drug companies, seeking higher profits, have recklessly and unlawfully pushed addictive opioids,” Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan told CNN. “We must hold drug companies accountable for their role in the epidemic levels of opioid overdoses and deaths in Illinois and around the country.”Trending ArticlesTrump World Trains Its Sights On Mueller
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Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery is one of the leaders of the investigation.
There are more prescriptions for opioids in Tennessee than there are people, highlighting the high rates of addiction in the state. The heroin overdose death rate across the state spiked 43.5 percent between 2014 and 2015.
Lawsuits are mounting against the largest drug makers for their alleged complicity in sparking the opioid crisis through dishonest advertising. The law firm Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC is spearheading cases in New York, as well as two lawsuits in California, two in West Virginia, one in Chicago and one in Washington state.
Purdue Pharma, which often comes under the harshest scrutiny, says they are committed to solving the opioid addiction crisis. A representative of the drug maker previously noted their medication OxyContin accounts for less than 2 percent of the prescription opioid market in the country.
Officials in Ohio joined the group of states suing the major pharmaceutical companies May 31 for fueling the opioid epidemic by allegedly deceiving the public about addiction risks.
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SC Attorney General investigating opioid manufacturers
Jun 16, 2017 | WSAV.com
By Robert Kittle
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) — South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced Thursday that he’s working with attorneys general from a majority of other states to investigate drug manufacturers and whether they’ve engaged in unlawful trade practices in their marketing and sale of opioids.
The states are investigating whether the manufacturers have played a role in creating or prolonging the opioid epidemic.
“From 2011 to 2015, there were nearly 3,300 deaths due to opioid overdoses,” Wilson says. “That’s an epidemic, in my opinion. So we know it’s a problem; we know what the problem is. The question is, what is the appropriate solution?”
He won’t identify which companies are being investigated.
He says an example of what could be a problem is, “A drug is created for this particular issue, but in order to get a larger market share the company tries to sell it for things it wasn’t originally created for after they’ve discovered that is not a healthy option.”
One of the big questions concerning opioid manufacturers is, at what point did they know how addictive opioids are and did they downplay or ignore that when marketing the drugs to consumers?
Wilson says fighting the epidemic will take a combined effort from law enforcement, state lawmakers, doctors, and patients. He’d like to see lawmakers pass a law to require prescriptions to be done digitally, so doctors would no longer have prescription pads.
“It’s a program at the doctor’s office where they basically send a digital script directly to the pharmacy from the doctor’s office, and it would cut down on the forgeries and it would make it easier to track how the prescriptions are going and it would be easier to quantify. It would basically make the process more efficient and safer,” he says.
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Opioid manufacturers can’t escape
Jun 16, 2017 | Al Dia News
By Jamila Johnson
Attorney General Josh Shapiro just effectively declared war on opioid manufacturers, according to WHYY(link is external).
Joining the forces of attorney generals from a minimum of 25 other states, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro declared he’s taking an in-depth look at opioid manufacturers.
The announcement is in reaction to an active lawsuit from several states alleging that drug manufacturers helped to create the opioid crisis.
While the actual number of states have not been confirmed, Shapiro stated that, "I want you to know that I will follow the evidence to hold everyone, everyone accountable and responsible no matter how big or powerful they are," said Shapiro.
Others have filed lawsuits recently, including Mississippi, Ohio, and counties in Illinois, New York and California.
"This is a broad, bipartisan, multi-state investigation of which Pennsylvania is one of the lead states. We have made great progress in it, and we're going to continue to work diligently in this effort," Shapiro adds.
Drug overdoses killed more than 4,600 people in Pennsylvania last year.
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Legal medications taking illegal paths
Jun 16, 2017 | Kota Territory News
By Mary Helen Jones
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA TV) - South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced he is working with other Attorneys General from across the country to evaluate whether drug manufacturers have engaged in unlawful practices in marketing and selling opioids.
The epidemic in selling and abusing opioid medications is one that have doctors, pharmacists and citizens concerned.
Clay Sloan, a pharmacist at The Medicine Shoppe, said they have customers who are “more cautious about taking some of the opioid medications than they used to be.” He said it’s important that “people ask questions and be aware of what they are taking.”
