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Opioid Litigation Daily Media Report 9/29/17

Washington State / Seattle Suits

Washington State Joins Legal Challenges Over Opioids
Sep 28, 2017 | Wall Street Journal
By Sarah Randazzo

Lawsuits seeking to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable for widespread opioid addiction are mounting, with Washington state and Louisiana joining more than half a dozen other states that already have filed actions against drugmakers and distributors.
Washington state and Seattle sue the nation’s largest opioid manufacturers
Sep 28, 2017 | W13 Fox (WA)
By Staff

Washington state’s attorney general and the city attorney for Seattle filed separate lawsuits against the makers of opioids seeking to recoup costs incurred by the government when the drugs are abused.
City of Seattle, Washington state sue 'Big Pharma' over opioids
Sep 28, 2017 | Seattle Pi (WA)
By Stephen Cohen

The City of Seattle and state of Washington are going after pharmaceutical companies they argue helped create the country's opioid epidemic.
Washington, Seattle Sue OxyContin Maker Over Opioid Crisis
Sep 28, 2017 | Patch.com
By Neal McNamara

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and the City of Seattle both announced lawsuits Thursday against Purude Pharma, the maker of the painkiller OxyContin. The suits allege Purdue Pharma marketed OxyContin deceptively, claiming that it has a low addiction risk and worked well to treat chronic pain. Rather, Ferguson said, OxyContin fueled the opioid crisis in Washington by creating scores of opioid addicts who later turned to heroin.
Washington state AG Bob Ferguson, Seattle sue OxyContin maker over opioid deaths
Sep 28, 2017 | Seattle Times
By Vernal Coleman

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes on Thursday filed separate lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies, including OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, accusing them of fueling the state’s ongoing opioid epidemic.
Seattle, state sue opioid manufacturers
Sep 28, 2017 | KOMO News (WA)
By Staff

The state and Seattle are suing opioid manufacturers, accusing them of contributing to the addiction crisis.
Washington state sues opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma (TEVA, JNJ, ENDP, AGN)
Sep 28, 2017 | Reuters
By Nate Raymond

Washington state on Thursday sued OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP, becoming the latest state or local government to file a lawsuit seeking to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for a national opioid addiction epidemic.
State AG to announce lawsuit against large opioid manufacturer
Sep 28, 2017 | KIRO7 Seattle
By Staff

State Attorney General Bob Ferguson will announce a lawsuit against one of the country's largest opioid manufacturers Thursday morning.
Washington State, Seattle Sue OxyContin's Manufacturer
Sep 29, 2017 | Occupational Health and Saftey
By Staff

Both the state of Washington and the city of Seattle have filed lawsuits this week accusing the manufacturer of OxyContin, Purdue Pharma, of fueling the opioid epidemic in the state, running a deceptive marketing campaign, and convincing doctors and the public that their drugs are effective for treating chronic pain and have a low risk of addiction -- which the plaintiffs says is "contrary to overwhelming evidence."
Washington State and Seattle are suing opioid drug-maker Purdue Pharma
| Hi Tech Beacon

The legal troubles facing makers of prescription painkillers continue to grow as the City of Seattle and Washington state have each filed lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, arguing the companies downplayed risks of the drugs and deceptively marketed them to boost profits.
Washington state AG Bob Ferguson, Seattle sue OxyContin maker over opioid deaths
Sep 28, 2017 | Newburgh Gazette
By Sheryl Bailey

At 10 am at Harborview Medical Center, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes will announce "a major lawsuit against one of the largest opioid manufacturers", according to Ferguson's office.
Lawsuits mount against opioid manufacturers
Sep 29, 2017 | My Columbia Basin (WA)
By Staff

The city of Seattle and Washington state jointly announced separate suits being filed against OxyContin manufacturers. While the Washington state case deals only with Purdue Pharma, the Seattle lawsuit also includes Teva Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Endo Pharmaceuticals and Allergan.
'A human made crisis': Washington and Seattle sue opioid makers
Sep 29, 2017 | KUOW (WA)
By Kate Walters

Washington state’s attorney general and the attorney for the city of Seattle have filed separate lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, including OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma.
AG Ferguson sues one of the nation’s largest opioid manufacturers
| The Omak Okanogan County Chronicle (WA)
By Brock Hires

Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit today accusing OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma of fueling the opioid epidemic in Washington state, embarking on a massive deceptive marketing campaign and convincing doctors and the public that their drugs are effective for treating chronic pain and have a low risk of addiction, contrary to overwhelming evidence.
Washington state and Seattle sue the nation’s largest opioid manufacturers
Sep 29, 2017 | Q13 News (WA)
By Staff

Washington state’s attorney general and the city attorney for Seattle filed separate lawsuits against the makers of opioids seeking to recoup costs incurred by the government when the drugs are abused.
State AG announces lawsuit against large opioid manufacturer
Sep 29, 2017 | Click Lancanshire
By Henrietta Strickland

The city of Seattle and Washington State have filed separate lawsuits against Purdue Pharma; maker of Oxycontin.
Washington AG: makers of Oxycontin engaged in deceptive practices
Sep 29, 2017 | KEPR (WA)
By Christopher Poulson

The State of Washington is suing the makers of several opioid drugs.
AG Ferguson suing opioid manufacturer
Sep 29, 2017 | KXLY (WA)
By Kyle Simchuk

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson is suing Purdue Pharma, the company behind the popular painkiller OxyContin.
Washington state, Seattle are latest to sue opioid makers
Sep 29, 2017 | Associated Press
By Gene Johnson

Washington state and the city of Seattle on Thursday joined more than two dozen other government entities across the country suing to hold opioid makers accountable for an addiction crisis that has claimed thousands of lives.
Seattle And Washington State File Lawsuits Against Prescription Opioid Makers
Sep 28, 2017 | Northwest Public Radio (WA)
By Ashley Gross

The legal troubles facing makers of prescription painkillers continue to grow as the City of Seattle and Washington state have each filed lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, arguing the companies downplayed risks of the drugs and deceptively marketed them to boost profits.
Suing big pharma: State and Seattle join Everett and Tacoma
Sep 28, 2017 | Herald Net (WA)
By Staff

The state and the city of Seattle on Thursday joined Everett and more than two dozen other governments across the country in suing to hold opioid makers accountable for an addiction crisis that has claimed thousands of lives.
Washington state, Seattle sue opioid drug-maker Purdue Pharma
Sep 28, 2017 | KING 5 (WA)
By Heather Bosch

The City of Seattle and Washington state have filed separate lawsuits against Purdue Pharma, which manufactures Oxycontin and other drugs containing opioids.

Other Coverage

Limit opioid prescriptions to just seven days, say drugmakers
Sep 29, 2017 | The Pharma Letter
By Staff

The US pharmaceutical industry has signaled its support for severe limitations on the length of opioid prescriptions, saying it would be happy if the current 30-day maximum was reduced to just seven days.
PhRMA backs Rick Scott plan to combat opioid epidemic
Sep 28, 2017 | Florida Politics (FL)
By Drew Wilson

Gov. Rick Scott and other elected officials said this week they would look to combat the opioid epidemic plaguing Florida by limiting first-time pain pill prescriptions to a three day supply, and Wednesday the CEO of a major drug manufacturer trade group said he was on board with a similar plan.
White House Drug Commission Partners With Big Pharma To Limit Painkiller Scripts
Sep 29, 2017 | The Daily Caller
By Steve Birr

A major pharmaceutical company is joining with the White House to enact strict limits on prescription painkiller supplies in an effort to curb rampant opioid addiction nationwide.
US probes opioid manufacturers
Sep 28, 2017 | Chemistry World
By Rebecca Trager

A multistate investigation has been launched in the US to determine whether manufacturers and distributors illegally marketed and dispensed prescription opioid drugs.
Opioid Epidemic Lawsuits Filed Nationwide while Big Pharma Makes Big Profits
Sep 28, 2017 | Lawyers and Settlements
By Jane Mundy

In the wake of the Opioid Epidemic now declared a national emergency, big Pharma faces a tsunami of litigation. Miami has just announced it may file a prescription opioid lawsuit against the manufacturers, adding to the long list of cities and municipalities that have declared an opioid crisis.
NARCAN Useful Against Opioid Overdose
Sep 29, 2017 | The Daily News (TN)
By Michael Waddell

With the number of overdose deaths from opioids such as OxyContin, Vicodin and Percocet at all-time highs, a new nasal spray is now available to counteract overdoses, and it can be acquired at local pharmacies without a prescription.
Hawaii Attorney General seeks documents from opioid manufacturers and distributors (PRESS RELEASE)
Sep 28, 2017 | State of Reform
By Hawaii OAG

Hawaii has joined a bipartisan coalition of states seeking documents and information today from manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids. This is part of a multistate investigation into the nationwide opioid epidemic. This information will let state attorneys general evaluate whether manufacturers and distributors engaged in unlawful practices in the marketing, sale, and distribution of opioids. 41 state attorneys general are participating in the multistate investigations.
Commissioners Approve Pursuing Next Steps toward Suing Opioid Manufacturers
Sep 28, 2017 | The Papers Tribune (NC)
By Leslee Kulba

“I think this resolution is a call to action,” said Commissioner Ellen Frost. “It’s a call to action for those babies that Health and Human Services see. It’s a call to action for the women currently serving in the Buncombe County Detention Center because they got addicted, when we understand that folks can get addicted from one prescription. And for people worried about the cost? Class action suits are done on a contingency. But I question anyone that puts a cost on when they lose their loved one because they got addicted to something that was never their intention. And I’d question anyone questioning the cost of saying that addiction is a choice. And if we can go at these drug companies with the full force and also show the citizens of Buncombe County that we have their back. And if we can also say to doctors, ‘Before you write that prescription, you better think of all of us, because we are on this.’ And I am so grateful to help Buncombe County Health and Human Services for the work they do and the tireless, tireless – They see this every day. And so for me this is a call for action, and we’re going to fight against it.”
Tolland Town Council votes to join opioid lawsuit
Sep 29, 2017 | Journal Inquirer (CT)
By Tim Leininger

The Town Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to join about 15 other towns in a lawsuit against Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma LP and other pharmaceutical companies responsible for making opioid medication that has led to an addiction epidemic across the country.
Philadelphia teachers health fund sues local opioid manufacturer
Sep 29, 2017 | Philadelphia Business Journal
By John George

The lawsuit alleges "deceptive and dangerous" marketing tactics.
Melania Trump hosts opioid abuse roundtable
Sep 29, 2017 | CNN
By Kate Bennett

First lady Melania Trump on Thursday led her first roundtable discussion on a policy issue, signaling she is adding the opioid crisis and its effects on families and children to her portfolio.
White House must formally declare the opioid crisis a national emergency (OPINION)
Sep 29, 2017 | The Hill
By REP. TOM MACARTHUR (R-N.J.), ANN KUSTER (D-N.H.), BRIAN FITZPATRICK (R-PA.) AND DONALD NORCROSS (D-N.J.)

A little over a month ago, President Trump announced his intention to declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency. He was right—it is an emergency. Drug overdoses killed almost 54,000 people in 2015, and the majority of those deaths involved an opioid. Last year about 12 million Americans misused an opioid, and the overdose death toll rose to 65,000. The opioid crisis is cutting deep scars in our communities, and in some states, is taking more of our loved ones than car accidents, suicides and firearms combined. It is absolutely an emergency and we urge the president to move quickly in formally declaring the opioid crisis a national health emergency.

