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Opioid Litigation Daily Media Report - 11/20/17

Purdue Settlement Talks

Drugmaker Purdue Moves to Settle States’ Claims Over Opioids (VIDEO)
Nov 17, 2017 | Bloomberg
By Jef Feeley & Jared S. Hopkins

Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma LP is proposing a global settlement in an attempt to end state investigations and lawsuits over the U.S. opioid epidemic, according to people familiar with the talks. VIDEO LINK: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-17/purdue-is-said-to-approach-states-in-bid-to-settle-opioid-claims
Bloomberg: Purdue proposes opioid crisis settlement
Nov 17, 2017 | Stamford Advocate (CT)
By Paul Schott

Purdue Pharma, the maker of the OxyContin painkiller that is facing a spate of litigation tied to its role in the opioid crisis, is proposing a “global settlement” in an effort to end state investigations and lawsuits, Bloomberg reported Friday.

Impending Minneapolis, MN Suit

Minneapolis To Join Lawsuit Against Opioid Manufacturers
Nov 17, 2017 | KSTP (MN)
By Kristen Swanson

Minneapolis has become the first major city in Minnesota to join the legal fight against opioid manufactures and distributors.
Mpls. considers lawsuit against opioid manufacturers
Nov 20, 2017 | KARE 11 (MN)
By Staff

The city of Minneapolis, like communities across the U.S. , has incurred significant expense responding to the opioid crisis and those who have fallen victim to it.
Minnesota counties, cities joining rush of lawsuits against opioid producers
Nov 18, 2017 | Minnesota Star Tribune (MN)
By Pam Louwagie

Several of Minnesota’s largest counties and cities are on the verge of joining a national wave of government lawsuits targeting pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors for the public cost of the opioid crisis.

Other Litigation Coverage

Titus County joins lawsuit over opioids
Nov 19, 2017 | Taxarkana Gazette (TX)
By Lynn Larowe

Another East Texas county has filed suit against Big Pharma in connection with the country's opioid addiction crisis.
28 Counties Sues Major Opioid Manufacturers For Cost Of Crisis
Nov 17, 2017 | The Daily Caller
By Nick Givas

Twenty-eight Wisconsin counties sued five major drug manufactures Nov. 7, seeking to recover financial costs from battling the opioid crisis.
County could seek legal action against opioid manufacturers
Nov 19, 2017 | Rockingham Now (NC)
By Joe Dexter

Rockingham County officials are moving forward with supporting potential legal action against prescription pain manufacturers, in an effort to hold them accountable for their role in the opioid epidemic.
County ponders lawsuit against opioid manufacturers
Nov 17, 2017 | Alton Telegraph (IL)
By Scott Cousins

Supporters of a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers argued pharmaceutical companies deliberately misled consumers about addictive drugs and should pay for it, while one detractor said the emphasis should be on prosecuting drug dealers.
County officials considering lawsuit against opioid manufacturers
Nov 17, 2017 | Advantage News (IL)
By Jason White

Paramedics scramble to get a dying overdose victim to a hospital, only to hear police dispatched to another overdose at the house they just left. A police officer has to be revived after he contacts fentanyl, a potent opioid that can be absorbed through the skin, while responding to an overdose.
GT pursues opioid lawsuit
Nov 19, 2017 | Traverse City Record Eagle (MI)
By Matt Troutman

A jailhouse interview afforded Grand Traverse County assistant Prosecutor Chris Forsyth an all-too-familiar story about a man's path into addiction.

Commentary and FYIs

Here’s what all the Ohio governor candidates say they’ll do about the opioid crisis
Nov 19, 2017 | My Dayton Daily News (OH)
By Laura A. Bischoff

The next governor of Ohio in all likelihood will inherit a drug crisis that continues to kill thousands of Ohioans each year.
Wisconsin should join opioid lawsuit -- John M. Rice (EDITORIAL)
Nov 17, 2017 | Wisconsin State Journal
By John M. Rice

Mike Moore, an attorney and a former attorney general of Mississippi, successfully developed the game plan to bring down Big Tobacco in the 1990s. He is now trying to do the same to Big Pharma.
Pain Management and the Opioid Crisis ( LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)
Nov 19, 2017 | The New York TImes
By Readers

Effectively addressing the opioid crisis requires a comprehensive approach that meets immediate needs and invests in future solutions for patients.
The opioid crisis is real, and it’s not going to go away (EDITORIAL)
Nov 20, 2017 | The Asheville Citizen Times
By Editorial Board

We’re not sure how much good it will do to sue the pharmaceutical industry, but the opioid crisis has become so severe that we must try.
Opioid lawsuit may help find answers, fault (EDITORIAL)
Nov 19, 2017 | Tribune Chronicle (OH)
By Editorial Board

American taxpayers have been footing the bill for millions — perhaps billions — of dollars in social services that have become necessary due to the nation’s growing opioid crisis.
White House: Economic cost of opioid crisis about $504B
Nov 19, 2017 | The Hill
By Rachel Roubein

The economic cost of the opioid epidemic was about $504 billion in 2015, which is more than six times higher than other studies from previous years, according to a newly released analysis from the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA).

Broadcast Media Coverage

Bloomberg Markets: Americas
Nov 17, 2017 | BLOOM (Bloomberg)
By National Programming
Washington Journal
Nov 18, 2017 | CSPAN
By National Programming
Local 24 News at 6
Nov 17, 2017 | WATN (ABC)
By Memphis, TN
Local 24 News at 10
Nov 19, 2017 | WATN (ABC)
By Memphis, TN
WREG News 3 Daybreak Saturday Edition
Nov 18, 2017 | WREG (CBS)
By Memphis, TN
Fox 16 News at 9
Nov 20, 2017 | WJKT (FOX)
By Jackson, TN
WRTV News: The News at 5:30
Nov 17, 2017 | WRTV (ABC)
By Indianapolis, IN
FOX 9 Morning Saturday
Nov 20, 2017 | KMSP (FOX)
By Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
45 News at 9pm
Nov 17, 2017 | KSTC
By Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
5 Eyewitness News AM
Nov 18, 2017 | KSTP (ABC)
By Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
KARE 11 News Saturday
Nov 18, 2017 | KARE (NBC)
By Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

Purdue Settlement Talks

Drugmaker Purdue Moves to Settle States’ Claims Over Opioids (VIDEO)

