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Opioid Litigation Media Report 9/13/17
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House committee to hold hearing on opioid epidemic
Sep 13, 2017 | The Hill
By Rachel Roubein
House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) is calling on lawmakers to "redouble" efforts to address the opioid epidemic as the committee prepares to hold a hearing on the crisis next month. -
Fighting Ohio’s opiate crisis (OPINION)
Sep 13, 2017 | The Hill
By Attorney General Mike DeWine
In Ohio, at least 12 people die each day due to drug overdoses. If a terrorist attack happened daily in one of our cities or villages killing a dozen people, we would be up in arms. Sadly, losing 12 people each day in Ohio to drug overdoses has become our new normal. -
Matching bold words with action to tackle opioids (OPINION)
Sep 13, 2017 | The Hill
By Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
In dozens of visits to New Hampshire during the presidential campaign, candidate Donald Trump pledged aggressive action to combat the opioid crisis. And last month, President Trump stated his intention to declare the opioid crisis a national emergency. These are fine words, but it’s time for action. The president and Congress must mobilize a stepped-up federal response that is equal to this growing nationwide crisis. -
Drugmakers ask judge to dismiss Ohio opiate lawsuit
Sep 12, 2017 | Associated Press
Five drugmakers are asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Ohio attorney general that alleges they helped perpetrate the state's addictions epidemic. -
Local counties pitched for opioid manufacturer lawsuits
Sep 12, 2017 | Post Star
By Don Lehman
Warren County supervisors are considering joining in litigation that goes after the makers of opioid drugs for the addiction crisis that has devastated communities around the region. -
Plainville police chief says drug companies ‘pulled one over on the public’ in terms of opioid advertising
Sep 13, 2017 | My Record Journal (CT)
By Ashley Kus
The Town Council is looking to join other municipalities in a lawsuit against pharmaceutical manufacturers. There have been over 20 opioid overdoses in town so far this year. -
Senators Question Trump’s ‘Commitment To Ending’ The Drug Scourge In Letter Ripping ‘Lack Of Action’
Sep 12, 2017 | The Daily Caller
By Steve Birr
A group of senators say a lack of urgent action from the White House on the opioid crisis is making them question President Donald Trump’s commitment to fighting drug addiction. -
President Trump must do more than declare opioid emergency (Letter to the editor)
Sep 12, 2017 | Syracuse.com
By Angela Lefler
Finally, after push and shove, President Trump declared the opioid crisis a national emergency. I, and many other advocates in the Syracuse community, have high hopes for change in efforts to dissolve the opioid epidemic. With Trump's repeated desire to slash the Affordable Care Act, I am curious what this will have in store for those newly recovering, in long-term recovery, and even those ambivalent about curbing their addiction. There are waiting lists for inpatient detox programs, long intake processes and waiting periods for outpatient programming, including medication-assisted treatment such as Suboxone and Methadone. Prior to entry, many these programs have prerequisites, such as bloodwork, psychological assessments, etc. Most of the programs however, require individuals to be enrolled government benefits such as Medicaid and/or Temporary Assistance -- unless, of course, you can afford the treatment out of pocket, or have phenomenal private insurance willing to cover long-term on-going treatment. -
Despite promises, Trump dithers on opioid crisis (OPINION)
Sep 12, 2017 | The Boston Globe
By Renee Graham
President Trump needs more urgency in this emergency. Standing at the entrance of his Bedminster, N.J., golf club last month, Trump said he would declare the opioid crisis “a national emergency,” adding, “We’re going to spend a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of money” on an epidemic ravaging communities across the country. -
One month later, many still waiting for President Trump to declare opioid emergency (VIDEO)
Sep 12, 2017 | Fox59 (IN)
October will mark four years for Justin Phillips- four years since she lost her 20-year-old son Aaron to a drug overdose. -
Fox 19 Cincinnati OH
Sep 12, 2017 | WXIX (Fox)
View clip here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29325998?token=f7cb6bc1-0574-4835-acad-c23dde640cbe -
WEWS News 5 Cleveland
Sep 12, 2017 | WEWS (ABC) Cleveland, OH
View clip here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29326006?token=f7cb6bc1-0574-4835-acad-c23dde640cbe -
WEWS News 5 Cleveland
Sep 12, 2017 | WEWS ABC Cleveland, OH
View clip here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29326028?token=f7cb6bc1-0574-4835-acad-c23dde640cbe
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House committee to hold hearing on opioid epidemic
Sep 13, 2017 | The Hill
By Rachel Roubein
House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) is calling on lawmakers to "redouble" efforts to address the opioid epidemic as the committee prepares to hold a hearing on the crisis next month.