Broadcast Media Coverage

National Public Radio
Sep 29, 2017 |

Listen to clip here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29826958?token=b20762e2-64c0-4462-85d5-5dc6b6fbba5a
Morning Express with Robin Meade
Sep 29, 2017 | CNN

View clip here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29827121?token=b20762e2-64c0-4462-85d5-5dc6b6fbba5a

Washington State / Seattle Suits

Washington State Joins Legal Challenges Over Opioids

Sep 28, 2017 | Wall Street Journal

By Sarah Randazzo

Lawsuits seeking to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable for widespread opioid addiction are mounting, with Washington state and Louisiana joining more than half a dozen other states that already have filed actions against drugmakers and distributors.
Washington state sued Purdue Pharma L.P. on Thursday for allegedly misrepresenting the addiction risk of opioid painkillers including OxyContin.
In announcing the suit, Attorney General Bob Ferguson said two Washingtonians die each day on average from opioids, and that the drugs have killed nearly 10,000 in the state since 2000. The lawsuit, filed in state court in Seattle, seeks to recoup the profits Purdue made in Washington.
Blinded by pursuit of profits…they ignored what was going on,” Mr. Ferguson said. “That’s not right.”
Purdue said Thursday it denied the allegations and is working with others “to solve this public health challenge.”
The filing comes a day after Louisiana’s Department of Health sued several opioid manufacturers over their alleged role in what the state calls its escalating opioid crisis.
That lawsuit, filed in state court in East Baton Rouge Parish, claims the companies—Purdue, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. , Johnson & Johnson , Endo InternationalPLC, Allergan PLC and various related companies—played down the risks of the drugs in their marketing. The suit seeks the recovery of an unspecified amount of money Louisiana has already spent on allegedly excessive prescriptions and related treatment costs.
Nationwide, at least 85 cities, counties and states have filed lawsuits stemming from local opioid addiction. The suits, most filed in the last six months, target a mix of drug manufacturers and distributors, as well as some prescribing doctors.
Other states that have already filed suits include New Mexico, Ohio, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Mississippi.
The companies are pushing courts to toss the suits and, while denying the states’ claims, have said they are committed to promoting responsible use of their drugs.
Endo, Purdue, Johnson & Johnson and Teva said they are working on ways to combat the opioid crisis, including through educational programs and abuse-deterrent technology. Allergan played down its share of the opioid market.
More lawsuits are likely coming.
A bipartisan group of more than three dozen states is investigating the opioid painkiller industry and said in recent weeks that it served subpoenas on the country’s five major opioid manufacturers and three companies that account for about 90% of opioid distribution in the U.S.
Widespread prescription opioid addiction has led to record overdose rates nationwide, causing alarm among public-health officials, law enforcement and politicians. Those who become addicted to prescription pills often switch to illegal opioids, like heroin, when the painkillers become harder to come by.
This week, lawyers representing nearly four dozen cities and counties suing in federal court filed a petition requesting that all such cases be consolidated in one federal court in Ohio or Illinois to “allow efficient and coordinated adjudication of the burgeoning number of cases.”

The petition, filed before the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, notes that there are at least 66 such cases currently filed on behalf of government entities in federal court.

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Washington state and Seattle sue the nation’s largest opioid manufacturers

Sep 28, 2017 | W13 Fox (WA)

By Staff

Washington state’s attorney general and the city attorney for Seattle filed separate lawsuits against the makers of opioids seeking to recoup costs incurred by the government when the drugs are abused.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson says Purdue Pharma launched a deceptive marketing campaign and convinced doctors and the public that their drugs were effective for treating chronic pain and have a low risk of addiction.
“Purdue Pharma ignored the devastating consequences of its opioids and profited from its massive deception,” Ferguson said. “It’s time they are held accountable and pay for the devastation they caused.”
The City of Seattle filed a separate lawsuit against Purdue, in addition to Teva Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Endo Pharmaceuticals and Allergan.
Both suits, filed Thursday in King County Superior Court contend that Purdue’s illegal conduct contributed to excessive prescriptions and addiction, causing many addicted patients to look for other ways — including illegal means — to get more pills or to get heroin.
A 2014 study found that nearly 80 percent of heroin users reported using prescription opioids prior to heroin.
“I stand together with Attorney General Ferguson in fighting for justice for patients who were prescribed opioids and became addicted, because they were not irresponsible; they were deceived,” Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said. “Addiction to opioids and heroin does not stop at Seattle’s city limits. This is the city’s problem, the state’s problem, and everyone’s problem.”
More than two dozen states, cities and counties have brought lawsuits against opioid manufacturers that many officials blame for a national addiction crisis.
The governments hope to recoup costs for responding to drug addiction, including money spent on emergencies and social services.

Earlier this month the city of Tacoma, Washington, sued the opioid makers, and on Tuesday a federal judge ruled that a lawsuit filed by Everett, Washington, against the maker of the pain medication OxyContin could proceed.

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City of Seattle, Washington state sue 'Big Pharma' over opioids

Sep 28, 2017 | Seattle Pi (WA)

By Stephen Cohen

The City of Seattle and state of Washington are going after pharmaceutical companies they argue helped create the country's opioid epidemic.
In a Thursday press conference at Harborview Medical Center, Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes and Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced separate lawsuits against major drug companies. Those named as defendants in the Seattle suit including Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, among several others. The state named only Purdue, the maker of OxyContin as a defendant.
"Purdue has made billions of dollars by fueling Washington's opioid epidemic by knowingly deceiving doctors and the public about the risks of long-term opioid use," Ferguson said.
In addition to civil penalties, the state's suit will seek to obtain any profits Purdue made in Washington state. The state suit was filed in addition to action it's already take alongside other states, and Ferguson said the suit against Purdue did not preclude his office from suing other opioid producers.
Both suits allege companies misled doctors and other healthcare providers by not disclosing the "addictive and debilitating" nature of opioids, powerful narcotic pain relievers, including oxycodone and hydrocodone.
The suits come as the state and nation try to find solutions to widespread opioid addiction. According to data collected by the University of Washington's Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute, opioid use has skyrocketed over the past decade, with around 700 people in the state dying from opioid use per year over the past decade.
Holmes connected prescription opioid abuse to Seattle's heroin and homelessness issues.
"Unlike earthquakes and hurricanes, this disaster is a human-made crisis," Holmes said.
In its lawsuit, the city argues doctors generally avoided prescribing opioids for chronic pain until drug companies began pushing them do to so in the 1990s. The city said drug companies spent millions on "promotional activities and materials that falsely deny or trivialize the risks of opioids while overstating the benefits of using them for chronic pain."
Ferguson referenced promotional materials that claimed that less than 1 percent of Purdue's patients developed opioid addictions, a number he believes was pulled from a 1980 letter to the editor from The New England Journal of Medicine.
"Purdue Pharma has knowingly conducted an uncontrolled experiment on the people of Washington State and the American public without any reliable clinical evidence that opioids are safe -- or even effective -- for long-term, chronic pain," Ferguson said.
The suits alleges companies purposely disseminated inaccurate information through sales reps and physicians recruited the the drug companies for the purpose of selling their products to their colleagues. In addition to downplaying the risk of addiction and claiming that opioid abuse was easily managed, the city argues that companies promoted the concept of "pseudoaddictin," which advocates for the treatment of addiction with more opioids.
"When signs of addiction appeared in their patients, Purdue persuaded doctors that what appeared to be addiction was actually under-treatment of their pain and to respond to that by increasing opioid dosages," Ferguson said.

"I don't know how executives at Purdue Pharma sleep at night," he said.

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Washington, Seattle Sue OxyContin Maker Over Opioid Crisis

Sep 28, 2017 | Patch.com

By Neal McNamara

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and the City of Seattle both announced lawsuits Thursday against Purude Pharma, the maker of the painkiller OxyContin. The suits allege Purdue Pharma marketed OxyContin deceptively, claiming that it has a low addiction risk and worked well to treat chronic pain. Rather, Ferguson said, OxyContin fueled the opioid crisis in Washington by creating scores of opioid addicts who later turned to heroin.
Ferguson and Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes announced the lawsuits Thursday morning. The state and Seattle's lawsuits come after Everett became the first city in the U.S. to sue Purdue Pharma, alleging that the company flooded the city with addictive painkillers.
"Purdue Pharma ignored the devastating consequences of its opioids and profited from its massive deception,” Ferguson said in a statement. “It’s time they are held accountable and pay for the devastation they caused.”
Ferguson's suit seeks monetary damages in the form of Purdue Pharma's profits in Washington from the sale of OxyContin. The money would be used to "remediate the effects of Purdue’s misrepresentations of opioids, possibly funding treatment, education and more."
In addition to Purdue Pharma, Seattle is suing the pharmaceutical companies Teva Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Endo Pharmaceuticals, and Allergan. Holmes is accusing those companies of setting up "front groups" like the American Pain Foundation and American Academy of Pain Medicine, “to spread false and deceptive statements about the risks and benefits of opioids.”
“I stand together with Attorney General Ferguson in fighting for justice for patients who were prescribed opioids and became addicted, because they were not irresponsible; they were deceived,” Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said in a statement. “Addiction to opioids and heroin does not stop at Seattle’s city limits. This is the city’s problem, the state’s problem, and everyone’s problem.”
There have been scary signs of a worsening local opioid epidemic. The University of Washington in August released a study showing 332 people in King County in 2016 died of a drug overdose, and 75 percent of those deaths were from an opioid overdose. The same week that study came out, the Pierce County Council declared a public health epidemic in the county due to opioid addiction.
In January, three people in North Seattle died in a single day after using tainted heroin. Through the end of May, Seattle police revived at least 17 people using the anti-opioid drug Nalxone. By the end 2016, Seattle police had revived at least 14 people using Naloxone.
In early August, the Snohomish County Health District published a startling snapshot of how the opioid crisis was hitting the county. In one week in July, 37 people overdosed on an opioid, including 10 on July 1 alone. Three of the overdose victims died.
Purdue Pharma, based in Stamford, Conn., responded to Thursdays suits saying, "We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense."

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Washington state AG Bob Ferguson, Seattle sue OxyContin maker over opioid deaths

Sep 28, 2017 | Seattle Times

By Vernal Coleman

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes on Thursday filed separate lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies, including OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, accusing them of fueling the state’s ongoing opioid epidemic.
The city of Seattle’s suit includes Purdue, Teva Pharmaceuticals and several other prescription drugmakers. The state’s suit involves only Purdue, accusing the company of using deceptive marketing to convince both patients and doctors that the drug is effective for treating chronic pain and carries low risk of addiction.
The company downplayed the risk of taking the drugs, according to the attorney general’s office.
Filed in King County Superior Court, the city’s lawsuit alleges that Purdue contributed to the drugs being over-prescribed by doctors.
Ferguson’s lawsuit seeks to force Purdue to forfeit profits made in Washington over the sale of opioids.
In a news conference Thursday morning at Harborview Medical Center, Ferguson and Holmes introduced their lawsuits. Ferguson said Purdue had conducted an “uncontrolled experiment” by infusing communities across the nation with misleading marketing about opioids.
“They ignored what was happening … for their bottom line,” Ferguson said, “and that’s not right.”
Holmes said Seattle’s lawsuit would seek to “recover what’s been lost” because of the opioid epidemic. He said the city spends millions each year for first responders who deal with overdoses, social workers who help treat people with addiction, and park employees who pick up needles instead of doing other work.
Holmes also linked the epidemic to the city’s homelessness crisis. He referenced a 2016 city assessment that concluded a main cause of someone losing their home, second only to job loss, was drug addiction.
“No one is untouched by this opioid epidemic,” Holmes said. “Seattle will continue to lead with progressive values.”
Purdue issued a statement Thursday in response to the lawsuits, saying it was seeking motions to dismiss similar suits in other states.
“We are deeply troubled by the opioid crisis and we are dedicated to being part of the solution. As a company grounded in science, we must balance patient access to FDA-approved medicines, while working collaboratively to solve this public health challenge,” the statement said. “We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense.”
More than two dozen states, cities and counties have brought lawsuits against opioid manufacturers that many blame for a national addiction crisis. The governments hope to recoup costs for responding to drug addiction, including money spent on emergencies and social services.