Nov 17, 2017 | Bloomberg

By Jef Feeley & Jared S. Hopkins

Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma LP is proposing a global settlement in an attempt to end state investigations and lawsuits over the U.S. opioid epidemic, according to people familiar with the talks.
VIDEO LINK: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-17/purdue-is-said-to-approach-states-in-bid-to-settle-opioid-claims
Purdue’s lawyers raised the prospect with several southern-state attorneys general who haven’t sued the company, as they try to gauge interest for a more wide-ranging deal, said four people who asked not to be identified because the talks aren’t public.
Opioid makers are accused of creating a public-health crisis through their marketing of the painkillers. More than a dozen states and about 100 counties and cities have already sued Purdue, other opioid makers and drug distributors, in a strategy echoing the litigation that led to the 1998 $246 billion settlement with Big Tobacco.
“This sounds like the opening bid in settlement talks,’’ said Anthony Sabino, who teaches law at St. John’s University in New York. “It also sounds like they are trying to convince some of these state AG’s that they don’t need to bring their own suits.’’
A group of 41 attorneys general are also investigating how companies like Purdue and other opioid makers marketed and sold prescription opioids. It’s not clear whether Purdue’s lawyers are authorized to speak for other drugmakers facing opioid suits, but the people familiar with the talks say Purdue’s attorneys are looking for a global accord to include all U.S. states’ claims against all manufacturers.
Robert Josephson, a Purdue spokesman, declined to comment on any settlement discussions. The company said earlier that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Oxycontin for use as a painkiller, and approved the safety warnings.
Company officials with J&J, based in New Brunswick, New Jersey; Dublin-based Endo International Plc; Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries; and Allergan Plc, with headquarters in Parsippany, New Jersey, didn’t immediately return calls for comment on whether they are involved in talks.
Spokesmen for drug distributors Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Corp. didn’t immediately return calls for comment on whether they are participating. A spokesman for McKesson Corp. declined to comment.
The Lawyer Who Beat Big Tobacco Takes On the Opioid Industry
Opioid makers argue in court filings that states and local governments are barred from suing because opioids are regulated by the FDA. They say judges must defer to the FDA’s finding that the painkillers are safe and effective and that companies such as Purdue properly disclosed addiction risks on warning labels.
States and municipalities disagree, saying that because the FDA doesn’t thoroughly regulate drug marketing there is a basis for suits claiming opioid makers created a public-health crisis with overly aggressive marketing.
Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue hired Sheila Birnbaum, a veteran mass-tort defense lawyer, to help guide its legal strategy and put together a settlement game plan. She’s a partner with New York’s Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP.
Nicknamed the “Queen of Torts,’’ the 76-year-old Birnbaum is skilled at negotiating big-dollar settlements, including the $765 million NFL concussion settlement and an accord settling a suit against Pfizer Inc. over its hormone-replacement drugs. She also oversaw a $2.8 billion fund set up to compensate first responders and residents following the 2001 World Trade Center attacks.
“She’s been the go-to person over the years to come up with sweeping resolutions for mass-tort cases,’’ Carl Tobias, who teaches product-liability law at the University of Richmond in Virginia, said of Birnbaum. Birnbaum’s name is on Purdue court filings; she didn’t respond to a request for comment.State Lawsuits
Any settlement would likely include cash, along with changes to the company’s manufacturing and marketing practices, the people said. It would resolve only the state claims, they added.
What may make an early settlement offer attractive to states is early access to money to deal with the social costs of the opioid epidemic, Sabino said. “The idea is the states wouldn’t have to go through years of discovery and trials to wind up where they could be right now -- at the settlement table,’’ he said.
Governments could use their share of billions in settlement funds to recoup the costs of ramping up policing and drug-treatment programs.
Swain Wood, general counsel for the North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, told a group of county officials at a Nov. 15 seminar in Raleigh that his office was negotiating with opioid makers, according to a person who attended the meeting.Dual-Track
Wood said his office was on a “dual-track,’’ engaging in settlement talks while continuing to investigate opioid makers’ activities in North Carolina, according to the person. He said the settlement proposal offered to North Carolina would resolve only the state’s claims, but could offer an opt-in right for counties, the person said.
Laura Brewer, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office who also attended the Nov. 15 seminar, denied that Wood said his office was negotiating a settlement.
At the meeting, Wood said “our office is vigorously investigating opioid manufacturers and distributors in cooperation with many other state attorneys general,” Brewer said in an emailed statement. “At the same time, we are open to having discussions with these potential defendants to determine what role they can play in helping to resolve this crisis.”
Brewer added that Wood spoke about “multi-state settlements” in general and noted that “an opt-in for counties is one such way a settlement could be done.”
More than 60,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2016, and there was a five-fold increase in overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids -- from 3,105 in 2013 to about 20,000 in 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control.One Judge
A study in the October 2016 issue of Medical Care Journal put the economic cost of opioid overdose, abuse and dependence at $78.5 billion. Health care accounts for about a third of that cost, while lost productivity in nonfatal cases add another $20 billion, according to the journal published by Wolters Kluwer.
Against a backdrop of early settlement talks, opioid makers are calling for 69 lawsuits pending in 15 federal courts across the U.S. to be gathered before before a single judge, according to court filings. A hearing on the multidistrict litigation request is set for Nov. 30 in St. Louis.
The companies and some plaintiffs’ lawyers are asking that opioid suits filed by states, counties and cities be combined for information exchanges and test trials. The consolidation is intended to save money by streamlining the document exchanges and avoiding duplication.
Drugmakers have suggested collecting the cases in federal court in Chicago while plaintiffs recommended that they be sent anywhere from New Hampshire to opioid-ravaged southern West Virginia, according to court filings. The city of Chicago officials filed one of the first cases against opioid makers in 2014.
The case is In Re: National Prescription Opioid Litigation, MDL NO. 2804, Before the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (Washington).

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Bloomberg: Purdue proposes opioid crisis settlement

Nov 17, 2017 | Stamford Advocate (CT)

By Paul Schott

Purdue Pharma, the maker of the OxyContin painkiller that is facing a spate of litigation tied to its role in the opioid crisis, is proposing a “global settlement” in an effort to end state investigations and lawsuits, Bloomberg reported Friday.
Lawyers for Purdue raised the prospect with several southern-state attorneys general who have not sued the company, as they try to determine interest for a broader agreement, according to four people unidentified by Bloomberg.
The company hired Sheila Birnbaum, a veteran mass-tort defense lawyer known as the “Queen of Torts,” to consult on their legal strategy and a settlement plan, two people said, according to Bloomberg. She is a partner with New York’s Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP.
Purdue officials declined to comment Friday.
Prosecutors across the country have accused Purdue and other opioid makers of fueling the opioid crisis through deceptive marketing. More than a dozen states and about 100 counties and cities have sued Purdue, other opioid makers and drug distributors. In recent months, lawsuits have been filed against Purdue by the states of Alaska, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, New Jersey, South Carolina and Washington and cities including New Haven and Waterbury.
A group of 41 attorneys general are also investigating how companies such as Purdue and other opioid makers marketed and sold prescription opioids.
It is not clear whether Purdue lawyers are authorized to speak for other drugmakers facing opioid suits, but those familiar with the talks say Purdue’s attorneys are looking for a “global accord” to include all U.S. states’ claims against all manufacturers, according to Bloomberg.