“President Donald Trump recently declared the epidemic a national emergency,” Walden wrote in a Morning Consult op-ed published Tuesday. “While the administration prepares to take action, it is of utmost importance we in Congress kick our work into high gear as well.”
At the hearing, slated to be held the week of Oct. 23, lawmakers will receive an update on the implementation of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which passed last year with bipartisan support. Agency officials helping address the epidemic at the federal level will also provide an update on their efforts.
Additionally, the panel’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee will continue recent investigations into pill dumping and patient brokering.
The opioid epidemic has plagued communities across America, hitting both rural and urban areas. Since 1999, the rate of overdose deaths from heroin and prescription painkillers has quadrupled, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At a press conference in early August, President Trump told reporters his administration was drafting paperwork to declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency, which his commission to address the crisis called the “first and most urgent” recommendation in an interim report. The Trump administration hasn’t finalized the paperwork.
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Fighting Ohio’s opiate crisis (OPINION)
Sep 13, 2017 | The Hill
By Attorney General Mike DeWine
In Ohio, at least 12 people die each day due to drug overdoses. If a terrorist attack happened daily in one of our cities or villages killing a dozen people, we would be up in arms. Sadly, losing 12 people each day in Ohio to drug overdoses has become our new normal.
For many, the origins of the opiate crisis go back to the overuse of pain medicines that large pharmaceutical companies promoted through slick marketing efforts. They convinced physicians that opioids were not addictive and that addiction was an easy thing to overcome – often by taking more opioids.
Despite evidence to the contrary about the addictive nature of opioids, the pharmaceutical companies continued to market these medicines, leading Ohioans to become addicted to their products. Because these drugs are so addictive, users will seek ever more potent drugs to get high, including heroin, fentanyl, and carfentanil -- an elephant tranquilizer. These drugs have helped create the worst public health crisis in Ohio – and the repercussions will be with us for decades to come.
That is why I filed a lawsuit on behalf of the state against five of the largest manufacturers of brand-name and generic opioids. We believe that the evidence presented in our lawsuit will show that these companies flooded the market with misleading information about the risks and benefits of prescription opioids.
They got Ohioans addicted to their powerful medications and justice demands that they should help clean up the mess they’ve created.
There are tragic stories from all corners of our state – from rural areas to big cities. Addicts are overdosing in restaurants, movie theaters, and even in the parking lot of an elementary school during afterschool pick up. Or the law enforcement officer in East Liverpool who accidentally touched a substance that caused him to overdose, but thankfully was revived with naloxone. Or the fact that the Ohio Department of Health has had to loan refrigerated semi-trucks to several counties because their morgues were overflowing with dead overdose victims.
The stories are horrific, but perhaps the most heart-wrenching victims of this crisis are our youngest Ohioans. Infants are born addicted to opioids due to pre-natal exposure and then must suffer as they face the painful process of withdrawal. We can only speculate about what the long–term neurological and cognitive impacts will be.
And we have an escalating crisis in our foster care system. Our child welfare agencies are bursting at the seams with kids who need to be placed with loving foster care families because one or both of their parents are addicted to drugs. At least 50 percent of kids and 70 percent of infants placed in Ohio’s foster care system have parents with opioid addictions.