Earlier this month, Tacoma sued the opioid makers, and on Tuesday a federal judge ruled that a lawsuit filed by Everett against Purdue could proceed.

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Seattle, state sue opioid manufacturers

Sep 28, 2017 | KOMO News (WA)

By Staff

The state and Seattle are suing opioid manufacturers, accusing them of contributing to the addiction crisis.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Seattle City Attorney announced the lawsuits at a news conference Thursday.
Both Everett and Tacoma have sued opioid manufacturers, blaming them for contributing to the opioid-addiction epidemic.
The state is suing OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma. It is accusing the company of fueling the opioid epidemic in Washington, using a deceptive marketing campaign and convincing doctors and the public that the drugs have a low risk of addiction.
Seattle is suing not only Purdue but also Teva Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Endo Pharmaceuticals and Allergan. The city is using an outside law firm. But that firm will be paid only if the lawsuit is successful and damages are awarded.
“Purdue Pharma ignored the devastating consequences of its opioids and profited from its massive deception,” Ferguson said in a statement. “It’s time they are held accountable and pay for the devastation they caused.”
Holmes said in a statement: "I stand together with Attorney General Ferguson in fighting for justice for patients who were prescribed opioids and became addicted, because they were not irresponsible; they were deceived. Addiction to opioids and heroin does not stop at Seattle’s city limits. This is the city’s problem, the state’s problem, and everyone’s problem.”

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Washington state sues opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma (TEVA, JNJ, ENDP, AGN)

Sep 28, 2017 | Reuters

By Nate Raymond

Washington state on Thursday sued OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP, becoming the latest state or local government to file a lawsuit seeking to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for a national opioid addiction epidemic.
The city of Seattle also filed a separate lawsuit against Purdue as well as units of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Johnson & Johnson, Endo International Plc and Allergan plc.
The lawsuit by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson accused Purdue of deceptive marketing of OxyContin and convincing doctors and the public that its drugs had a low-risk of addiction and were effective for treating chronic pain.
"People came in showing signs of addiction," Ferguson said. "Purdue's response was that’s not addiction."
Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue said in a statement that it was "deeply troubled" by the opioid crisis and that its U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved products account for just 2 percent of all opioid prescriptions.
"We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense," Purdue said.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioids were involved in over 33,000 deaths in 2015, the latest year for which data is available. The death rate has continued rising, according to estimates.
The lawsuit followed a wave of cases against drugmakers by Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, New Hampshire and South Carolina, as well as several cities and counties in states including California, Illinois and New York.

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State AG to announce lawsuit against large opioid manufacturer

Sep 28, 2017 | KIRO7 Seattle

By Staff

State Attorney General Bob Ferguson will announce a lawsuit against one of the country's largest opioid manufacturers Thursday morning.
Ferguson will make the announcement at Harborview Medical Center at 10 a.m. The lawsuit joins others from Tacoma and Everett.
The lawsuit comes as many cities across Western Washington, and the country, are dealing with an opioid crisis.
In January, Everett filed a civil lawsuit against Purdue Pharma for allowing OxyContin to be funneled through the black market, causing the current opioid crisis in Everett, according to the city.
Purdue moved to dismiss the city’s lawsuit, but the court ruled that the majority of the city’s claims can move forward.
Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson said Purdue needs to help solve the crisis it caused.
“Part of that solution will be determined in the months to come in terms of you know – what’s it going to take to make us whole? How are we going to get help for those on the street? And how we’re going to improve our collective quality of life,” said Stephanson.
Purdue argues they weren't liable for the crisis, saying they only wholesale the drug and don't sell directly to users.
Tacoma’s lawsuit is against three opioid manufacturers: Purdue, Endo Pharmaceuticals, which makes Percocet and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, which makes fentanyl patches that deliver the powerful painkiller.
The lawsuit says the city has suffered significant damages, including a strain on emergency services, dramatically increased cost and difficulty to provide human services to many homeless people who are addicted, and soaring opioid-related crime.

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Washington State, Seattle Sue OxyContin's Manufacturer

Sep 29, 2017 | Occupational Health and Saftey

By Staff

Both the state of Washington and the city of Seattle have filed lawsuits this week accusing the manufacturer of OxyContin, Purdue Pharma, of fueling the opioid epidemic in the state, running a deceptive marketing campaign, and convincing doctors and the public that their drugs are effective for treating chronic pain and have a low risk of addiction -- which the plaintiffs says is "contrary to overwhelming evidence."
The city's lawsuit against Purdue Pharma also named Teva Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Endo Pharmaceuticals, and Allergan as defendants. The city and Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced their lawsuits together.
The lawsuits were filed in King County Superior Court and contend that Purdue's illegal conduct contributed to excessive prescriptions and addiction, causing many addicted patients to look for other ways — including illegal means — to get more pills or to get heroin. According to the state, a 2014 study found nearly 80 percent of heroin users reported using prescription opioids prior to heroin.
"Purdue Pharma ignored the devastating consequences of its opioids and profited from its massive deception," Ferguson said. "It's time they are held accountable and pay for the devastation they caused."
"I stand together with Attorney General Ferguson in fighting for justice for patients who were prescribed opioids and became addicted, because they were not irresponsible; they were deceived," Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said. "Addiction to opioids and heroin does not stop at Seattle's city limits. This is the city’s problem, the state’s problem, and everyone’s problem."
"Most of our health care professionals want to do the right thing for patients, but some corporations sought to boost their bottom line to peddle opioids on false promises, which, in great part, created this crisis. These corporations must be held accountable. I appreciate the Attorney General taking this important step today," Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said. "This will help with some recompense so we can implement our state’s opioid response plan and my executive order with the goals to prevent the next generation from becoming addicted, to prevent overdoses and to treat people who have opioid use disorder, a true medical condition with an effective medical treatment."
The state claims Purdue Pharma's sales representatives were trained to reassure prescribers that there is "no ceiling" on the amount of OxyContin a patient could be prescribed and that the company's sales staff kept detailed records of prescriptions in Washington by prescriber, drug strength, quantity, and other factors, then used the data to aggressively market its drugs to the highest prescribers in the state.
According to the state, prescriptions and sales of opioids in Washington rose by more than 500 percent between 1997 and 2011. In 2011, at the peak of overall sales in Washington, more than 112 million daily doses of all prescription opioids were dispensed in the state — enough for a 16-day supply for every person in Washington.

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Washington State and Seattle are suing opioid drug-maker Purdue Pharma

| Hi Tech Beacon

The legal troubles facing makers of prescription painkillers continue to grow as the City of Seattle and Washington state have each filed lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, arguing the companies downplayed risks of the drugs and deceptively marketed them to boost profits.
A 2014 study found that almost 80 percent of heroin users reported using prescription opioids before they started using heroin, Ferguson said.
The state's suit accuses Purdue, maker of OxyContin, of using deceptive marketing to convince both patients and doctors that the drug is effective for treating chronic pain and carries low risk of addiction. As a company grounded in science, we must balance patient access to FDA-approved medicines, while working collaboratively to solve this public health challenge.
A spokesman for Purdue Pharma denied the allegations and said the company is deeply troubled by the opioid crisis.
The city of Seattle's lawsuit also names Purdue, along with several other opioid manufacturers, including Teva Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and Johnson & Johnson.
The governments hope to recoup costs of responding to drug addiction, including money spent on emergencies, criminal justice and social services.
"Unlike earthquakes and hurricanes, this disaster is a human-made crisis". "I'm actually the one who called CPS", Wolf said.
Holmes, whose office has recently seen huge cost-overruns caused by high volumes of litigation, said the city will be represented by an outside law firm for this case.
She declined to sue the doctors, she said: "In reality, they saved my son's life from cancer". He said the city has spent millions of dollars to address the needs of people addicted to opioids.
Many addicts never get a second chance, but Harmony and her son are an exception.
She said she knew he had a problem when she visited him in treatment, and he asked her to leave, saying, "This is my happy time". He's now 31, and has struggled since his teens with addiction and homelessness.
Other cities such as Everett and Tacoma and states such as OH and Missouri have already sued pharmaceutical companies that make the drugs. Ferguson said this will not be the only lawsuit the state will file in relation to the opioid epidemic.

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Washington state AG Bob Ferguson, Seattle sue OxyContin maker over opioid deaths

Sep 28, 2017 | Newburgh Gazette

By Sheryl Bailey

At 10 am at Harborview Medical Center, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes will announce "a major lawsuit against one of the largest opioid manufacturers", according to Ferguson's office.
In King County previous year, drug-use deaths hit a record high at 332. "One can not engage in unfair, or deceptive practices as an entity in our state, and it's our allegations that's what's going on by Purdue Pharma- in how they discuss and promote their drugs".
Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said King County had a record 332 overdose deaths previous year and more than two-thirds were opioid-related.
The City of Seattle filed a separate lawsuit Thursday against Purdue, as well as Teva Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Endo Pharmaceuticals and Allergan.
The latest suits, filed separately in King County Superior Court, accuse the companies of deliberately overstating the effectiveness of their prescription painkillers while misleading patients and doctors about the risks of addiction - in violation of Washington's consumer protection laws.
"Purdue Pharma has knowingly conducted an uncontrolled experiment on the people of Washington state and the American public without any reliable, clinical evidence that opioids are safe or even effective at treating long-term, chronic pain", he said.
"As a company grounded in science, we must balance patient access to FDA-approved medicines, while working collaboratively to solve this public health challenge", it said.
Ferguson said this will not be the only lawsuit the state will file in relation to the opioid epidemic.
An opioid prescription took away her pain- it also took away everything she had to live for. She declined to sue the doctors, she said: "In reality, they saved my son's life from cancer".
"I am so blessed to be alive today, because so many of my friends are dead", said Wolf.
Dennis said this should never have happened to her son, it's not the life he was supposed to have. She regained custody six months ago.
"If you don't have someone to love you, love somebody else".
Other cities such as Everett and Tacoma and states such as OH and Missouri have already sued pharmaceutical companies that make the drugs. "Do it for them", she said.
In a statement, Purdue Pharma said, "We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense". Earlier this week, a federal judge ruled the lawsuit could proceed.

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Lawsuits mount against opioid manufacturers

Sep 29, 2017 | My Columbia Basin (WA)

By Staff

The city of Seattle and Washington state jointly announced separate suits being filed against OxyContin manufacturers. While the Washington state case deals only with Purdue Pharma, the Seattle lawsuit also includes Teva Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Endo Pharmaceuticals and Allergan.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson says the state’s suit against Purdue Pharma charges that the company embarked on a massive deceptive marketing campaign and convinced doctors and the public that their drugs are effective in treating chronic pain and have a low risk of addiction, contrary to overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Ferguson said that Purdue’s actions yielded the company billions of dollars in profit nationally, while resulting in deaths and devastation. The state is asking that Purdue be forced to forfeit its Washington profits.
The city of Seattle is also suing companies for basically performing an uncontrolled experiment on the American public, without any reliable clinical evidence that opioids are effective in treating chronic pain.
By filing the state’s lawsuit, Ferguson has ended his participation in a multi-state coalition investigating opioid manufacturers nationwide. Several states have already filed similar lawsuits, using outside attorneys to handle the cases. Those include Ohio, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Missouri. Washington is only the second state to handle its case internally. Multnomah County has filed suit, but at last report, Oregon had not. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is on the leadership team of that multi-state coalition.