One of the problems with pain medications being abused is that many people need the medicine to manage their symptoms. Dr. John Duncan, a professor at the University of Oklahoma, said an issue is finding the “balance between taking care of people that are pain patients, and keeping people from diverting opioids.”
While this is an issue that will not be solved anytime soon, it is getting national attention which could lead to a beginning of a resolution.
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SD drug overdoses climb 59 percent in three years
Jun 16, 2017 | Mitchell Republic
By Jake Shama
An increase in overdose deaths and two nearby opioid seizures could mark the potential for a larger drug outbreak, according to the state's top prosecutor.
In just three years, accidental drug overdose deaths in South Dakota climbed 59 percent from 32 deaths in 2013 to 51 last year, according to statistics collected by the South Dakota Department of Health and shared by the Attorney General's Office.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley mentioned two recent fentanyl seizures, in which authorities allegedly found 1,000 fentanyl pills in Mitchell and 20,000 pills in Chamberlain, which he said could be a sign of a major opioid outbreak on the horizon for South Dakota.
"We've seen it with meth and other things that it eventually can reach our state," Jackley said.
With opioids, which include fentanyl and heroin, becoming more than just a threat in South Dakota, Jackley has decided to take action by joining a national investigation into how opioid manufacturers may be creating or prolonging the drug epidemic.
Jackley said five opioid manufacturers are being investigated, but he declined to give their names, as the nation's attorneys general agreed to embargo the information.
Fentanyl can be used medically as a painkiller, but Jackley said South Dakota physicians and pharmacists are not at fault for the recent drug busts. With thousands of pills confiscated, he believes the drugs have been brought into South Dakota via the black market, possibly from mills in China or Florida.
Overdoses in South Dakota may be rising, but as of 2014, South Dakota boasted the third lowest age-adjusted drug overdose death rates in the country, according to statistics provided by Jackley's office, with 7.8 deaths per 100,000 people.
Only Nebraska and North Dakota had lower rates, with 7.2 and 6.3 deaths, respectively. The death rate was highest in West Virginia with 35.5 deaths per 100,000 people.
But even with a low overdose rate, Jackley said his involvement in the opioid investigation will help South Dakota remain proactive against a growing problem.
"I recognize the critics could say, 'Jackley might be jumping the gun because we're in good shape,' but one of the reasons we are in good shape is we've been extremely proactive," Jackley said.
Jackley mentioned both the state's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP), which provides prescribers and pharmacists with a controlled substance dispension history for their patients, and the availability of Narcan, or naloxone, which blocks the effects of opioids to avoid overdoses.
Officials in Mitchell said there have been overdoses in town in the past, but it hasn't been a common issue lately.
Mitchell Detective Sgt. Dean Knippling couldn't recall a fatal overdose in the past year, but he believes the recent fentanyl cases warrant a larger investigation.
"It's definitely alarming that it's here," Knippling said. "It is definitely a law enforcement, public safety concern, especially when you look at the availability that's obviously out there."
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Attorney General Madigan Announces Ongoing Investigation of Prescription Opioid Manufacturers
Jun 16, 2017 | eNews Park Forest
Madigan & Broad Coalition of Attorneys General Investigating Impact Prescription Opioid Makers Have on Country’s Growing Opioid EpidemicChicago —(ENEWSPF)—June 16, 2017. Attorney General Lisa Madigan yesterday announced an investigation by her office and with attorneys general across the country into several opioid manufacturers to determine whether the manufacturers have engaged in unlawful practices in the marketing and sale of opioids and what role the companies may be playing in creating or prolonging the country’s opioid epidemic.
Nationwide and in Illinois, opioids – prescription and illicit – are the main driver of drug overdose deaths. Opioids were involved in more than 33,000 deaths nationwide in 2015, and opioid overdoses have quadrupled since 1999, according to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“I want to know whether drug companies, seeking higher profits, have recklessly and unlawfully pushed addictive opioids,” Madigan said. “We must hold drug companies accountable for their role in the epidemic levels of opioid overdoses and deaths in Illinois and around the country.”