These kids have only one chance to grow up. And being part of a loving home with stability, structure and a caring adult is the key to a brighter future.
To try and help these kids, my office has funded an innovative new pilot program in 18 southern Ohio counties called START, which increases resources to children’s services agencies for intensive attention for both children and parents to promote recovery and family reunification.
And, I’ve issued a call to Ohioans who have ever thought about becoming foster parents to take that leap and become a licensed foster parent. The need is great, as more than 15,000 children are in Ohio’s foster care system, and there are only 7,200 foster families available.
To help potential foster families, we’ve taken steps to make the process easier. We’ve created a webpage on our website (www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/FosterFamilies) where you’ll find important information about becoming a foster family. And, we’ve set up a dedicated email address to expedite the required background checks for foster parent applicants (FosterCheck@OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov).
Additionally, I have announced $1 million grant to help child welfare agencies in 10 hard-hit Ohio counties fund staff to help recruit new foster families.
The opiate epidemic is a tragedy of tremendous proportions. It will take all of us working together to turn the tide of this devastating epidemic.
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Matching bold words with action to tackle opioids (OPINION)
Sep 13, 2017 | The Hill
By Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
In dozens of visits to New Hampshire during the presidential campaign, candidate Donald Trump pledged aggressive action to combat the opioid crisis. And last month, President Trump stated his intention to declare the opioid crisis a national emergency. These are fine words, but it’s time for action. The president and Congress must mobilize a stepped-up federal response that is equal to this growing nationwide crisis.
In its final report last month, the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis noted that drug overdoses now result in more fatalities than gun homicides and car crashes combined. This still-uncontrolled epidemic has escalated sharply with the arrival of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and carfentanil, which are dramatically more potent and addictive. Traffickers no longer depend on imported opioids; all they need is a laboratory and chemicals.
The opioid epidemic is America’s No. 1 public health and law enforcement challenge, and it requires a national response that is comprehensive and robust. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) — which requires all private health insurance plans to cover treatment for substance use disorders — continues to play a critical role. Medicaid expansion under the ACA has made it possible for an estimated 1.3 million Americans with substance use disorders to get treatment.
Addiction is a chronic illness, and the right approach is prevention and treatment, not sweeping the problem under the rug by throwing people in jail. But effective law enforcement — including muscular federal support for state and local efforts — also plays an essential role. For example, heroin traffickers expressly target New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, where law enforcement in rural areas often is spread thin and lacks resources. On the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, on which I serve as ranking member, our bipartisan legislation for fiscal 2018 provides $158 million for grants to state and local governments to fund a balanced approach of law enforcement, treatment and recovery. Our bill rejects the administration’s proposal to eliminate COPS anti-heroin task force grants and provides higher funding for grants authorized under the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. The Appropriations Committee also rejected the administration’s deep cuts to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s programs to combat opioid misuse.
We need to bolster efforts to mobilize communities and engage young people in preventing opioid misuse. Case in point: Studies show that young people who use prescription opioids to treat sports injuries are particularly at risk. Early this year, I introduced the Student and Student Athlete Opioid Misuse Prevention Act, the first major legislative effort to assist the high school and collegiate sports communities in sponsoring opioid prevention programs aimed at students and student athletes.
To date, however, one all-important piece is missing in the nationwide fight against the opioid epidemic: appropriate resources. As I talk with health care professionals and law enforcement officers on the front lines, time and again I hear about the lack of resources to marshal a decisive, well-coordinated response. On good days, our first responders and treatment providers are barely able to keep up. On bad days, they are overwhelmed.