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Impending Minneapolis, MN Suit

Minneapolis To Join Lawsuit Against Opioid Manufacturers

Nov 17, 2017 | KSTP (MN)

By Kristen Swanson

Minneapolis has become the first major city in Minnesota to join the legal fight against opioid manufactures and distributors.
The full city council voted Friday to initiate a lawsuit to seek monetary damages from pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors to help respond to the opioid crisis.
In a news release, city attorney Susan Segal argued "the misrepresentations, deceptive and dangerous marketing practices, oversupply and failure to comply with federal reporting requirements of opioid manufacturers and distributors are among the leading causes of our current spiral of opioid-related addiction, overdoses and deaths" and that the city will seek damages to help stop it.
Minneapolis joins other cities and counties across the state who are filing similar lawsuits. Chisago County leaders voted Wednesday to also file a lawsuit.
Minneapolis city council president Barb Johnson said the action is meant to hold the opioid manufacturers accountable.
"It's hard on the fire fighters, it's hard on the costs involved and it's really a challenge for us," Johnson said during an interview. "It's something that we have to deal with as a society."
Johnson explained the uptick in opioid-related overdoses has stressed city resources, including the fire department. MPD reports that since May of 2016, fire fighters have responded to "363 opioid overdose emergencies" in the city. They have also administered 551 doses of naloxone in that time period.

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Mpls. considers lawsuit against opioid manufacturers

Nov 20, 2017 | KARE 11 (MN)

By Staff

The city of Minneapolis, like communities across the U.S. , has incurred significant expense responding to the opioid crisis and those who have fallen victim to it.
Now the City Council is looking to get some of that money back, authorizing the City Attorney to file a lawsuit against manufacturers and distributors of opioids. The proposed litigation will seek to recover monetary damages incurred by the City in dealing with the scourge of opioids.
Minneapolis joins a number of states, counties and cities across the country that have filed similar lawsuits against drug makers.

“The misrepresentations, deceptive and dangerous marketing practices, oversupply and failure to comply with federal reporting requirements of opioid manufacturers and distributors are among the leading causes of our current spiral of opioid-related addiction, overdoses and deaths,” said City Attorney Susan Segal. “With the City Council’s action today, Minneapolis will be joining with other cities, counties and states to seek redress and to put a stop to the dangerous practices of pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors.”

The Minneapolis Fire Department has experienced a significant surge in calls related to opioid overdoses which taxes both budgets and staff.
“Since May of 2016, when the Minneapolis Fire Department began administering naloxone treatments for opioid overdoses, the MFD has responded to 363 opioid overdose emergencies in the City of Minneapolis administering 551 doses of naloxone to date,” explained Minneapolis Fire Chief John Fruetel.
The naloxone treatments administered by first responders have saved the lives of 328 people, but 376 others have died from opioid-related causes since 2016, up 12 percent from the year before, according to recent data released by the Minnesota Department of Health. Prescription opioids, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, accounted for the largest number of opioid-involved deaths.

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Minnesota counties, cities joining rush of lawsuits against opioid producers

Nov 18, 2017 | Minnesota Star Tribune (MN)

By Pam Louwagie

Several of Minnesota’s largest counties and cities are on the verge of joining a national wave of government lawsuits targeting pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors for the public cost of the opioid crisis.
Commissioners of at least a half dozen county boards authorized their attorneys this month to enter into agreements with private law firms to either sue or consider litigation, including Hennepin, Ramsey, St. Louis, Chisago, Mower and Steele counties. On Friday, the Minneapolis City Council decided to file suit. St. Paul also plans to do so, a mayoral spokesman said.
They are joining scores of county and local governments throughout the country alleging manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids are largely responsible for an epidemic of dangerous addiction that has caused thousands of deaths and strained public resources.
“The county attorneys are trying to figure out how, collectively, we can be responsible and be aggressive about supporting folks in our communities against this opiate crisis,” said Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, who said his county’s board discussed the issue in a closed legal briefing earlier this month. “We’re all trying to unite together to quietly but forcefully say ‘Enough is enough.’ They’ve got to stop this crap.”
With a federal hearing on such litigation scheduled for the end of the month, some Minnesota counties and municipalities are scrambling to consider filing suit before then. Freeman and other attorneys expect a substantial portion of the state’s 87 counties will eventually sue.
Too much pain medication
In lawsuits reminiscent of actions against tobacco companies in the 1990s, governments in other states have alleged that pharmaceutical companies used deceptive marketing practices and misrepresented the addictive nature of the drugs, flooding communities with the addictive prescription pills. Distributors are being blamed for failing to report suspiciously large orders of opioids in certain areas.
The suits seek damages for the governments’ costs in handling the opioid epidemic, including law enforcement, medical treatment and social services.
In response to other lawsuits, representatives for the defendants have denied any wrongdoing.
Ramsey County Attorney John Choi, who said his County Board met in a closed session Tuesday to discuss pending litigation, said the county plans to file its lawsuit before the end of the month seeking “monetary and non-monetary remedial damages.”
“This isn’t just about money,” Choi said. “This is about also other things that could be done to ensure that we’re truly addressing this epidemic moving forward ... clearly there’s way more pain medication than is actually necessary for our populations throughout Minnesota.”
Prescription painkillers have been blamed for starting the opioid epidemic and driving those addicted to illegal street drugs such as heroin. A Star Tribune analysis of state death certificate data found 402 opioid-related deaths in Minnesota in 2016, up from 344 in 2015 and more than double the number in 2006.
Nationally, overdose deaths from opioids, including prescription opioids and heroin, have more than quadrupled since 1999, according to the CDC. From 1999 to 2015, more than 183,000 people died from overdoses related to prescription opioids.
In St. Louis County in northeast Minnesota, where the opioid crisis has hit communities especially hard, commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to authorize a lawsuit.
St. Louis County had the second-highest rate of opioid-involved overdose mortality in the state from 2011 to 2015, with 10.7 deaths per 100,000 people. Neighboring Carlton County had the highest rate with 12.4 deaths. The state average was 5.7 during that time.
“It’s been very significant in our neck of the woods,” said Commissioner Patrick Boyle, a nurse practitioner who has seen the epidemic in his work.
Unlike many states, counties in Minnesota are responsible for out-of-home placement of children — a cost that accounts for more than 10 percent of St. Louis County property taxes, Boyle said.
“We have just under 800 kids in out-of-home placement and we are predicting a majority of those kids are due to the opiate heroin crisis from their parents,” he said.
The county has also poured money into getting overdose patients into treatment faster, helping to fund a new opioid detox center.
Minneapolis City Attorney Susan Segal said that since the Minneapolis Fire Department began carrying the opioid antidote naloxone in May of 2016, firefighters have responded to 363 opioid overdose emergencies and administered more than 500 doses.
“It has just been a devastating epidemic,” Segal said. The city’s lawsuit will help send a message to companies, she said, to “stop these deceptive … marketing and distribution practices.”
Part of a strategy
The lawsuits are part of a strategy to combat the opioid crisis through various means, including prescription drug turn-in programs and prosecution of illegal drug dealers.
In September, state attorneys general from around the country served subpoenas on companies that produce and distribute opioids.
A state task force recently set new limits on opioid prescriptions by doctors who participate in the state’s Medicaid program.
Julie Ring, executive director of the Association of Minnesota Counties, said that in talking with county leaders throughout the state over the past few weeks, she found “there is a fair amount of interest” in lawsuits against the companies that make and distribute the prescription drugs.
While the law firms are taking the cases on contingency — meaning they assume the cost of investigating and presenting the case, but then collect attorney’s fees out of any damage awards they might win — Ring said counties are considering how much staff time may be needed to help document the government costs involved in dealing with the opioid crisis.
“We’re concerned with making sure that counties are thinking through all the pros and cons,” Ring said. “There is a certain amount of data gathering that has to go into building these cases. That will require some county resources. … If a large number of counties decide to move forward, we might be able to help them streamline that data.”
A federal panel of judges in St. Louis, Mo., is slated to hear arguments Nov. 30 on whether similar suits around the country should be transferred and consolidated to go before a single judge in multidistrict litigation. Some experts feel it would be advantageous for governments to file suit before that hearing, though others say there is little harm in taking more time to decide.
The push for lawsuits in Minnesota has “come up fairly rapidly,” Ring said. “We’ve told folks … they should take the time they need to determine that it’s the right choice for them.”