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'A human made crisis': Washington and Seattle sue opioid makers

Sep 29, 2017 | KUOW (WA)

By Kate Walters

Washington state’s attorney general and the attorney for the city of Seattle have filed separate lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, including OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma.
Both the city and the state claim drug companies have contributed to the ongoing opioid and heroin epidemic.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Thursday Purdue Pharma marketed their drug deceptively to doctors and the public — over-stating effectiveness and down-playing the risk of addiction.
He said this deceptive marketing contributed to excessive prescribing, addiction, and the current opioid crisis.
"Blinded by pursuit of profit — billions and billions of dollars — they ignored what was going on in our communities all across this country for their bottom line. That's not right. It's our job to hold them accountable for that," Ferguson said.
The state lawsuit seeks to make Purdue give up the profits it made in Washington as a result of selling opioids.
According to a statement,
“the lawsuit contends Purdue conducted an uncontrolled experiment on the American public without any reliable clinical evidence that opioids are effective at treating chronic pain. To doctors and patients, Purdue consistently downplayed the risks of addiction from long-term use and deceptively represented opioids as safe for treating long-term chronic pain.”
Ferguson said Purdue repeatedly claimed that opioid addiction occurred in less than 1 percent of patients.
He said that number is not based on a clinical study, but rather “a 1980 letter to the editor in the New England Journal of Medicine. That’s what it’s based on”.
He said there are many examples of false claims by Purdue.
In a statement, Purdue Pharma denied the allegations.
“We are deeply troubled by the opioid crisis and we are dedicated to being part of the solution. As a company grounded in science, we must balance patient access to FDA-approved medicines, while working collaboratively to solve this public health challenge. Although our products account for approximately 2 percent of the total opioid prescriptions, as a company, we’ve distributed the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, developed the first FDA-approved opioid medication with abuse-deterrent properties and partner with law enforcement to ensure access to naloxone. We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense.”
The city of Seattle’s lawsuit also names Purdue, along with several other opioid manufacturers, including Teva Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and Johnson & Johnson.
City attorney Pete Holmes said the city hopes to recoup some of the costs the opioid crisis has caused, including money spent on human services and emergency response.
"Unlike earthquakes and hurricanes, this disaster is a human-made crisis. The lawsuit that I filed today on behalf of the city of Seattle is to hold accountable, first and foremost, those who have caused the harm to this city," Holmes said.
Holmes, whose office has recently seen huge cost-overruns caused by high volumes of litigation, said the city will be represented by an outside law firm for this case. But he noted that Seattle will only pay a fee if they win the suit and recover damages.
Prescriptions and sales of opioids in Washington increased by more than 500 percent between 1997 and 2011, according to a statement from the attorney general’s office.
The statement also notes that a 2014 study found nearly 80 percent of heroin users reported using prescription opioids first.
City attorney Holmes said no one is untouched by the opioid crisis and the two lawsuits are one way to bring more resources into the community to help people recover.
Kirkland resident Rose Dennis has seen the toll of opioid addiction first hand. Dennis’ son was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 12 years old.
Dennis said Thursday that her son spent nine months in a Seattle hospital hooked up to an opiate drip to deal with the pain of his chemotherapy. Dennis said that treatment ended in her son becoming addicted to opioids and progressing to using heroin.
“It was never mentioned to us that one of the side effects of his cancer would be opiate addiction… he left the hospital after nine months cured of cancer but with the disease of addiction,” Dennis said.
Dennis said her son, now 31, has been in and out of treatment multiple times over the years and remains addicted to this day.
She said he’s lived on the streets and they’ve had to kick him out several times because he was stealing from them to support his addiction.
Dennis said this should never have happened to her son, it’s not the life he was supposed to have. She said she’s concerned that providers felt their treatment with opioids was OK.
Holmes also noted that addiction was a large contributor to the homelessness crisis in Seattle.
Multiple cities and counties across the country have sued opioid manufacturers, including Tacoma and Everett.
Ferguson said this will not be the only lawsuit the state will file in relation to the opioid epidemic.

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AG Ferguson sues one of the nation’s largest opioid manufacturers

| The Omak Okanogan County Chronicle (WA)

By Brock Hires

Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit today accusing OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma of fueling the opioid epidemic in Washington state, embarking on a massive deceptive marketing campaign and convincing doctors and the public that their drugs are effective for treating chronic pain and have a low risk of addiction, contrary to overwhelming evidence.
This deceptive marketing resulted in the deaths of Washingtonians and devastation to Washington families, according to Ferguson...
The remainder of this article is under paywall: http://www.omakchronicle.com/news/2017/sep/28/ag-ferguson-sues-one-nations-largest-opioid-manufa/

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Washington state and Seattle sue the nation’s largest opioid manufacturers

Sep 29, 2017 | Q13 News (WA)

By Staff

Washington state’s attorney general and the city attorney for Seattle filed separate lawsuits against the makers of opioids seeking to recoup costs incurred by the government when the drugs are abused.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson says Purdue Pharma launched a deceptive marketing campaign and convinced doctors and the public that their drugs were effective for treating chronic pain and have a low risk of addiction.
“Purdue Pharma ignored the devastating consequences of its opioids and profited from its massive deception,” Ferguson said. “It’s time they are held accountable and pay for the devastation they caused.”
The City of Seattle filed a separate lawsuit against Purdue, in addition to Teva Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Endo Pharmaceuticals and Allergan.
Both suits, filed Thursday in King County Superior Court contend that Purdue’s illegal conduct contributed to excessive prescriptions and addiction, causing many addicted patients to look for other ways — including illegal means — to get more pills or to get heroin.
A 2014 study found that nearly 80 percent of heroin users reported using prescription opioids prior to heroin.
“I stand together with Attorney General Ferguson in fighting for justice for patients who were prescribed opioids and became addicted, because they were not irresponsible; they were deceived,” Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said. “Addiction to opioids and heroin does not stop at Seattle’s city limits. This is the city’s problem, the state’s problem, and everyone’s problem.”
More than two dozen states, cities and counties have brought lawsuits against opioid manufacturers that many officials blame for a national addiction crisis.
The governments hope to recoup costs for responding to drug addiction, including money spent on emergencies and social services.
Earlier this month the city of Tacoma, Washington, sued the opioid makers, and on Tuesday a federal judge ruled that a lawsuit filed by Everett, Washington, against the maker of the pain medication OxyContin could proceed.

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State AG announces lawsuit against large opioid manufacturer

Sep 29, 2017 | Click Lancanshire

By Henrietta Strickland

The city of Seattle and Washington State have filed separate lawsuits against Purdue Pharma; maker of Oxycontin.
In January, Everett filed a civil lawsuitagainst Purdue for allowing OxyContin to be funneled through the black market, causing the current opioid crisis in Everett, according to the city.
The lawsuit by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson accused Purdue of deceptive marketing of OxyContin and convincing doctors and the public that its drugs had a low-risk of addiction and were effective for treating chronic pain.
The lawsuit seeks to force Purdue to forfeit the Washington portion of those profits. "They downplayed the significant risk of patients becoming addicted to opioids, and they made false claims about the overdose risks", Ferguson said, pointing out that many people who start abusing pain pills turn to heroin to get their opioid fix. "That's not right. It's our job to hold them accountable for that", Ferguson said.
Ferguson said Purdue repeatedly claimed that opioid addiction occurred in less than 1 percent of patients.
The company insisted it wants to be part of the solution to the opioid crisis.
The latest suits, filed separately in King County Superior Court, accuse the companies of deliberately overstating the effectiveness of their prescription painkillers while misleading patients and doctors about the risks of addiction - in violation of Washington's consumer protection laws.
Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue said in a statement it was "deeply troubled" by the opioid crisis and that its U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved products account for just 2 percent of all opioid prescriptions.
Dennis said Thursday that her son spent nine months in a Seattle hospital hooked up to an opiate drip to deal with the pain of his chemotherapy. He said the city has spent millions of dollars to address the needs of people addicted to opioids.
She said she knew he had a problem when she visited him in treatment, and he asked her to leave, saying, "This is my happy time".
More than two dozen states, cities and counties - including Ohio, Mississippi, Orange County in California, and the Washington cities of Everett and Tacoma - have sued the pharmaceutical companies. He's now 31, and has struggled since his teens with addiction and homelessness.

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Washington AG: makers of Oxycontin engaged in deceptive practices

Sep 29, 2017 | KEPR (WA)

By Christopher Poulson

The State of Washington is suing the makers of several opioid drugs.
TRI-CITIES, Wash. - The State of Washington is suing the makers of several opioid drugs.
At a news conference Thursday, State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said he wants to recoup millions of dollars the state has had to spend fighting the opioid crisis,
"In addition to civil penalties and damages we're asking the court to order Purdue to give up the profits it made in Washington State as a result of its illegal conduct."
Ferguson said Purdue Pharma, the makers of Oxycontin, engaged in deceptive practices in the Evergreen State,
"When signs of addiction appeared in their patients, Purdue persuaded doctors that what appeared to be addiction was actually under-treatment of their pain."
This epidemic has a lot of consequences that stem from addiction but Captain Mike Cobb of the Richland Police Department said so far the Tri-Cities have been lucky,
"We've seen some opioid overdoses in the area. Not like we've seen in other areas of the country where its literally at epidemic proportions but we do have those occurring throughout the Tri-Cities. We want to remain cognizant and aware of the problems we're experiencing so hopefully it doesn't get to that level."
Dr. Jeffrey Allgaeir said he witnessed how rampant substance abuse is while working in an emergency room. He and another doctor founded Ideal Option, an addiction treatment center. He said crime attributed to opioid addiction in Tri-Cities could be lower because people here ask for help and get treatment, but the opioid crisis is already here,
"[Ideal Option] has close to a thousand patients in the Tri-Cities. That's just with [our clinic]. The issue is big."
Dr. Allgaeir said Thursday's lawsuit isn't the first suit against Purdue Pharma, but the overall crisis is bigger than one company,
"The issue is with us doctors. We're the ones who didn't appropriately read the literature. We're the ones who didn't read the studies and dissect them in a way they should have been dissected. We didn't do that, and that's on us."
He said he doesn't feel the lawsuit against Purdue is the best way to fix this. He'd like to see the medical community work with Purdue to find a long-term solution to the opioid crisis,
"Just playing the blame game and nailing somebody to the wall is not going to fix the problem. What is going to fix the problem is if we all work together."

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AG Ferguson suing opioid manufacturer

Sep 29, 2017 | KXLY (WA)

By Kyle Simchuk

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson is suing Purdue Pharma, the company behind the popular painkiller OxyContin.
Ferguson blames Purdue Pharma for fueling the opioid epidemic in Washington. Last year on average, two people died every day from opioid drugs. The lawsuit filed in King County on Thursday claims Purdue lead a deceptive marketing campaign- telling doctors, patients, and the public that their drugs had a low risk for addiction, abuse, and overdose.

"We have a consumer protection act in our state," said Ferguson. "One cannot engage in unfair, or deceptive practices as an entity in our state, and it's our allegations that's what's going on by Purdue Pharma- in how they discuss and promote their drugs."

Ferguson wants Purdue to hand over the profits collected in Washington, which total millions of dollars. The state would use that money to fund treatment programs and education.

Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes filed a similar lawsuit on Thursday as well.