I applaud the president for pledging to declare the opioid crisis a national emergency. It’s time, now, to mobilize federal resources commensurate with this extraordinary challenge. In the weeks ahead, Congress will provide tens of billions of dollars to address the national emergency created by Hurricane Harvey, which caused at least 60 confirmed deaths. To address the opioid national emergency, which is killing nearly 90 Americans every day, we need a dramatic infusion of new resources for policing, prevention, treatment and recovery. Rising to this challenge is a test for Congress and our nation. With so many lives at stake, this is a test we must not fail
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Drugmakers ask judge to dismiss Ohio opiate lawsuit
Sep 12, 2017 | Associated Press
Five drugmakers are asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Ohio attorney general that alleges they helped perpetrate the state's addictions epidemic.
Attorney General Mike DeWine accuses the companies of intentionally misleading patients about the dangers of painkillers and promoting benefits of the drugs not backed by science.
DeWine announced the complaint in May as he accused the companies of creating a deadly mess in Ohio that they now need to pay to clean up.
Cleveland.com reports the companies filed documents in Ross County Court last week arguing that federal requirements for their products preempt Ohio law.
The companies also argue DeWine failed to prove the companies' actions caused the alleged harm. -
Local counties pitched for opioid manufacturer lawsuits
Sep 12, 2017 | Post Star
By Don Lehman
Warren County supervisors are considering joining in litigation that goes after the makers of opioid drugs for the addiction crisis that has devastated communities around the region.
The county board’s Finance Committee heard a pitch Tuesday from Saratoga Springs lawyer Donald Boyajian, who is affiliated with a national law firm pursuing lawsuits against manufacturers of addictive prescription painkillers like Oxycontin, Percocet and Fentanyl.
The lawsuits go after the companies for what Boyajian called “concerted, aggressive, fraudulent marketing schemes” that resulted in thousands of addicts who turned to heroin when the painkiller pills become less effective for them over time.
The drugs were designed to be used on a short-term basis, but the manufacturers convinced doctors to prescribe them for long-term pain and for dental and sports injuries, including for children.
“You have kids using these to manage pain. It’s a huge, huge problem,” Boyajian said.
If the lawsuit is successful, counties can recoup costs for police, treatment and social services spending that stemmed from the opioid problem, he explained. The counties won’t pay any up-front fees or court costs, as lawyers will collect only if they succeed in getting a settlement or verdict. The only effort required of local officials would be to compile and detail their opioid-related costs, Boyajian explained.
Nationally, it has been estimated the addiction crisis has cost governments $80 billion per year, while the drug makers bring in $8 billion annually in profits on opioids, according to Boyajian.PauseCurrent Time0:00/Duration Time0:00Stream TypeLIVELoaded: 0%Progress: 0%0:00Fullscreen00:00Unmute
Boyajian said the law firm he is working with, Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC, is representing 15 or so counties, with Fulton County signing on most recently, as well as municipalities around the country. Other New York counties that have signed on include Schenectady, St. Lawrence and numerous counties around New York City.
Boyajian said seven opioid makers as well, as doctors that were involved in the marketing, have been the target of the litigation. The Simmons firm has already sued and won a $75 million settlement on behalf of opioid users, Boyajian added.
The Warren County Finance Committee held off Tuesday on committing to the lawsuit after it learned a Washington County lawyer is also pitching counties on behalf of another national law firm. Supervisors want to look into the issue further, although they seemed interested in joining litigation against the drug makers.
“It looks like a good start to go after these people,” said Queensbury at-Large Supervisor Doug Beaty.
Queensbury Supervisor John Strough said he had been contacted by Hudson Falls lawyer William Nikas, who is representing a separate firm that is also targeting the drug makers. Nikas sought a time to discuss the issue with Warren County leaders, and told Strough he is making presentations to supervisors in Washington and Saratoga counties as well.
Boyajian, who is not the regional congressional candidate by the same name, urged supervisors to “do your own due diligence,” but said the other firm’s lawsuit is separate from the one his firm is pursuing, which was filed in state Supreme Court in Suffolk County.
“We think the firm I’m working with is much more well-equipped to be at the bargaining table with these pharmaceutical companies,” Boyajian said.