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Other Litigation Coverage

Titus County joins lawsuit over opioids

Nov 19, 2017 | Taxarkana Gazette (TX)

By Lynn Larowe

Another East Texas county has filed suit against Big Pharma in connection with the country's opioid addiction crisis.
Titus County, Texas—like neighboring counties Bowie, Red River, Upshur and Morris—is alleging pharmaceutical companies conspired to sell their products with an eye on profits and a complete lack of regard for people.
The suits accuses a bevy of companies of spreading false and deceptive information that led doctors and the public to believe long-term opioid use was safe for most people, in order to reap giant profits. The suits blame Big Pharma for creating the opioid crisis and of costing local and national governments billions in the fight against and treatment of addiction to the drugs.
"Accidental drug overdose deaths, of which at least two-thirds are opioid overdoses, are the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 50. Accidental drug overdose deaths, predominantly from opioids, exceed the number of deaths caused by cars or guns," the Red River complaint states. "The economic burden caused by opioid abuse in the U.S. is approximately $78.5 billion, including lost productivity and increased social services, health insurance costs, increased criminal justice presence and strain on judicial resources, and substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation."
All of the complaints allege the widespread abuse of opiate drugs in the U.S. didn't occur by chance, but through a concerted scheme among manufacturers, distributors and marketers of the drugs to dupe doctors and patients into believing long-term opioid use is safe for the treatment of chronic pain. According to Red River's complaint, health care providers in the U.S. wrote enough prescriptions for opioids in 2016 for every adult in the country to have more than one bottle of pills.
The complaints accuse the Big Pharma companies of creating a public nuisance, common law fraud, negligence, gross negligence, violations of Texas Controlled Substances Act and violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act by engaging in concert in a sophisticated scheme to sell and distribute the dangerous drugs with an eye on profits and a complete disregard for patient health and the rippling, negative effects widespread addiction has on families and communities.
All of the cases have been assigned to U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder III.

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28 Counties Sues Major Opioid Manufacturers For Cost Of Crisis

Nov 17, 2017 | The Daily Caller

By Nick Givas

Twenty-eight Wisconsin counties sued five major drug manufactures Nov. 7, seeking to recover financial costs from battling the opioid crisis.
The lawsuit claims county services have been overwhelmed by the effects of the epidemic, and aims to reimburse local governments for any opioid related costs they’ve incurred, according to the Door County Pulse.
Law firms of Crueger Dickinson LLC and Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC filed the lawsuit on behalf of Door County and the others listed in the litigation.
Companies listed as the defendants include: Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Cephalon and Endo Pharmaceuticals.
“Overdoses are just the tip of the iceberg, however, county governments are bearing the brunt of the cost of this crisis,” Erin Dickinson, law partner at Crueger Dickinson said at a press conference Nov. 7. “The crisis has overwhelmed county provided services and has had a devastating effect on the county’s ability to pay for those services.”
“Defendants must be held responsible for the devastating effects their actions have had both in Wisconsin and around the country,” she added. “The lawsuits filed today represent an important step towards addressing the opioid crisis in the state of Wisconsin, and they seek to hold the defendants responsible for their central role in causing this crisis.”
Purdue Pharma has come under fire recently for marketing and selling of the highly addictive drug Oxycontin, and have been a central player in the opioid crisis.
Purdue Pharma “vigorously” denied these allegations to The Daily Caller News Foundation.
“We are deeply troubled by the opioid crisis and we are dedicated to being part of the solution,” a Purdue Pharma spokesperson said in an emailed statement to TheDCNF. ” 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 spokesperson added:
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 lawsuit come in the wake of other legal actions being taken against Purdue Pharma by Ohio‘s attorney general, the city of Indianapolis, Ind., and officials in Tennessee.

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County could seek legal action against opioid manufacturers

Nov 19, 2017 | Rockingham Now (NC)

By Joe Dexter

Rockingham County officials are moving forward with supporting potential legal action against prescription pain manufacturers, in an effort to hold them accountable for their role in the opioid epidemic.
The Rockingham County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution on Nov. 6, which helps them follow the path that many county governments across the nation have taken to recoup epidemic costs and provide treatment.
In September, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein announced that he was joined 40 other attorney generals in requesting documents and information from prescription opioid manufacturers and distributors.
The request is being used as a tool to determine whether or not opioid manufacturing companies Purdue Pharma, Endo, Janssen, Teva/Cephalon, Allergan and other related entities are engaging in unlawful practices, in regards to the marketing, sale and distribution of prescription opioids.
The resolution states that the board of commissioners supports the nationwide coalition and recommends that legal action should be taken up by the state of North Carolina on behalf of its 100 counties, if it is found that those manufacturing businesses have engaged in unlawful practices.
Outside of support, the resolution lays the groundwork for the county itself to investigate the feasibility of joining any active or potential lawsuits.
County Attorney Emily Sloop said during the Nov. 6 meeting that potential action through the legal system could help cover the rising expense of various needs due to the epidemic, such as transportation for medical personnel, EMS, court costs, and the increased need of resources for the Rockingham County Department of Social Services.
According to the resolution, over 130 children entered the local foster care system as a result of substance abuse by a parent or parents from July 2016 through June of 2017.
Sloop said that expenses related to the opioid crisis have created a $100,000 burden in Rockingham County alone.
"Overall, it's very important that we seek some remedy in the legal form about potentially having litigation to get reimbursed for some of these costs that our local economy has seen,” Sloop said.
The resolution comes after County Manager Lance Metzler, Health and Human Services Director Felissa Ferrell, Sloop and Vice-Chairman Kevin Berger met with several attorneys that are in the process of suing manufacturers of opioids and recover money that could be used to fight the problems the addictive drugs present.
Berger told those in attendance during the commission meeting at Oregon Hill Fire Department that there are other groups of attorneys also joining together to file similar litigation.
“What this resolution would do is point out an RFP to seek information from these groups of attorneys to see which one is best suited for Rockingham County to move forward with litigation against the opioid manufacturers,” Berger said.
The commissioner, who also practices law in Rockingham County, said that current and potential litigation is based off current legislation that requires pharmaceuticals to notify federal authorities when "things are out of whack."
He added that the resolution will allow the county to move forward and get involved, with no cost to the taxpayers.
According to the notice of request for information for special legal counsel published by Rockingham County Government, if counsel is retained for potential litigation it will be done through a contingency fee arrangement -- meaning special council would accept a fixed percentage of the county's recovery.
The RFI also states being retained council will include the responsibility of doing significant evaluative and investigative preparatory work and litigation work may include drafting pleadings, motions, briefs, and all other papers to be filed in court.
"I'm happy to see the county pursuing this effort towards recouping some of our tax dollars,” said Commissioner Reece Pyrtle.
“Unfortunately this epidemic that is affecting this whole country is hitting our county. We are not immune to it and the cost associated with it goes through all aspects of the county government — from social services who have more foster kids in foster care — to including the more intense treatment that is needed for those individuals that have an opioid addiction.”
The Rockingham County Board of Commissioners will meet again on Monday, during two separate public meetings at commissioner chambers in the Rockingham County Governmental Center.
At 5 p.m., the commission will discuss water and wastewater service in Rockingham County, during a recessed meeting.
The board’s regularly scheduled commissioner meeting will follow at 6:30 p.m.