"This lawsuit is one way we can bring more resources to help thousands of people in our community recover from addiction and rebuild their lives," said Holmes. "And through the justice system, we will hold those accountable for the current opioid crisis and make them pay."

Many addicts have paid with their lives. For others, the search for sobriety has been difficult.

"It doesn't matter who you are, it will take your whole life," said Harmony Wolf, a former addict.

"Out of every single drug that I have been severely addicted to, OxyContin was absolutely the worst," said Wolf.

An opioid prescription took away her pain- it also took away everything she had to live for.

"I'm actually the one who called CPS," Wolf said.

She lost custody of her son twice throughout her path to recovery.

"I am so blessed to be alive today, because so many of my friends are dead," said Wolf.

Many addicts never get a second chance, but Harmony and her son are an exception. She regained custody six months ago. She is now an advocate for alternative methods for pain relief. Wolf wants other addicts to know there is always hope.

"If you don't have someone to love you, love somebody else. Do it for them," she said.

Purdue Pharma responded to the lawsuit saying in part they vigorously deny the allegations, and look forward to presenting their defense. The city of Everett has also sued the company. Earlier this week, a federal judge ruled the lawsuit could proceed.

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Washington state, Seattle are latest to sue opioid makers

Sep 29, 2017 | Associated Press

By Gene Johnson

Washington state and the city of Seattle on Thursday joined more than two dozen other government entities across the country suing to hold opioid makers accountable for an addiction crisis that has claimed thousands of lives.
The governments hope to recoup costs of responding to drug addiction, including money spent on emergencies, criminal justice and social services.
“Unlike earthquakes and hurricanes, this disaster is a human-made crisis,” Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes told a news conference at Harborview Medical Center, where officials said more than 100 people were being treated for addiction.
The latest suits, filed separately in King County Superior Court, accuse the companies of deliberately overstating the effectiveness of their prescription painkillers while misleading patients and doctors about the risks of addiction – in violation of Washington’s consumer protection laws.
The state’s complaint names Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, while the city names numerous defendants, including Purdue and Teva Pharmaceutical.
In a written statement, Purdue denied the allegations but said it is “deeply troubled” by the addiction crisis and “dedicated to being part of the solution.”
“As a company grounded in science, we must balance patient access to FDA-approved medicines, while working collaboratively to solve this public health challenge,” it said.
More than two dozen states, cities and counties – including Ohio, Mississippi, Orange County in California, and the Washington cities of Everett and Tacoma – have sued the pharmaceutical companies. Most other states have recently broadened a joint effort to investigate the companies’ actions.
If the industry cooperates, the investigation could lead to a national settlement. Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen has said there are early indications that drug makers and distributors will discuss the matter with the states.
Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said he was withdrawing from that effort because he was ready to sue now in light of the ongoing harms opioid addiction is causing in the state. Nearly 10,000 people have died from overdoses in the state since 2000, he said.
“Purdue Pharma has knowingly conducted an uncontrolled experiment on the people of Washington state and the American public without any reliable, clinical evidence that opioids are safe or even effective at treating long-term, chronic pain,” he said.
Ferguson and Holmes were joined at the news conference by representatives of the Seattle police and fire departments, as well as Rose Dennis, of Kirkland, who said her son became addicted as a 12-year-old when he spent nine months hooked to an opioid drip while being treated for leukemia at a Seattle medical center. He’s now 31, and has struggled since his teens with addiction and homelessness.
She said she knew he had a problem when she visited him in treatment, and he asked her to leave, saying, “This is my happy time.”
She declined to sue the doctors, she said: “In reality, they saved my son’s life from cancer.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that in 2015, drug overdoses killed more than 52,000 Americans. Most involved prescription opioids such as OxyContin or Vicodin or related illicit drugs such as heroin and fentanyl. People with addictions often switch among the drugs.

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Seattle And Washington State File Lawsuits Against Prescription Opioid Makers

Sep 28, 2017 | Northwest Public Radio (WA)

By Ashley Gross

The legal troubles facing makers of prescription painkillers continue to grow as the City of Seattle and Washington state have each filed lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, arguing the companies downplayed risks of the drugs and deceptively marketed them to boost profits.
Other cities such as Everett and Tacoma and states such as Ohio and Missouri have already sued pharmaceutical companies that make the drugs.
Washington is suing Purdue Pharma, which makes the opioid painkiller Oxycontin. Attorney General Bob Ferguson said the company marketed the drug as safe and effective without proof.
“Blinded by pursuit of profits – billions and billions of dollars – they ignored what was going on in our communities all across this country for their bottom line,” Ferguson said. “That’s not right.”
A spokesman for Purdue Pharma denied the allegations and said the company is deeply troubled by the opioid crisis. The company also said it’s partnering with law enforcement to ensure access to naloxone, a drug used to treat overdoses.
Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said King County had a record 332 overdose deaths last year and more than two-thirds were opioid-related. He said the city has spent millions of dollars to address the needs of people addicted to opioids.
“Our public health system, our criminal justice system and our human services safety net are incredibly stressed and maxed out by the surge in opioid and heroin use,” Holmes said.
Seattle’s lawsuit targets Purdue Pharma and other drug companies, including Endo Pharmaceuticals, which makes the drug Percocet.
An Endo spokeswoman said the company doesn’t comment on current litigation. She said the company’s top priorities include patient safety and ensuring that patients with chronic pain get safe and effective treatment.
“We share in the FDA’s goal of appropriately supporting the needs of patients with chronic pain while preventing misuse and diversion of opioid products,” the company said in a statement.
Earlier this week, a federal judge ruled that the city of Everett can proceed with its lawsuit against Purdue Pharma.

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Suing big pharma: State and Seattle join Everett and Tacoma

Sep 28, 2017 | Herald Net (WA)

By Staff

The state and the city of Seattle on Thursday joined Everettand more than two dozen other governments across the country in suing to hold opioid makers accountable for an addiction crisis that has claimed thousands of lives.
Like those other entities, Washington and Seattle are seeking a sizable settlement to recoup costs of coping with what’s been described as an epidemic, including millions of dollars spent on medical emergencies, criminal justice and social services.
“Unlike earthquakes and hurricanes, this disaster is a human-made crisis,” Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes told a news conference at Harborview Medical Center, where officials said more than 100 people were being treated for addiction.
The latest suits, filed separately in King County Superior Court, accuse the companies of deliberately overstating the effectiveness of their prescription painkillers while misleading patients and doctors about the risks of addiction — in violation of Washington’s consumer protection laws.
The state’s complaint names Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin. Seattle’s suit names several defendants, including Purdue, Teva Pharmaceutical, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Endo Pharmaceuticals and Allergan.
In a written statement, Purdue denied the allegations but said it is “deeply troubled” by the addiction crisis and “dedicated to being part of the solution.”
“As a company grounded in science, we must balance patient access to FDA-approved medicines, while working collaboratively to solve this public health challenge,” it said.
Lawsuits filed against Purdue and other pharmaceutical companies have been piling up. Plaintiffs include Everett and Tacoma, Orange County in California and the states of Ohio and Mississippi.
In addition, there has been a multi-state investigation under way into the companies’ actions, which could lead to a national settlement. Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen has said there are early indications that drug makers and distributors will discuss the matter with the states.
Washington pulled out of the effort. Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Thursday he withdrew because he was ready to sue now in light of the ongoing harms opioid addiction is causing in the state. Nearly 10,000 people have died from overdoses in the state since 2000, he said.
“Purdue Pharma has knowingly conducted an uncontrolled experiment on the people of Washington state and the American public without any reliable, clinical evidence that opioids are safe or even effective at treating long-term, chronic pain,” he said.
“I don’t know how executives of Purdue Pharma sleep at night. I honestly don’t,” he said.
The city of Everett sued Purdue in January, and on Tuesday a federal judge in Seattle ruled that the Everett case can proceed in federal court.
Purdue Pharma had asked U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez to dismiss the lawsuit, saying the company could not be held responsible for local effects of opioid addiction. The judge rejected most of Purdue’s arguments.
He did limit some of the city’s claims, including an allegation the company created a public nuisance. The city has 30 days to file an amended complaint.
Ferguson called Tuesday’s ruling in the Everett case “positive.”
The city and state cases are different, said Tad Robinson O’Neill, an assistant attorney general.
Everett’s lawsuit aims at the effect of Purdue’s alleged failure to prevent diversion of OxyContin to the illegal drug trade in the city, he said. Washington’s legal action deals with the company’s deceptive marketing practices and the resulting negative effects statewide, he said.
Among its claims, the state alleges Purdue failed to investigate and intervene when it was reasonable to presume from the volume of sales to a provider that the person was overprescribing OxyContin.
As an example, it recounts the case of Dr. Delbert Lee Whetstone, an osteopath who operated a pain management clinic on Evergreen Way in Everett. In 2012, he was sentenced to three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to federal crimes related to hiding money from the IRS and prescribing controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose.
Investigators said Whetstone prescribed nearly 88,000 pills of 80 mg OxyContin — the dosage most likely to be abused — in 10 months in 2009. In comparison, officials at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett ordered 13,400 of the tablets, according to court papers.
Purdue was sued a decade ago in Washington. Several states alleged the company had engaged in deceptive marketing. Purdue agreed to pay the states $19.5 million as part of a consent judgment. Washington received more than $700,000. As part of the judgment, Purdue agreed to implement diversion detection programs. The suit filed by the state does not allege any violations of the judgment.
On Thursday, Ferguson and Holmes were joined at the news conference by Rose Dennis, of Kirkland. She said her son became addicted as a 12-year-old when he spent nine months hooked to an opioid drip while being treated for leukemia at a Seattle medical center. He’s now 31 and has struggled since his teens with addiction and homelessness.
She said she knew he had a problem when she visited him in treatment, and he asked her to leave, saying, “This is my happy time.”
She declined to sue the doctors, she said: “In reality, they saved my son’s life from cancer.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that in 2015 drug overdoses killed more than 52,000 Americans. Most involved prescription opioids such as OxyContin or Vicodin or related illicit drugs such as heroin and fentanyl. People with addictions often switch among the drugs.

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Washington state, Seattle sue opioid drug-maker Purdue Pharma

Sep 28, 2017 | KING 5 (WA)

By Heather Bosch

The City of Seattle and Washington state have filed separate lawsuits against Purdue Pharma, which manufactures Oxycontin and other drugs containing opioids.
"Purdue has made billions of dollars by fueling Washington's opioid epidemic by knowingly deceiving doctors and the public about the risks of long-term opioid use," said Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
"To push its pills, Perdue made false claims about the effectiveness of opioids for the treatment of long-term, chronic pain. They downplayed the significant risk of patients becoming addicted to opioids, and they made false claims about the overdose risks," Ferguson said, pointing out that many people who start abusing pain pills turn to heroin to get their opioid fix.
Both the City of Seattle, which is suing several drug makers, and the state say they're seeking money to deal with an opioid crisis and its impact.
For instance, City Attorney Pete Holmes says, "We estimate that 80 percent of the people living in our most challenging (homeless) encampments throughout the city have substance use disorders."
Holmes says city currently spends over $50 million to mitigate the impact of homelessness.
Ferguson says in just five years the state has seen a 60-percent jump in opioid-related hospital stays. "Since 2000, opioids have killed nearly 10,000 Washingtonians," he added.
In a statement, Purdue Pharma said, "We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense.”
The company insisted it wants to be part of the solution to the opioid crisis.
"Although our products account for approximately 2% of the total opioid prescriptions, as a company, we’ve distributed the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, developed the first FDA-approved opioid medication with abuse-deterrent properties and partner with law enforcement to ensure access to naloxone," the company said.