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Sep 13, 2017 | My Record Journal (CT)
By Ashley Kus
The Town Council is looking to join other municipalities in a lawsuit against pharmaceutical manufacturers. There have been over 20 opioid overdoses in town so far this year.
“We’re not getting better,” said Police Chief Matthew Catania. “This is just such an enormous problem for everyone across the nation,”
The police department began carrying naloxone mid-year. So far, the overdose reversal drug has been administered 19 times.
The council discussed the prospect of becoming one of several towns in the state to join a lawsuit against the producers of opioid painkillers. If the town joined, it would be looking to recoup the expenses used in treating the overdoses and overall addiction crisis.
Town Manager Robert Lee said he recently attended a meeting on lawsuit, which was initiated by the city of Waterbury. The lawsuit filed last week argues that the firms and doctors misrepresented the addictive nature of opioids.
Lee said there is no charge to the town to join since the law firms are performing their services on a full contingency basis, meaning they will only get paid if the pharmaceutical companies are found at fault.
The council is expected to make a decision in the next few months.
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Senators Question Trump’s ‘Commitment To Ending’ The Drug Scourge In Letter Ripping ‘Lack Of Action’
Sep 12, 2017 | The Daily Caller
By Steve Birr
A group of senators say a lack of urgent action from the White House on the opioid crisis is making them question President Donald Trump’s commitment to fighting drug addiction.
Democratic Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts sent a letter to Trump Monday imploring the White House to focus greater resources on combating opioid abuse. Eight other senators, all Democrats, signed the letter, which criticizes the president for not enacting more concrete steps to help turn the tide on addiction, reports Lowell Sun News.
Trump created the Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis through an executive order March 29 and tapped New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to lead the efforts. In an interim report given to Trump July 31, the commission implored him to declare the crisis a national emergency, noting that “with approximately 142 Americans dying every day, America is enduring a death toll equal to September 11th every three weeks.”
Despite the recommendation and statements from Trump calling the opioid crisis a national emergency, the White House has not made any formal emergency declaration.
“(Y)our lack of action — coupled with your support for policies that would make access to substance use disorder care and treatment more difficult for millions of Americans — causes us to question your commitment to ending the opioid use disorder and overdose crisis,” Markey and Warren said in the letter, according to Lowell Sun News. “Regardless of whether you choose to declare a state of emergency, continued inaction on this issue is deeply concerning.”
The letter asks for an update on the White House process to make a formal declaration, and why the action is seemingly being delayed. The senators also want greater clarity from the White House on their long term strategy to combat addiction and if they will act on any other recommendations from the opioid commission in the near future.
The National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), released their first preliminary report in August giving an accounting of drug overdose deaths in 2016. The CDC estimates that drug deaths rose by more than 22 percent in 2016, killing 64,070 Americans. Opioid deaths rose from 33,000 in 2015 to nearly 50,000 in 2016, driven primarily by fentanyl.
Fentanyl, which is roughly 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine, is also fueling an increase in cocaine deaths, as dealers are increasingly cutting the fatal painkiller into their cocaine supplies. The CDC estimates cocaine overdose deaths increased from roughly 4,000 in 2009 to more than 6,700 in 2015. Officials say cocaine overdose deaths are about to explode in 2017 to nearly 11,000.
Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental death for Americans under 50. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates drug overdoses will kill more than 70,000 Americans in 2017.
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President Trump must do more than declare opioid emergency (Letter to the editor)
Sep 12, 2017 | Syracuse.com
By Angela Lefler
Finally, after push and shove, President Trump declared the opioid crisis a national emergency. I, and many other advocates in the Syracuse community, have high hopes for change in efforts to dissolve the opioid epidemic. With Trump's repeated desire to slash the Affordable Care Act, I am curious what this will have in store for those newly recovering, in long-term recovery, and even those ambivalent about curbing their addiction. There are waiting lists for inpatient detox programs, long intake processes and waiting periods for outpatient programming, including medication-assisted treatment such as Suboxone and Methadone. Prior to entry, many these programs have prerequisites, such as bloodwork, psychological assessments, etc. Most of the programs however, require individuals to be enrolled government benefits such as Medicaid and/or Temporary Assistance -- unless, of course, you can afford the treatment out of pocket, or have phenomenal private insurance willing to cover long-term on-going treatment.