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County ponders lawsuit against opioid manufacturers

Nov 17, 2017 | Alton Telegraph (IL)

By Scott Cousins

Supporters of a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers argued pharmaceutical companies deliberately misled consumers about addictive drugs and should pay for it, while one detractor said the emphasis should be on prosecuting drug dealers.
The comments came at a meeting of the Madison County Board’s Judiciary Committee, which is considering whether to support a lawsuit against the opioid manufacturers. The idea was raised last month by Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons.
About 40 people attended the meeting, held Friday at the County Administration Building.
The principal speakers were attorneys representing law firms currently involved in litigation against pharmaceutical companies.
Madison County Coroner Steve Nonn described part of the scope of the crisis, noting that the number of opioid-related deaths has increased to more than 40 so far this year. As of Oct. 31 he said there have been 69 overdose deaths, most related to heroin or fentanyl, not including seven more in the next 17 days, and two suspected fentanyl-related deaths Friday.
Gibbons said one of the “root causes” in many cases are opioids prescribed for pain.
It was noted that once the prescriptions run out, many people are addicted, and will eventually turn to street drugs.
“Seventy to 80 percent of heroin addicts started with prescription painkillers,” he said, adding many times they turn to theft to pay for the drugs, causing those crime rates to skyrocket.
All of this is costing the courts, police, EMS and other emergency responders large amounts of money. He said if they join a suit, part of the money would be used to reimburse local communities, and also for programs to combat addiction. At one point Board Member Chrissy Dutton, R-Bethalto, raised concerns about how the funds would be used.
Board Member Phil Chapman, R-Highland, who asked numerous questions during the meeting, noted that the pharmaceutical company was part of the problem, but he had concerns about being part of the litigation, including the fees that the lawyers would receive.
That issue came up several times during the meeting.
Speaking in favor of taking part in the lawsuits were Paul Hanly, of Simmons Hanly Conroy, and former Madison County Chief Judge Ann Callis, of Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli.
Hanly claimed that pharmaceutical companies have created a “conspiracy” for the “proliferation” of opioid prescription.
Prior to 1995 opioids were generally only prescribed for acute pain following surgery and terminal cancer cases. Hanly said that beginning in 1995 one company “set out to turn this on its head.”
He said the “false science” created by that and other companies is partially responsible for the crisis, and that at present more than 300 counties are part of lawsuits, and he anticipated more than 1,000 of the approximately 3,000 counties throughout the country will be taking part within a year.
He also noted that “history teaches that if you are not a participant you will not have a seat at the table” regarding any settlement.
Hanly said the suits his firm is taking part in are centered on the manufacturers, while Callis said her firm is also looking at distribution companies.
Callis also said that the suits her firm were involved in allege a RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) violation – claiming a conspiracy between manufacturers and distributors, and that they are representing Bond, St. Clair and Jersey counties in similar lawsuits.
After they spoke Madison County Public Defender John Rekowski said the county should “embrace” the lawsuits.
“When corporations kill they should be held responsible,” he said. “Until we go after these people…they will continue to do it.”
Several other citizens spoke.
The last speaker was former Madison County State’s Attorney Don Weber, who blasted Rekowski, who had already left, and noted the suits are being proposed by “liberal Democrat trial lawyers.”
He also noted that if the county would join the lawsuits it might get very little in return. He noted that if there was a $1 billion settlement, the law firm would get one-third, and the rest would be divided up between all the other participants.
He also stressed that no law firm that makes political contributions should be allowed to participate.
No decision was made at the meeting, in part because Chairman Mike Walters, R-Godfrey, said they wanted to hear from pharmaceutical representatives before making a decision.

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County officials considering lawsuit against opioid manufacturers

Nov 17, 2017 | Advantage News (IL)