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Other Coverage

Limit opioid prescriptions to just seven days, say drugmakers

Sep 29, 2017 | The Pharma Letter

By Staff

The US pharmaceutical industry has signaled its support for severe limitations on the length of opioid prescriptions, saying it would be happy if the current 30-day maximum was reduced to just seven days.
The industry’s trade federation, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), caveated that prescribers should be able to deviate from any mandate, for example for cancer-related pain or hospice care.
The move follows recent announcements from insurance giants CVS and Express Scripts that they would impose a seven-day limit on prescriptions, also with some exceptions.
The pharma industry has faced growing growing criticism over its role in an escalating opioid crisis that is now claiming the lives of tens of thousands of Americans each year.
Many local jurisdictions have launched legal action, claiming that the risk of addiction to prescription painkillers has been understated by drugmakers. Patients with opioid use disorder have reported that their addiction can be traced to a prescription for opioid-based products.
The crisis has led to renewed interest in alternative methodsof pain relief, including abuse-deterrent formulations (ADF) of opioid therapies, although the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review and others have argued that more research is required to establish the clinical benefits of these therapies.
Chief executive Stephen Ubl commented: “We believe the worsening opioid epidemic demands additional solutions, with new protections for patients. Too often, individuals receive a 30-day supply of opioid medicines for minor treatments or short-term pain.”
“Appropriate script limits, when combined with improved prescriber education and better coverage of treatment alternatives, can help ensure proper prescribing and reduce the risk of abuse. Given the scope and scale of this crisis, we believe this is the right thing to do.”

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PhRMA backs Rick Scott plan to combat opioid epidemic

Sep 28, 2017 | Florida Politics (FL)

By Drew Wilson

Gov. Rick Scott and other elected officials said this week they would look to combat the opioid epidemic plaguing Florida by limiting first-time pain pill prescriptions to a three day supply, and Wednesday the CEO of a major drug manufacturer trade group said he was on board with a similar plan.
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) CEO Stephen J. Ubl said Wednesday the group supports limiting first-time prescriptions drugs such as Oxycontin and Vicodin at a week’s supply.
Scott’s plan, announced Tuesday, would also pump $50 million into drug treatment programs. Lawmakers are expected to debate the proposal during the 2018 Legislative Session, which starts in January.
“We are taking this step because we believe the worsening opioid epidemic demands additional solutions, with new protections for patients. Too often, individuals receive a 30-day supply of opioid medicines for minor treatments or short-term pain. Overprescribing and dispensing can lead to patients taking opioids longer than necessary or to excess pills falling into the wrong hands,” Ubl said.
Ubl’s comments weren’t a direct response to Scott’s proposal, but came out at a meeting of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction, which is chaired by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and includes Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi among its membership.
“Appropriate script limits, when combined with improved prescriber education and better coverage of treatment alternatives, can help ensure proper prescribing and reduce the risk of abuse. Given the scope and scale of this crisis, we believe this is the right thing to do,” he added.
Ubl is correct: The ‘scope and scale’ of the epidemic warrants action from the entire chain of custody of prescription pain medication, from the groups PhRMA represents to the doctors prescribing powerful medication for short-term problems.
In 2015 alone opioids were blamed for more than 3,900 deaths in Florida, that’s more than 10 a day and a sharp increase from the peak of the “pill mill” crisis of a few years ago.
Patients seeking treatment for opioid addiction have also climbed dramatically. Aspire, the mental health and substance abuse contractor in Orange County, said such cases have more than doubled in two years.
Despite their danger if abused, opioids do have legitimate medical purpose, and a strict limit could leave some patients struggling with severe pain.
PhRMA’s compromise is a carve out in the rule for those in hospice care, patients fighting cancer or other chronic diseases, as well as medication assisted treatments for patients seeking long-term addiction recovery so long as they also receive counseling and mental health support.
Ubl said PhRMA also knows that a limit on prescriptions will only go so far, which is why the group is working with the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration to speed up the research and development of new non-opioid, non-addictive pain medicines that can help patients who need a long term solution.

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White House Drug Commission Partners With Big Pharma To Limit Painkiller Scripts

Sep 29, 2017 | The Daily Caller

By Steve Birr

A major pharmaceutical company is joining with the White House to enact strict limits on prescription painkiller supplies in an effort to curb rampant opioid addiction nationwide.
President Donald Trump’s opioid commission, led by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, gave an update Wednesday on its efforts to investigate the causes and scope of America’s opioid epidemic. Representatives of the pharmaceutical industry joined the commission to establish new partnerships to both limit the negative impacts of opioid-based medication and fast track non-opioid alternatives that are not addictive, reports CBS News.
The president of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) announced his company’s commitment to limiting prescription opioid supplies to a seven-day limit. The pharmaceutical industry has typically advised 30-day supplies for painkillers, something experts say increases the risk of addiction and long-term abuse of the drugs.
Christie applauded the actions, saying these kinds of reforms are key to ensuring that “we don’t turn people into addicts inadvertently.”
“The fact the pharmaceutical industry is admitting this, is an important first step to limit the amount of these drugs that are out there that can be used inappropriately,” Christie said Wednesday, according to CBS News.
Officials with the National Institutes of Health also joined the conversation at the White House, encouraging cooperation between drug makers and the government as a way to fast-track pain medication that is not opioid-based.
Seventeen of the major drug makers in the U.S. have already agreed to share roughly 40 different compounds with each other that they hope will lead to the creation of a non-addictive pain medication.
Trump created the Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis through an executive order March 29, and tapped 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.”
“Can you imagine this country putting up with 17 9/11s every year?” Christie said Monday, according to NJ.com. “It’s unacceptable.”

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US probes opioid manufacturers

Sep 28, 2017 | Chemistry World

By Rebecca Trager

A multistate investigation has been launched in the US to determine whether manufacturers and distributors illegally marketed and dispensed prescription opioid drugs.
Attorneys general from 41 US states have combined to scrutinise major opioid makers Endo, Teva, Allergan, Purdue and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson’s pharma subsidiary), as well as several drug distributors. The probe comes amid allegations that these companies used fraudulent marketing to sell opioids and fuelled a national epidemic. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates opioid overdoses kill 91 Americans each day.
Typically, attorneys general would not confirm or deny an active investigation. However, Kansas attorney general Derek Schmidt publicly disclosed his involvement because of ‘the unique and multi-faceted nature of prescription opioid misuse, the heightened public scrutiny and policy discussions surrounding it’. In a separate letter, the Attorneys general urged America’s Health Insurance Plans, the trade association that represents insurance companies, to tweak its policies to ‘prioritise non-opioid pain management options over opioid prescriptions for the treatment of chronic, non-cancer pain’.
Concerns about opioid addiction have stimulated new regulatory and political action. Last year, Endo terminated its licencing deal for Belbuca (buprenorphine), and in June withdrew Opana ER (oxymorphone) from the market at the request of the US Food and Drug Administration. In July generic drugmaker Mallinckrodt paid $35 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the US Department of Justice that accused the company of failing to properly detect and notify the US Drug Enforcement Agency of suspicious opioid orders.

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Opioid Epidemic Lawsuits Filed Nationwide while Big Pharma Makes Big Profits

Sep 28, 2017 | Lawyers and Settlements

By Jane Mundy

In the wake of the Opioid Epidemic now declared a national emergency, big Pharma faces a tsunami of litigation. Miami has just announced it may file a prescription opioid lawsuit against the manufacturers, adding to the long list of cities and municipalities that have declared an opioid crisis.
This June, the New York Times wrote that 64,000 people died from drug overdoses nationwide in 2016, up from 52,000 in 2015. These numbers make drug overdoses the leading cause of death in people under the age of 50. Given that more than 30 states, cities and counties have either filed lawsuits or are formally recruiting lawyers in the prelude to litigation-- according to a Financial Times analysis, the amount of legal action—and subsequent settlement-- has been likened to that of the $2 billion paid by the tobacco industry back in 1998. And big pharma has deep pockets.
Delaware County was the first county in Pennsylvania to sue the makers of addictive painkillers.The Inquirer reported that Delaware County had logged 145 opioid-related drug deaths since the beginning of 2017, and police officers in the county had saved more than 877 lives using the overdose-reversing medication naloxone (more about that below). The drug manufacturers named in the lawsuit include Teva, Janssen, Endo, and Purdue Pharma. “We are tired of going to funerals of children of our friends because pharmaceuticals are giving them medications they know are addictive,” Dave White, co-chair of the county’s Heroin Task Force, told philly.com. And attorney Robert J. Mongeluzzi said that, “The opioid manufacturers in their relentless pursuit for profit created disinformation to hoodwink and convince doctors that opioids weren’t addictive when they were…”

Here are the big five opioid manufacturers:

Purdue Pharma makes Oxycontin;
Endo Pharmaceuticals makes Percocet and Opana ER (the latter was taken off the market in July at the request of the FDA);
Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals makes the fentanyl patch Duragesic;
Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, owns Cephalon Inc., which makes a fentanyl “lollipop” called Actiq.;
Allergan makes Norco and Kadian

Meanwhile, drug companies are fighting back. The Associated Press (Sept. 27) reported that drug companies have asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Oklahoma's attorney general accusing them of fueling the state's opioid epidemic through fraudulent marketing. And the Oklahoman reported that Purdue Pharma, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., Allergan PLC and several other pharmaceutical companies recently filed a brief saying they've complied with the FDA’s requirements to warn the public about potential risks that come with using their drugs.
A spokeswoman for Janssen, in a statement to the Cleveland Plain Dealercalled the lawsuit filed by the state of Ohio, "legally and factually unfounded", and that "Janssen has acted appropriately, responsibly and in the best interests of patients regarding our opioid pain medications, which are FDA-approved and carry FDA-mandated warnings about the known risks of the medications on every product label."

As for Purdue Pharma, it told The Plain Dealer that, "OxyContin accounts for less than two percent of the opioid analgesic prescription market nationally, but we are an industry leader in the development of abuse-deterrent technology, advocating for the use of prescription drug monitoring programs and supporting access to Naloxone— all important components for combating the opioid crisis."

One could speculate that supporting Naloxone is like “double-dipping”. Naloxone, also known as Narcan, is made by Amphastar, which raised the price of its drug by about 1,000 percent. According to Fierce Pharma, a pharmaceutical-industry news site, the price of one Naloxone dose rose to $41 in January 2015, up from $0.92 a dose in 2005. Cha-ching.