Once you are completed with your treatment, you are then welcomed back into the environment whence you came. For the homeless, this means the homeless shelters, and for those living in poverty, right back to those communities. Half-way housing is an option for those exiting inpatient rehabs, but if the houses are full, and insurance is not willing to pay for extra time inpatient, where is the individual to go?
All in all, my wish to President Trump is to not only take into consideration that, yes this is an epidemic, but also how other policies he is not on board with strongly affect the outcomes of treatment and ability for those suffering to reach sobriety.
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Despite promises, Trump dithers on opioid crisis (OPINION)
Sep 12, 2017 | The Boston Globe
By Renee Graham
President Trump needs more urgency in this emergency.
Standing at the entrance of his Bedminster, N.J., golf club last month, Trump said he would declare the opioid crisis “a national emergency,” adding, “We’re going to spend a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of money” on an epidemic ravaging communities across the country.
“We’re going to draw it up and we’re going to make it a national emergency,” Trump said vaguely. “It is a serious problem, the likes of which we have never had.”
Trump’s actions don’t reflect this issue’s gravity. A month later, he has yet to officially declare as a national emergency a crisis that kills someone in this country every 16 minutes. Since he claimed he and his people would “draw it up,” more than 4,200 people have died from opioid overdoses.
Some Trump diehards may argue that the president has been preoccupied (as much as he can be preoccupied with anything other than himself) with the aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in Texas and Florida, respectively. Yet since his still-unfulfilled opioid crisis promise, Trump has found time to pardon racist former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio; threaten with deportation undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children; and move to ban transgender men and women from serving in the military.
And he has tweeted. A lot.
Beyond imperiling millions of people they irrationally dislike and eroding President Obama’s policies, Trump does nothing to benefit his supporters with these unnecessary decisions. He could benefit them by officially declaring the opioid crisis a national emergency.
No community has been left untouched, but it’s in the heart of what political pundits call “Trump Country” where this epidemic has taken corrosive root. Of the top 15 states with the highest rates of opioid deaths, Trump won 10 of them. While Trump brands Muslims, transgender people, and unauthorized immigrants as threats to America’s safety, few dangers loom as monstrously as opioids. Trump supporters are so engrossed with demonizing difference that they aren’t holding the president accountable for throwing the might of his office at a scourge devouring their husbands and wives, sons and daughters, and friends and neighbors.
Now the leading cause of death for Americans under age 50, drug overdoses killed more than 59,000 people last year.
In July, Trump’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis submitted a report recommending that he officially prioritize this fight as a national emergency. Either under the Public Health Service Act or the Stafford Act, which provides federal disaster relief and emergency assistance, Trump could make it easier for addicts to seek treatment through Medicare and Medicaid, expand opioid substitution programs, and work to lower prices on expensive overdose-reversing drugs such as Narcan.
According to the commission report, about 142 people a day die from opioids, equaling the death toll on Sept. 11 every three weeks. An official declaration from Trump, it says, “would also awaken every American to this simple fact: if this scourge has not found you or your family yet, without bold action by everyone, it soon will.” We’re still waiting for Trump to do anything. This week, 10 Democratic senators, including Edward Markey of Massachusetts, sent a letter to Trump stating that his delay “causes us to question your commitment to ending the opioid use disorder and overdose crisis.”