By Jason White

Paramedics scramble to get a dying overdose victim to a hospital, only to hear police dispatched to another overdose at the house they just left. A police officer has to be revived after he contacts fentanyl, a potent opioid that can be absorbed through the skin, while responding to an overdose.
It sounds like fiction, but it's happening on the streets and in the homes of Madison County. In response, the county's elected officials are considering joining a national trend of local governments taking legal action against opioid manufacturers to recoup the epidemic's financial costs.
The Madison County Board's Judiciary Committee met on Friday to discuss the issue. Financial compensation from a lawsuit would be used for drug treatment, education and other measures the County Board determines.
Jersey and St. Clair counties filed lawsuits earlier this year alleging pharmaceutical companies misled consumers about the risks of commonly prescribed painkillers. Paul Hanly, a shareholder with the Alton-based Simmons Hanly Conroy law firm, told the committee he expects 1,000 counties nationwide will take similar actions within a year.
“If you don't sue, you don't get to participate,” he said.
Hanly traced the crisis' origin to the late 1990s, when drug manufacturer Purdue Pharma began a campaign to persuade doctors OxyContin was safe to prescribe for chronic pain. For a century, health practitioners had confined opioid-based medication to surgical applications and end-of-life cancer patients. In 2007, the company agreed to pay $600 million in civil and criminal penalties and three of its executives pleaded guilty to federal charges of misbranding, according to a New York Times article.
“That's why we are where we are today,” Hanly said.
Ann Callis, former Third Judicial Circuit chief judge and a lawyer with Edwardsville law firm Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, said the County Board would pass a resolution declaring the opioid epidemic a nuisance, and damages from the suit would establish a nuisance abatement fund. Her firm represents Jersey County in its lawsuit.
Callis, a Granite City native, served as a Madison County judge for 18 years.
“I saw firsthand the devastation of this opioid epidemic,” Callis said. “I can assure the citizens I will fight for them in this lawsuit.”
Don Weber, a former Madison County's state's attorney, told the committee he'd like to see more emphasis on convicting drug dealers. He said trial lawyers' financial gains in such lawsuits far outweigh those of local governments, and said Callis and Hanly both represent firms with ties to Democratic politicians.
“The trial lawyers are going to take home $200 million and we're going to get $400,000 for drug treatment,” he said.
He said the county shouldn't hire a firm that financially supports any political party and should impose a cap on legal fees.
State's Attorney Tom Gibbons pointed to the county's drug court, where nonviolent offenders receive treatment, and a task force to educate high school and middle school students as efforts making an impact but said the battle is far from won.
“We have shown the rest of the state and the world … that you can alter the outcome of people's lives,” he said. “This is a problem that will persist until we as a community address it with a full-court press.
“Every single day, we as taxpayers are footing the bill for the opioid epidemic,” he said.
Coroner Steve Nonn said as of Oct. 30, his office had recorded 69 total overdose deaths, and in 17 days this month added 7 more – including 2 on Friday. Wood River police and fire department personnel responded to at least 5 overdoses, including the death of a 28-year-old man, in a 12-hour period Friday. Police say the overdoses were caused by cocaine mixed with fentanyl, which can be 10,000 times more potent than morphine.
“We have to remember that dead person was loved by somebody,” Nonn said. “This is a tragedy that's affecting all of us.”
Godfrey Republican Mike Walters, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said discussions about litigation's merits will continue. He said he wants to hear the pharmaceutical companies' side of the story.
“I don't want to see people that didn't cause the problem being sued,” he said. “We've got to find out which ones are the bad apples.”
Walters and other committee members said they have watched loved ones struggle with addiction.
“This doesn't discriminate,” Bethalto Republican committee member Chrissy Dutton said. “Anyone can fall to this.”

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GT pursues opioid lawsuit

Nov 19, 2017 | Traverse City Record Eagle (MI)

By Matt Troutman

A jailhouse interview afforded Grand Traverse County assistant Prosecutor Chris Forsyth an all-too-familiar story about a man's path into addiction.
The man lifted his pant leg and a showed Forsyth a scar from a painful past injury. He told Forsyth a doctor prescribed him an opioid for the pain, but his pills eventually ran out. Broke and still in pain, the man turned to the heroin to feed his growing addiction.
"I'm out there buying heroin, that ramps up the addiction," Forsyth said the man told him. "Now, I'm out there working for drug dealers selling heroin on their behalf in this community."
Forsyth recounted the story to illustrate how prescriptions feed into the Traverse City area's ongoing opioid problem. Similar tales have unfolded countless times nationwide and contributed to a public health crisis reflected in thousands of overdoses, overflowing court dockets and other strains on communities.
Its local toll prompted Grand Traverse County commissioners last week to join a growing number of states and municipalities eyeing legal action against pharmaceutical companies.
The evidence is clear that some companies engaged in concentrated efforts to sell massive amounts of opioid medications like oxycodone and fentanyl, said Paul Pennock, an attorney with New York-based law firm Weitz & Luxenberg.
Certain companies pushed for prescriptions to last months, while the drugs should instead be taken for serious illnesses or end-of-life care, he told commissioners.
"The reasonable and good doctors were prescribing these with the belief that they were safe and were not addictive," he said. "And that's why we had 200,000 opioid deaths in the last 17 years."
Pennock outlined an effort to levy lawsuits from multiple jurisdictions against three likely pharmaceutical companies, including Purdue Pharma, the makers of OxyContin. He said 60 to 70 counties nationwide already filed claims, and he anticipated hundreds more in the future.
A single federal judge could handle the cases together, but the lawsuits and potential damages will remain individual, he said. Any damages could go toward the costs Grand Traverse County has sustained from prosecutions, hospitalizations and other side effects from the drug epidemic, he said.
"These companies need to be brought to answer for what has occurred," Pennock said.
The effort is analogous to past litigation against tobacco companies which resulted in settlements for states.
Attorneys in potential opioid cases likely will pursue a three-pronged local, state and federal legal approach. Pennock's firm will serve as lead counsel in Grand Traverse County's case, and will partner with Traverse City firm Smith & Johnson and Sam Bernstein Law Firm from Farmington Hills.
County Prosecutor Bob Cooney said he has received several solicitations from law firms aiming to pursue similar litigation. His office handles the county's criminal drug cases, but he also helped spearhead a local substance abuse task force that aims to raise awareness about drug issues in the community.
It recently received $105,000 in state liquor tax money, which Cooney said will help hire an epidemiologist to study the region's drug problem. He wants to look into gaps in drug treatment and educating medical professionals about addiction. The drug problem requires a multi-faceted approach, he said.
"I think the lawsuit fits with the goals of the task force,” he said.
Court records show Pennock's firm successfully pursued cases against other pharmaceutical companies. He represented clients in a federal case against a Japanese pharmaceutical company accused of failing to warn a diabetes drug carried a risk of bladder cancer. A jury in 2014 awarded his clients $9 billion in damages, but a judge later reduced the amount to $38 million.
The law firms in the opioid litigation will collect a 30 percent fee for "Grand Traverse County's share of the recovery only," according to the agreement commissioners approved. The county won't bear a cost if the case fails.

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Commentary and FYIs

Here’s what all the Ohio governor candidates say they’ll do about the opioid crisis

Nov 19, 2017 | My Dayton Daily News (OH)