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Illinois was one of 14 states with statistically significant increases in overall drug overdose deaths in recent years. In 2015, there were 559 overdose deaths directly attributed to prescription opioids in Illinois, and 1,339 overdose deaths in which opioids were involved. In addition, the Chicago metropolitan area ranks first nationwide in emergency department mentions for heroin use. Cook County ranks first in the nation in the percentage of arrestees testing positive for opiates.
In August 2016, Madigan filed a lawsuit against the pharmaceutical company Insys Therapeutics Inc. for deceptively marketing and selling Subsys, a highly addictive opioid drug, to physicians treating non-cancer patients for off-label uses like back and neck pain in an effort to rake in high profits. In addition, in September 2016, Madigan and 35 other attorneys general filed an antitrust lawsuit against the makers of Suboxone, a prescription drug used to treat opioid addiction, over allegations that the companies engaged in a scheme to block generic competitors, forcing people to pay artificially high prices at a time when the companies reaped more than $3 billion in profits. Madigan’s office also provides training to medical professionals on identifying and treating patients with opioid addictions.
Assistant Attorney General Paige Boggs is handling the investigation for Madigan’s Consumer Protection Bureau.
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Attorney General Peterson announces ongoing investigation addressing opioid crisis
Jun 16, 2017 | Nebraska TV
By KHGI
Nebraska is taking part in an investigation looking into what role manufacturers have played in creating or prolonging the epidemic.
Attorney General Doug Peterson says he's working with attorney generals from across the country through a bi-partisan coalition.
It’s investigating if companies used unlawful practices in the marketing and selling of opioids.
“The expanding abuse of opioid painkillers is both a national and statewide concern. We are addressing is from numerous approaches including this multi-state investigation of the pharmaceutical industry,” Peterson said.
Opioids—prescription and illicit—are the main driver of drug overdose deaths across the nation. They have caused over 33,000 deaths nationwide in 2015.
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Minn. AG joins probe of drug makers' role in opioid crisis
Jun 16, 2017 | Minnesota Public Radio
By Emma Sapong
ST. PAUL — Minnesota has joined a national investigation of drug makers to determine their role in the opioid epidemic.
Attorney General Lori Swanson announced Thursday that she's part of a bipartisan group of state attorneys general investigating pharmaceutical companies.
The investigation is looking into the potential culpability of drug makers in how they market and sell opioid prescription painkillers.
Sales and overdoses of prescriptions opioids have quadrupled since 1999, and nearly 2 million Americans are believe to addicted, according to Swanson's office.
"The United States is only 5 percent of the world's population, but it consumes 80 percent of the world's opioid painkillers," Swanson said in a statement. "The opioid epidemic is impacting people from all walks of life and every region of the country."
According to state data, opioid deaths in Minnesota have climbed steadily since 1999, reaching 338 in 2015.
PhRMA, a pharmaceutical trade organization, declined to comment. But the group's web site says its industry is "committed to working collectively to prevent the misuse, abuse and diversion of prescription medicines."
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PA Attorney General investigating role of drug companies in opioid crisis
Jun 16, 2017 | Leicester Post
By Jared Roy
The national coalition of Attorneys General is reviewing what role manufacturers of opioid drugs may have played in establishing or prolonging the nation's opioid epidemic.
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller disclosed today that his office is part of an ongoing multistate investigation into whether certain opioid manufacturers have unlawfully marketed and sold the powerful painkillers. However, he would not identify any specific targets of the investigation. Opioids are the leading cause of overdose deaths in the United States, with 91 Americans dying every day.
The investigation was announced two weeks after Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine filed a lawsuit against leading prescription opioid manufacturers, accusing them of engaging in a "deceptive marketing campaign" to persuade doctors and patients that opioids are not addictive.
The state of OH last month sued five major drug companies for their role in the epidemic, according to a National Public Radio report. "If our investigations reveal that the manufacturers of these products violated DE law, we will seek to have them help pay for the fight to end the epidemic".
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) most recent statistics on fatal overdoses in Pennsylvania show a 37% increase in fatal overdoses in 2016 compared to 2015. "We will follow the evidence to hold every person and every company responsible for this tragedy accountable". Majority were caused by heroin and other opioids. Over the past few months, the Office of the Attorney General has been having an ongoing dialogue with industry participants, state and federal regulators, and policymakers to determine the appropriate direction of this office's investigation.
Attorney General Opioid Investigation
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