As president, Trump has been most adept at instilling fear. Declaring a national emergency doesn’t have the hollow bravado of demanding a border wall or barring Muslim grandmothers from entering this country. In the past, federal intervention meant the mass incarceration of African-Americans and Latinos for nonviolent drug offenses. That cannot happen again. Battling a drug crisis of any magnitude demands vision, purpose, and compassion — all of which Trump sorely lacks. If there’s a plan, he needs to unveil it; meanwhile, as Trump dithers, people die, families mourn, and communities buckle under the weight of addiction and the agony of its government’s inexplicable inaction.
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One month later, many still waiting for President Trump to declare opioid emergency (VIDEO)
Sep 12, 2017 | Fox59 (IN)
October will mark four years for Justin Phillips- four years since she lost her 20-year-old son Aaron to a drug overdose.
“I never would have imagined close to four years ago, when Aaron passed away, the problem would of this magnitude,” Phillips said Tuesday from Washington in a FaceTime interview.
Phillips is in Washington this week, determined now more than ever to funnel new resources to Indiana to battle and stop a drug crisis gripping the state. Since her son’s death, Phillips founded Overdose Lifeline, an organization committed to helping families and training first responders on the importance of using Narcan or Naloxone, a drug meant to reverse the effects of an overdose.
“The federal government is the biggest pocketbook, if you will,” she said.
One month has passed since President Donald Trump said he would officially declare the nation’s opioid epidemic a national emergency.
The White House though still hasn’t officially acted, leaving some to question when or even whether the president will follow through to expand access to treatment and federal money.
“Well I certainly hope so,” Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.) said Tuesday.
Brooks has met with the president as part of his opioid commission, led by Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, who has urged the president to move quickly.
“There’s so much that needs to be done,” Brooks said. “Some of it requires funding, not all of it does. Those are the kinds of focus I hope this commission and the national emergency declaration puts on this problem.”
On Monday a group of ten Democratic Senators wrote to Trump expressing their concern.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said work continues behind the scenes, both legally and administratively, to ensure the declaration is issued properly.
“It’s a national epidemic,” said Ryan Klitzsch, Overdose Lifeline’s board of directors president. “There are things that can be done at the state and local level, but you need the national, this is a national epidemic.”
State officials said they’re waiting for the next step from the White House as well, but added Indiana will seek and apply for any new federal funds that are made available.
“On average 142 Americans are dying a day – dying a day – from opioid and heroin overdoses,” Brooks said, citing the findings of president’s opioid commission report.
“We are in this public health crisis,” Phillips said. “That is requiring resources from all different avenues with no one specific solution.”
View clip here: http://fox59.com/2017/09/12/one-month-later-many-still-waiting-for-president-trump-to-declare-opioid-emergency/
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Sep 12, 2017 | WXIX (Fox)
View clip here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29325998?token=f7cb6bc1-0574-4835-acad-c23dde640cbe
Rough transcript: right now.... drug companies are now asking a southern ohio judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by ohio attorney general mike dewine concerning the opioid epidemic. dewine accused drug makers of fraud in how they market their products. purdue pharma claims the lawsuit failed to prove the company's actions caused any harm.
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Sep 12, 2017 | WEWS (ABC) Cleveland, OH
View clip here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29326006?token=f7cb6bc1-0574-4835-acad-c23dde640cbe
Rough transcript: five drug makers are firing back at ohio attorney general mike dewine asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by dewine blaming them for fueling the opioid crisis, claiming the company mislead patients about the dangers and long term problems of pain killers. the drug companies claim federal requirements for their products protect them from ohio law.
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Sep 12, 2017 | WEWS ABC Cleveland, OH
View clip here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29326028?token=f7cb6bc1-0574-4835-acad-c23dde640cbe
Rough transcript: update on the lawsuit filed by ohio's attorney genera against five big drug companies. those drug makers are now asking a judge to dismiss that suit. mike dewine says the companies helped fuel the state's opioid epidemic accusing them of intentionally misleading patients about the dangers of painkillers. he announced the lawsuit in may saying the companies helped create the deadly mess and should pay to clean it up. the drug makers filed paperwork in ross county court last week.
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