By Laura A. Bischoff

The next governor of Ohio in all likelihood will inherit a drug crisis that continues to kill thousands of Ohioans each year.
Posted: 6:00 a.m. Sunday, November 19, 2017
The next governor of Ohio in all likelihood will inherit a drug crisis that continues to kill thousands of Ohioans each year.
The annual cost of opiate abuse, addiction and overdoses to Ohio is estimated at $6.6 billion to $8.8 billion, according to researchers at Ohio State University. Beyond the dollars and cents, the scourge is killing on average of 12 Ohioans every day.
As the various candidates — four Republicans and five Democrats and counting — circle the state and lay out their plans for solving the crisis, we asked each to say what they would do about reducing overdose deaths if elected.
REPUBLICANS
All the Republicans favor repealing Obamacare and rolling back Ohio’s Medicald expansion. Although Medicaid expansion increased access to drug treatment to some 200,000 low-income Ohioans with drug abuse issues, Republicans argue that it’s not sustainable and that Ohio would be better off if the feds sent money to the state in the form of block grants that could then be used on programs that best fit the state’s needs.
Some of their other approaches differ, however.
Posted: 6:00 a.m. Sunday, November 19, 2017
The next governor of Ohio in all likelihood will inherit a drug crisis that continues to kill thousands of Ohioans each year.
The annual cost of opiate abuse, addiction and overdoses to Ohio is estimated at $6.6 billion to $8.8 billion, according to researchers at Ohio State University. Beyond the dollars and cents, the scourge is killing on average of 12 Ohioans every day.
As the various candidates — four Republicans and five Democrats and counting — circle the state and lay out their plans for solving the crisis, we asked each to say what they would do about reducing overdose deaths if elected.
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REPUBLICANS
All the Republicans favor repealing Obamacare and rolling back Ohio’s Medicald expansion. Although Medicaid expansion increased access to drug treatment to some 200,000 low-income Ohioans with drug abuse issues, Republicans argue that it’s not sustainable and that Ohio would be better off if the feds sent money to the state in the form of block grants that could then be used on programs that best fit the state’s needs.
Some of their other approaches differ, however.+
Mike DeWine
DeWine, Ohio’s attorney general, filed a lawsuit on May 31 in Ross County against five drug makers, including household names such as Purdue Pharma and Johnson & Johnson, arguing the corporations engaged in fraudulent marketing of powerfully addictive painkillers — charges the drug companies deny.
DeWine also issued a 12-step recovery plan that includes passing legislation to give the governor authority to declare a public health emergency, step up law enforcement data sharing, expand drug task forces and drug courts and double treatment capacity.
Like the other Republican candidates, he favors repealing Obamacare and replacing it with a system where the feds send the money to the states, which in theory can then design a system that works in that state.
Jon Husted
Husted, Ohio’s Secretary of State, said the long-term solution to the opioid crisis is investing in education and worker training that will give Ohioans a pathway to good-paying jobs. In the near-term, Ohio needs to invest in quality drug treatment programs, stop traffickers, make the new prescribing rules a matter of state law, invest in alternative chronic pain management approaches and demand some personal accountability so people take ownership of their own health, he said.
He wants to tie Medicaid benefits to work or job-training requirements.
“I think the opioid crisis is a symptom of a lot of other breakdowns in our economy and our society,” Husted said. “It is not the cause of our problems. It is a symptom of our problems.”
Ohio’s problems, he said, include a lack of good-paying jobs, a breakdown of families and a social safety net that traps people in cycles of generational poverty. “Those are the reasons that some of these problems exist.”
Jim Renacci
The congressman from Wadsworth in northeast Ohio opposes continuing expanded Medicaid, which opened up paths for drug treatment for more than 200,000 low-income Ohioans. Hepredicts that Medicaid expansion will lead to “massive cuts to basic state services, including existing opioid addiction treatment programs.”
He pledged to work with cities and counties on the opiate crisis. “I think the state is going to have to (provide funding for drug treatment), but they’re going to have to use their resources better,” he said. “It still comes down to there is no answer that’s based on money because when you think you have enough money, it runs out.”
He said local communities and the state need to work better together, and he thinks his pro-growth economic reforms will lead to more job creation that will in turn help with the drug crisis, which will instill hope for Ohioans. He said he wants schools to bring vocational-technical classes back to high schools for students who don’t want to go to college. He also wants to stiffen penalties for drug dealers.
Mary Taylor
The lieutenant governor went public earlier this year in an exclusive interview with the Dayton Daily News about her sons’ battle with opiate addiction. In Dayton recently, Taylor said she would use her own family story to knock down the powerful stigma attached to drug addiction.
“Ask anyone who is dealing with addiction in their family and it’s one day at a time. That’s the way we take it. But today is a good day. We are full of hope,” Taylor said of her adult sons, Michael and Joe.
Taylor is proposing issuing a 10-year, $1-billion bond to pay for drug treatment, hiring more narcotics cops, and building on the work done by Kasich, though she opposes continuing the Medicaid expansion that he championed and helped put in place.
DEMOCRATS
None have called for repealing Obamacare, and one — former U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton — voted for the legislation when she was in the U.S. House. Their proposals vary from lawsuits against drug companies to rolling back tax cuts and using the money to address the crisis.
Hannah said “I give her credit. As kind of a lesser known candidate, I think having bolder types of ideas is a way to get your name out there. Even if she doesn’t win this time around, she is getting her name on the map.
William O’Neill
The Ohio Supreme Court justice — and pediatric nurse — wants to legalize and tax recreational use of marijuana and release non-violent marijuana inmates from state prisons. He calculates that those steps alone would raise $300 million a year, which would allow the state to open 10 regional mental health hospitals across the state to treat roughly 40,000 people each year.
“My single answer, as a military officer, is you fight the battle that you’re in with the tools you have,” he said. “We are in a battle with the opiate crisis. We have the tools readily available. We just have to use them.”
He criticized DeWine and his fellow Democrat, Nan Whaley, for filing lawsuits against drug companies, saying it will take years of litigation and legal fees before Ohioans see results.
“I want to help people who are struggling. I want to help people who are addicted, but we also have to have some personal accountability for them,” O’Neill said. “They have to help themselves too.”
Connie Pillich
The former Ohio House member from Cincinnati says she’ll work to create jobs as a preventative measure, raise awareness with community leaders, and treat addicts like patients and not criminals.
She also wants to crack down on street dealers and pill mills, and support state funds for children’s services and mentorship programs.
Joe Schiavoni
A state senator from the Youngstown area, Schiavoni wants to earmark 10 percent of the $2 billion in the state rainy day fund for drug addiction services, children’s services, law enforcement, first responders and drug courts.
He also wants to roll back Kasich tax cuts for wealthy Ohioans, apply for more federal money and spend money on effective treatment.
Finally, he wants to require insurance companies to cover alternatives to opioids for pain management.
Betty Sutton
The former congresswoman labels the opiate crisis “our hurricane” and promises to declare it a state of emergency to help give Ohio access federal resources.
Sutton said she favors a multi-pronged approach that includes suing drug companies, punishing dealers, and pushing for prevention and treatment programs.
She also noted that while in the U.S. House she voted in favor of Obamacare, which includes expanded Medicaid.
“It’s clear that more than anything, this epidemic is a disease of economic despair and hopelessness,” she said in a statement. “Dreams and hopes for the future are our greatest tools against this. Nothing stops a needle like a good job and hope for the future. And that is why creating jobs and pathways to those jobs are my highest priority.”
Nan Whaley
In June, the city of Dayton filed a lawsuit against drug makers, distributors and physician pain specialists who they see as responsible for the crisis, which has killed thousands and drained public resources. More than 100 cities and counties nationwide have now filed lawsuits.
“The big drug companies said opioids weren’t addictive and got Ohioans hooked,” Whaley says in justifying the lawsuit. “A man-made epidemic that these billion-dollar companies created overnight is one our communities will spend years trying to reverse. And our local leaders are struggling to provide resources for those who need treatment and for our first responders who are on the front lines of this epidemic.”
The mayor also proposes charging a nickel per dose surcharge for every prescription painkiller sold in the state, which would generate roughly $31.5 million a year to pay for first responders, substance abuse stabilization centers and state psychiatric hospitals.
Whaley also notes that she has worked to make sure Dayton’s first responders are equipped with Naloxone, a drug that reverses the effects of an overdose.And she wants to open the state’s emergency operations center to help respond to the crisis, and push the federal Drug Enforcement Agency should re-gain the abilityto go after prescription drug companies.
“The silver lining with the opiate epidemic is it affects every demographic of our community,” she said. “We have an opportunity to get addiction policy correct in this state. That is something we really need to put the focus on.”