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NARCAN Useful Against Opioid Overdose

Sep 29, 2017 | The Daily News (TN)

By Michael Waddell

With the number of overdose deaths from opioids such as OxyContin, Vicodin and Percocet at all-time highs, a new nasal spray is now available to counteract overdoses, and it can be acquired at local pharmacies without a prescription.
In Tennessee and nationwide, prescription and illegal opioids are the main cause of drug overdose deaths. According to the Tennessee Department of Health, 1,631 Tennesseans died from drug overdoses in 2016 – the highest number of such deaths recorded in state history and up 12 percent from 1,451 overdose deaths in 2015 (72 percent that year involved opioids).
Also in 2015, Tennessee health care professionals reportedly handed out more than 7.8 million opioid prescriptions — more prescriptions than the number of people in the state — ranking Tennessee second in the nation for such prescriptions.
Naloxone, commonly referred to as NARCAN and traditionally administered by IV or injection, is the only drug available today to help immediately combat an opioid overdose and prevent deaths.
“NARCAN is an opioid antagonist that essentially reverses an opioid overdose,” said Thom Duddy, executive director of communications with Adapt Pharma, maker of NARCAN Nasal Spray.
The company’s nasal spray was fast-track approved by the FDA in November 2015 and became commercially available in 2016. It is the first and only FDA-approved nasal naloxone for the treatment of known or suspected opioid overdoses.
“When people are stopped prescribing an opioid, or maybe become dependent and they’re told to stop, they go to illicit compounds such as heroin or fentanyl on the streets because they don’t have access to the prescription drug anymore,” said Duddy, who pointed out that approximately 40 percent of drug overdose deaths nationally come from prescription opioids.
“A lot of times we think that it’s just the illicit IV drug user on the street that is overdosing and dying, but it’s also people that are in their homes that are using opioids and are also maybe using them in combination with another agent or maybe just mistakenly taking too many because they felt they were in more pain,” he said.
Synthetic opioid use is also on the rise, including fentanyl, which is commonly used as an end-of-life drug for cancer patients (most popularly used in a patch), and carfentanyl, an analog of fentanyl used in Canada predominantly for large-animal tranquilization.
“Those now have transitioned to the black market because people have figured out the chemistry behind it, and they create it and put it in with heroin or have it just as fentanyl,” Duddy said. “With the synthetic opioid, you don’t need the volume of drug for the potency – it is much higher at much smaller volumes – so it’s easier to transport across borders and state lines.”
Overdose deaths related to fentanyl spiked 74 percent from 169 to 294 from 2015 to 2016. The biggest increase in fentanyl deaths was seen in those aged 25 to 34, where the number deaths increased from 42 to 114 from 2015 to 2016.
“We are alarmed by the growing number of Tennesseans dying as a result of fentanyl, and by the changing demographic of those who died,” said Dr. Learn more about David Reagan
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Watch Service" style="color: rgb(125, 2, 0); text-decoration-line: underline;">David Reagan, the Tennessee Department of Health’s chief medical officer. “This tells us we need to put additional focus on prevention of substance abuse, particularly for those younger than 25, as we believe people are initiating their use of illegal drugs such as fentanyl before that time.”
Guidelines have been published by the Centers for Disease Control and the American Medical Association outlining risky opioid prescriptions. For example, a high dosage chronically prescribed over time should be accompanied by a prescription for naloxone or NARCAN.
“Also, if a patient is taking by prescription an opioid along with one for a benzodiazepine like Xanax,” Duddy said, “that increases the risk of an opioid overdose, so naloxone is recommended there as well.”
Two states in particular, Virginia and Vermont, have taken that guidance and passed legislation requiring physicians to follow the guidelines.
The passage of Public Chapter 596 in Tennessee last September allows authorized pharmacists statewide to dispense naloxone without a prescription to a person at risk of overdose or a family member. And House Bill 448 that passed in May requires the state’s Board of Education to set up guidelines for naloxone in schools. Five Tennessee high schools and four colleges are participating in a NARCAN schools program that offers free doses of NARCAN to all high schools and colleges in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Tennessee is leading a group of 41 attorneys general participating in a multistate investigation into reasons behind the opioid epidemic. Last week (Sept. 18-22), Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III announced a bipartisan coalition seeking information from manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids.
The attorneys general want to determine whether manufacturers and distributors engaged in unlawful practices in the marketing, sale and distribution of opioids.
“The opioid crisis impacts all of us, and is a threat to families in every community in Tennessee and across the country,” Slatery said in a prepared statement. “We will use all resources available to identify and hold accountable those parties responsible. There is too much at stake not to attack this problem from all sides.”
The attorneys general served investigative subpoenas for documents and information on Endo, Janssen, Teva/Cephalon, Allergan and their related entities, as well as Purdue Pharma. They also sent letters to opioid distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson requesting documents about their opioid distribution businesses.
The 41 attorneys general hope to determine what role opioid manufacturers and distributors may have played in creating or prolonging the epidemic and determine the appropriate course of action to help resolve the ongoing crisis.

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Hawaii Attorney General seeks documents from opioid manufacturers and distributors (PRESS RELEASE)

Sep 28, 2017 | State of Reform

By Hawaii OAG

Hawaii has joined a bipartisan coalition of states seeking documents and information today from manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids. This is part of a multistate investigation into the nationwide opioid epidemic. This information will let state attorneys general evaluate whether manufacturers and distributors engaged in unlawful practices in the marketing, sale, and distribution of opioids. 41 state attorneys general are participating in the multistate investigations.
In Hawaii and across the country, opioids – both prescribed and illicit – are a main driver of drug overdose deaths. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioids were involved in 33,091 deaths in 2015 including 169 in Hawaii. Opioid overdoses have quadrupled since 1999.
Attorney General Chin said, “Under Governor David Ige’s leadership, my office and the state health department are determined to educate the public here and enforce laws to prevent the spread of opioid abuse in Hawaii.”
The attorneys general served investigative subpoenas for documents and information – also known as Civil Investigative Demands – on Endo, Janssen, Teva/Cephalon, Allergan, and their related entities, as well as a supplemental Civil Investigative Demand on Purdue Pharma. The attorneys general also sent information demand letters to opioid distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson requesting documents about their opioid distribution business.

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Commissioners Approve Pursuing Next Steps toward Suing Opioid Manufacturers

Sep 28, 2017 | The Papers Tribune (NC)

By Leslee Kulba

“I think this resolution is a call to action,” said Commissioner Ellen Frost. “It’s a call to action for those babies that Health and Human Services see. It’s a call to action for the women currently serving in the Buncombe County Detention Center because they got addicted, when we understand that folks can get addicted from one prescription. And for people worried about the cost? Class action suits are done on a contingency. But I question anyone that puts a cost on when they lose their loved one because they got addicted to something that was never their intention. And I’d question anyone questioning the cost of saying that addiction is a choice. And if we can go at these drug companies with the full force and also show the citizens of Buncombe County that we have their back. And if we can also say to doctors, ‘Before you write that prescription, you better think of all of us, because we are on this.’ And I am so grateful to help Buncombe County Health and Human Services for the work they do and the tireless, tireless – They see this every day. And so for me this is a call for action, and we’re going to fight against it.”
Commissioner Robert Pressley echoed, “One thing that really disturbs me is when someone thinks about cost over saving a life, and we’ve been talking about this a long time. This was just not something brought up this week. It’s been discussed how we’re going to handle it, when we’re going to handle it, and the time is here now. So, anybody that thinks the cost is gonna overdo what lives we can save here, I really feel sorry for him.”
They were berating challenges to a “Resolution Supporting Legal Action Regarding the Opioid Crisis” that had not been voiced in the meeting. The closest anybody came was a plea from citizen Jerry Rice. After passionately entreating for more investment in counseling and therapy for school-aged kids instead of medicating them, he said, “We need to fix the problem, not just throw litigation at it.”
Hillary Brown of the Steady Collective Needle Exchange had a similar concern. She said if the county was going to cut the supply of opioids, it needed to spend money on “harm reduction and treatment on-demand.”
While the commissioners were slamming constituents for questioning the throwing of government money at a problem as the most humane option available, the commissioners assured everyone they did not anticipate spending any taxpayer resources. Commissioner Mike Fryar said, “It’s time for us to step up and go ahead and put it out to these law firms: Who wants to step forward to be able to help Buncombe County?”
Chair Brownie Newman clarified, “The step that we’re taking tonight is not to file a lawsuit, but we believe that we have enough information indicating that there is some real accountability that needs to be found around this matter, and so we’re going to take the next steps to go through a process to consider how we might further pursue that.”
The resolution itself only mentioned “recovery” three times, and that was in terms of cost recovery. It gave statistics like in 2016, enough prescription opioid doses were dispensed to Buncombe County residents, that if they were evenly distributed, everybody would have gotten 67. And that didn’t include the consumption of street drugs. It gave projections like, “The fiscal impact to Buncombe County related to health care costs, jail administration and incarceration, emergency management services, child welfare, and public assistance will likely exceed $19 million in federal, state, and county funding.” The resolution then recommended joining any of several class-action lawsuits afoot, either independently or with the state, whose current investigation of alleged illegal marketing by opioid manufacturers the resolution also supported.
Al Whitesides assured, and Jasmine Beach-Ferrara concurred, this was only one arrow in the commissioners’ quiver. The opioid epidemic is a multi-dimensional knot that has been tangling up for thirty years.
Elsewhere in the Country –
At least twenty-five US municipal and county entities have filed lawsuits against businesses involved in the licit opioid supply chain this year. States launching suits include Missouri, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. Other states are interviewing law firms; Delaware being among those who have issued Requests for Proposals. Defendants include McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen, Purdue Pharma, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Endo International, Teva Pharmaceutical, Allergan, Watson Pharmaceuticals, and Covidien.
Companionably, firms are actively soliciting clientele to sue Big Pharma. The former attorneys general of Arizona and Mississippi, Grant Woods and Mike Moore, respectively, are recruiting states to join a class-action lawsuit; while other firms like Classaction.com, Baron & Budd, and Levin Papantonio are inviting government bodies to learn more about what they can do. The firms are not seeking individual clients, because, pejoratively, addicts by definition admit to illegal activity. Defendants, on the other hand, have charged governmental use of private, for-profit law firms in the pursuit of large-scale damages flies in the face of due process.
Cities, states, counties, and even one Native American nation are demanding restitution for, in addition to the items listed above; costs of purchasing opioids and their antidotes, hiring more criminal justice personnel from police officers to investigators to prosecutors, property damaged by people desperate to avoid withdrawal, and building and maintaining treatment facilities. Individual plaintiffs are seeking reimbursement for ill-advised medical expenses, pain and suffering, drug rehabilitation, lost wages, and funeral expenses.
The Buncombe County Commissioners’ emphatic condemnation of any discussion of costs aside, suing Big Pharma is sure to boomerang on social services. Large pharmaceutical manufacturers with deep pockets also have serious legal teams who aren’t running pro-bono. While Americans are complaining about unaffordable employer-provided insurance, insurance companies are exiting the Obamacare exchanges, and hospitals are consolidating to stay viable – diverting pharmaceutical dollars to overhead is not mitigating escalating healthcare costs. Costs of assembling powerful legal cases will be passed on to the consumer one way or another, perhaps even through unadvised aggressive marketing of other medicines. Big Pharma, incidentally, spends on average over $88 million a year lobbying state and federal officials to protect their interests in the $13 billion licit opioid industry.
Then, manufacturers are not deemed the best targets for these suits. In other litigation, they have shifted blame to the FDA for approving the safety and labeling of opioids. While some lawsuits have been successful, they became more difficult after a 2007 case in which Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin, pled guilty. It has since claimed to be part of the solution to the opioid epidemic by paying $600 million in damages, furnishing clearer warnings, and reformulating the drug to make it less addictive. Manufacturers also tend to push blame on physicians for improper prescription. As an aside, governmental capping of prescribed OxyContin dosages is often blamed for driving chronic pain sufferers who were holding down good jobs with heavier doses, to the street to buy heroin; fentanyl, which is 50-100 times stronger; or carfentanyl, which is so deadly multiple administrations of naloxone, the antidote, cannot resuscitate victims.
Purdue has been sued hundreds of times in the last twenty years by plaintiffs seeking damages for OxyContin use. Other manufacturers and distributors have been sued and have settled for several millions of dollars, those cases usually involving failure to report suspicious orders to the US Drug Enforcement Agency. More colorful suits currently in process include one by the City of Everett, Washington, charging Purdue for failing to report to law enforcement the crime ring it knew was trafficking drugs to that city from Los Angeles. West Virginia sued several wholesalers who did nothing to stop pill mills from handing out pre-signed, cash-only prescriptions, which were then taken to the local pharmacy where cars with out-of-state license plates waited in long lines.
Class-action strategies currently pursued have been compared to those leading to the $206 billion collectively promised 46 states in the 1998 settlement with tobacco companies. It stands to reason Buncombe County wouldn’t want to be left out in the cold. But the tobacco case was stronger. Tobacco was not regulated by the FDA at the time, and it has no FDA-approved medicinal value when used appropriately; but many people living with chronic pain become fully-functional with proper opioid use. While enough plaintiffs rallied to the cause, pooling resources and resolve to exhaust the legal system and force a settlement, several states are using their proceeds as a slush fund instead of investing in prevention and healing. What’s more, the history of government bodies agreeing to settle with Big Pharma in opioid-related suits sets precedent and gives the appearance plaintiffs believe their case is too weak to prevail.
Furthermore, lawsuits of this scale can drag out over years. The tobacco case took four years, and opioid manufacturers will draw things out as much as possible. An argument that has already been put forth to stay litigation is that the companies want time to complete, unobstructed, studies of the risks of long-term opioid use ordered by the FDA.
So, assuming the county will promptly pour any proceeds of the litigation into evidence-based therapies instead of capital improvements and staffing for government programs with increased capacity; what humane action can be taken immediately? Commissioner Joe Belcher noted people would die in Buncombe County before the board approves its next intervention. Constructively, Frank Castelblanco, a nurse at MAHEC, shared with the commissioners how that organization was retraining prescribers and presented them with a blister pack with Tylenol and Advil that was non-addictive and more effective than opioids.

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Tolland Town Council votes to join opioid lawsuit

Sep 29, 2017 | Journal Inquirer (CT)

By Tim Leininger

The Town Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to join about 15 other towns in a lawsuit against Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma LP and other pharmaceutical companies responsible for making opioid medication that has led to an addiction epidemic across the country.
The remainder of this article is under paywall: http://www.journalinquirer.com/towns/tolland/tolland-town-council-votes-to-join-opioid-lawsuit/article_3e70f2e6-a46c-11e7-b27a-ebdc8de52248.html

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Philadelphia teachers health fund sues local opioid manufacturer

Sep 29, 2017 | Philadelphia Business Journal

By John George

The remainder of this article is under paywall: https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2017/09/28/phila-federation-teachers-health-sues-endo-opioid.html

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Melania Trump hosts opioid abuse roundtable

Sep 29, 2017 | CNN

By Kate Bennett

First lady Melania Trump on Thursday led her first roundtable discussion on a policy issue, signaling she is adding the opioid crisis and its effects on families and children to her portfolio.
"The well-being of children is of the utmost importance to me and I plan to use my platform as first lady to help as many kids as I can," said Trump, who invited 10 guests to the White House State Dining Room.Some of the invitees' lives were directly affected by opioid abuse and others work in the drug recovery field.
Other attendees included Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the President."
(The) roundtable is about listening and learning," East Wing communications director Stephanie Grisham told CNN.
"She wants to speak with as many people as possible and get their feedback on ways she can use her role as first lady to help with this epidemic."
Grisham added Trump is focusing on youth drug prevention and education to help combat the epidemic at the earliest ages, something the first lady reiterated in her brief opening remarks at Thursday's event.
"With the many issues (children) face as they are growing up, drug addiction, especially opioid abuse, is one of those issues," said Trump, who was wearing a crisp white shirt under a black suit jacket.
"I look forward to working alongside the Presidential Opioid Commission, and people such as yourself, to do all we can to teach children the dangerous consequences of drug abuse
"Her message was similar to the children-centric speech Trump gave at a luncheon in New York City last week, which provided the clearest outline yet of her formal platform initiatives.
"Whether it is drug addiction, bullying, poverty, disease, trafficking, illiteracy or hunger, it is the children who are hit first and hardest in any country," Trump had said during the luncheon."And as we all know, the future of every nation rests with the promise of their young people."
The addition of the opioid crisis to Trump's agenda comes as the nation's drug problem spirals out of control, with overdose death rates mounting by the thousands.
"As more young Americans, families and communities struggle to overcome the stigma and the suffering, the first lady's leadership is vital," Conway told CNN.
"By leading open and honest discussions about the urgency and scale of this opioid crisis, and hearing the stories and solutions from across the country, the first lady joins the President in telling the nation we are unified and committed to helping."
'Emergency'
On August 8, the first lady sat beside her husband in a conference room at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, breaking from her summer respite to attend a briefing and discussion on the country's opioid crisis, led by Conway and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.
Shortly afterward, President Donald Trump said he was moving forward to declare the epidemic an emergency."The opioid crisis is an emergency and I'm saying officially right now it is an emergency," the President told reporters.
"We're going to draw it up and we're going to make it a national emergency. It is a serious problem, the likes of which we have never had."
As of Thursday, that official emergency declaration is still tied up in process and review.
"We certainly welcome the first lady's interest in this issue," says Gary Mendell, founder and CEO of a national nonprofit called Shatterproof that works to combat addiction. Mendell's son died of a drug overdose in 2011."
So far, the administration has talked about the opioid crisis facing our country but has yet to undertake specific actions that will help those suffering today," he said.
A White House spokesman told CNN the status of the national emergency declaration is still in flux."The President's policy advisers are working through the details with all of the relevant components and agencies.
Right now these actions are undergoing a legal review," he said.However, since the creation of the President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis in March, the President has been regularly briefed on the topic, and in May signed off on a requested $500 million towards the opioid crisis in his 2018 Budget.
New objectivesOn Wednesday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie held the third formal meeting of the committee, outlining new objectives for limiting the length of prescriptions for opioids, and unveiling new research goals for medications that are non-addictive.
For the first lady, Mendell advises the primary need would be for her to use her influence to help normalize addiction as a disease like any other."The most powerful thing Mrs. Trump can do is help remove the stigma that surrounds addiction or substance use disorder," he said. "Though stigma can seem harmless, we know it isolates people and discourages them from seeking treatment, directly damaging their chances of recovery."
Trump isn't the first first lady attempting to tackle America's drug problem. In 1986, Nancy Reagan launched, "Just Say No," taking to national television airwaves to announce the plan.
The slogan and accompanying ad campaign took off, and the mantra seeped into the popular culture of the 1980s, fueled by Reagan's high-profile and public appearances. Reagan's statement, "Say yes to your life. And when it comes to drugs and alcohol, just say no," is one of the most well-known components of her legacy."
Throughout her husband's campaign, Mrs. Trump met families who had been affected in one way or another by drug addiction," Grisham said. "She has been very thoughtful about her platform, and recognizes that this is one of the ways she can help effect positive change with children across the country."
Trump told the panel she was continuing her listening tour as first lady."I'm here today to listen and learn from all of your stories and hope you will feel free to give me your thoughts and opinions on how best I can help," she said.

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White House must formally declare the opioid crisis a national emergency (OPINION)

Sep 29, 2017 | The Hill

By REP. TOM MACARTHUR (R-N.J.), ANN KUSTER (D-N.H.), BRIAN FITZPATRICK (R-PA.) AND DONALD NORCROSS (D-N.J.)

A little over a month ago, President Trump announced his intention to declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency. He was right—it is an emergency. Drug overdoses killed almost 54,000 people in 2015, and the majority of those deaths involved an opioid. Last year about 12 million Americans misused an opioid, and the overdose death toll rose to 65,000. The opioid crisis is cutting deep scars in our communities, and in some states, is taking more of our loved ones than car accidents, suicides and firearms combined. It is absolutely an emergency and we urge the president to move quickly in formally declaring the opioid crisis a national health emergency.
The four of us serve as the chairs and vice-chairs of the Bipartisan Heroin Task Force in the House of Representatives, which is comprised of 90 members from both parties, and we welcomed the President’s announcement as appropriate to the urgency of the crisis. However, we now believe it’s time for the White House to put legal action to that intention, and formally declare the opioid crisis a national emergency. A declaration of emergency has the potential to make a real difference by making it easier to direct more funding where it is needed, and easing red tape for the agencies combatting this crisis.
We also know that an emergency declaration alone cannot solve the crisis that confronts us. This crisis is a full-spectrum problem that requires a comprehensive response. Earlier this summer we released a bipartisan legislative agenda that speaks to a wide range of concerns, and we look forward to expanding this agenda as our colleagues in Congress continue to introduce innovative solutions. In this polarized political moment, we are grateful that the House of Representatives’ Heroin Task Force is one of the most rigorously bipartisan organizations in Congress. No bill made it to our agenda without bipartisan co-sponsors and the support of all four co-chairs. As we consider the path forward in combatting the opioid crisis, we believe our agenda reflects an emerging bipartisan consensus on specific shared policy objectives:Effectively equipping and training our first responders in the use of lifesaving overdose reversal drugs.Reforming pain management techniques.Providing unique solutions for different groups of Americans like young people, veterans, new mothers and infants.Immediately addressing the Medicaid Institutions for Mental Diseases exclusion, an outdated rule that prevents the most vulnerable people in our society from receiving substance abuse treatment just because of the size of the facility they access.Providing medical professionals with more information about patients’ addiction histories.Ensuring law enforcement professionals have the resources they need to stop the flow of heroin and synthetic opioids into our country and communities.Finally, we need to make adequate resources available to meet these objectives.
The President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis reflects this same emerging consensus on next steps. When the commission released its own non-partisan report last month, we were delighted to see significant overlap between our agenda and its recommendations.
None of us can tackle this crisis alone. We all need to act together, federal and local governments, the medical professionals, treatment and recovery providers, the pharmaceutical industry, community organizations, law enforcement and border security, and all of our fellow citizens– all of us working together towards a shared goal of overcoming the epidemic. Here in Congress, we will continue to work across the aisle and fight for our communities and loved ones.
Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) is Republican Co-Chair Bipartisan Heroin Task Force; Rep. Ann Kuster (D-N.H.) is Democratic Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Heroin Task Force; Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) is Republican Vice-Chair of the Bipartisan Heroin Task Force; Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) is Democratic Vice-Chair Bipartisan Heroin Task Force. Founded in 2015, The Bipartisan Heroin Task Force includes 91 representatives of both parties.

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Broadcast Media Coverage

National Public Radio

Sep 29, 2017 |

Listen to clip here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29826958?token=b20762e2-64c0-4462-85d5-5dc6b6fbba5a
Rough transcript: the state of washington and the city of seattle are suing drug makers over the opioid epidemic. walters explains. state and city officials say opioid manufacturers have contributed to increased prescribing and drug abuse state attorney general bob ferguson says oxycontin maker purdue pharma marketed their drug deceptively to doctors overstating effectiveness and downplaying the risk of addiction. how one advertisers one's product where that's going to wherever that advertising is you've got to follow state laws you got a consumer protection act you cannot deceive any part the public with that advertising. the company said they vigorously denied the allegations and are dedicated to being a part of the solution. the company is also named in a separate action filed by seattle city attorney pete holmes. the city lawsuit also names several other companies including johnson and johnson and janssen pharmaceuticals. holmes says he hopes to recruits some of the financial costs caused by the crisis including money spent on human services and emergency response .

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Morning Express with Robin Meade

Sep 29, 2017 | CNN

View clip here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/29827121?token=b20762e2-64c0-4462-85d5-5dc6b6fbba5a
Rough transcript: washington state and city of seattle are suing drugmakers blaming them for the opioid crisis. so, the lawsuit accuses doctors of the risk of getting addicted. but the companies deny that. washington's attorney general says that nearly 10,000 people there have died from overdoses in the past 17 years. but, as you know, like two dozen state or cities have launched similar lawsuits.

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