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Wisconsin should join opioid lawsuit -- John M. Rice (EDITORIAL)

Nov 17, 2017 | Wisconsin State Journal

By John M. Rice

Mike Moore, an attorney and a former attorney general of Mississippi, successfully developed the game plan to bring down Big Tobacco in the 1990s. He is now trying to do the same to Big Pharma.
Pharmaceutical companies have brought the opioid problem on America by a policy of convincing the health communities to minimize the addiction and overdose risk of their painkillers. Not only did these companies help cause this problem, but they gained huge profits in the process.
Moore's game plan is to get attorneys general from at least 25 states to sue Purdue Pharma, Endo and Johnson and Johnson’s Jannsen Pharmaceuticals, and their distributors who sell to local pharmacies. Mississippi and Ohio have already begun the process to sue. Attorneys general from about 40 states have begun investigating the possibilities of suing.
Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel should join this fight. The citizens of Wisconsin and our taxpayers would all benefit from this action.

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Pain Management and the Opioid Crisis ( LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)

Nov 19, 2017 | The New York TImes

By Readers

To the Editor:
Re “Taxpayer-Funded Addiction” (editorial, Nov. 11):
Effectively addressing the opioid crisis requires a comprehensive approach that meets immediate needs and invests in future solutions for patients.
In criticizing the administration’s public-private partnership, you created a false dichotomy between immediate efforts to address the crisis and the long-term solutions offered by the public-private partnership; we can do both.
New treatments that reduce the risk for abuse, addiction and overdose — including the development of nonopioid alternatives — are a critical component of any public health solution. In this area the biopharmaceutical industry can and should play a unique role.
Our industry is developing 40 nonopioid analgesics and has an additional 40 addiction recovery treatments in the pipeline. The National Institutes of Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse are wrestling with this problem as well, and working in partnership we can solve it.
A partnership will bring together the best minds in science to speed the discovery and development process to help get new and vital alternatives to patients safely and quickly.Continue reading the main story
STEPHEN J. UBL, WASHINGTON
The writer is president and chief executive of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
To the Editor:
I take issue with your depiction of collaboration between the public and private sectors to address the opioid crisis.
We must address this crisis without abandoning pain patients. Since current nonopioid pain therapies are inadequate for many patients, we must improve existing medications and simultaneously develop new treatments, priorities of the National Institutes of Health as well as the pharmaceutical industry.
We disagree with the opinion expressed by a pharmacologist in the editorial that “abuse-deterrent is a marketing term used to mislead.” “Opioid medicines with abuse-deterrent properties” is a designation by the Food and Drug Administration, described in the final “Guidance for Industry” for products having specific properties designed to deter their abuse by certain routes.
While not a singular solution or “silver bullet,” opioid medicines with abuse-deterrent properties approved by the F.D.A., along with limiting the initial dose, increasing naloxone availability and expanding medication-assisted treatment, are some of the approaches available to address the opioid crisis.
The Obama administration developed the regulatory framework to incentivize their development and encourage wider adoption, a goal shared by leadership at the F.D.A.
CRAIG LANDAU, STAMFORD, CONN.
The writer, an anesthesiologist, is president and chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
To the Editor:
Opioid addiction and the death rate from opioids are rising. There were more than 30,000 deaths from opioid overdoses in 2016.
Two years ago, the drug entered my life because of leukemia. Chemotherapies and a stem cell transplant saved my life, but 20 pounds lighter, no hair, no muscle and a destroyed immune system resulted in chronic pain. I questioned if life was worth living.
Finally, I saw a palliative care doctor who put me on a low dose of oxycodone. Life returned. I could do things again.
I’m careful with the drug. My husband hides it and administers it. I know why it is so addictive. But my appreciation is for my doctor, who despite pressures to decrease oxycodone prescriptions recognizes that not all patients are addicts.
If a patient follows instructions and life is improved, isn’t this the right goal?
Doctors, do your jobs, follow guidelines, but keep in mind that not all patients are drug seekers; some are using the drug as it was developed to be used and are grateful for its existence.
SUZANNE FESSENDEN
OYSTER BAY, N.Y.
To the Editor:
As a pain-management physician, I am concerned that readers may assume that there are no effective nonaddicting analgesic medications. These exist for many common pain conditions, including diabetic neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia and most forms of headache. And these medications are far more effective than opioids.
That many physicians are unaware of this is the same reason so many think that “abuse deterrent” means less addictive. Most physicians receive little education and training in pain management in medical school and postgraduate training.
STEVEN A. KING, PHILADELPHIA

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The opioid crisis is real, and it’s not going to go away (EDITORIAL)

Nov 20, 2017 | The Asheville Citizen Times

By Editorial Board

We’re not sure how much good it will do to sue the pharmaceutical industry, but the opioid crisis has become so severe that we must try.
Buncombe County has filed a federal lawsuit naming 23 firms, including five of the largest manufacturers of prescription opioids, the three largest wholesale drug distributors in the U.S., and their related companies. No specific amount of damages is asked.
The lawsuit claims the distributors and manufacturers engaged in “false, deceptive and unfair marketing and/or unlawful diversion of prescription opioids.”
“We cannot afford in Buncombe County, or in the country anymore, to just stand back and let this happen,” Commissioner Al Whitesides said. “We gotta speak up. Because we are speaking up and fighting for a lot of people.”
“These drugs are brought in here under false pretenses and they’re robbing us of citizens,” said Commissioner Ellen Frost. They’re robbing us of resources but more importantly, they’re robbing us of citizens -- the babies that are in foster care, the paramedics that have to go out for things that they typically would never have to encounter.
“So, I embrace this fight.”
Opioids have important legitimate uses as pain-killers, but they are being misused widely with catastrophic results. Opioids were responsible for more than 33,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last year’s toll in Buncombe County alone was 42.
And the trend is upward. Buncombe saw more than 200 opioid overdoses in the first eight months of 2017, according to state data. That’s more than twice the number of cases reported for the same period in 2016.
So why sue those who manufacture and distribute opioids? It comes back to Frost’s remark about “false pretenses”. These drugs supposedly are available for legitimate use in fighting pain, but the industry is producing far more than can possibly be used legally.
A lot of the opioids being abused were obtained through legitimate prescriptions. In 20 percent of U.S. counties, the number of opioid prescriptions increased by more than 10 percent from 2010 to 2015, according to CDC data.
We need to do a better job of policing providers who overprescribe opioids. But that still does not let the industry off the hook. The companies have to know the quantities they provide, even though they are under federal controls, are excessive.
The suit may or may not produce any money. If it does, that money should be used for treatment of addicts. Effective treatment is the only long-term solution. As much as we stress the importance of not using drugs, there are those who will not pay attention.
Programs such as the pretrial intervention being pushed by Buncombe Sheriff Van Duncan and District Attorney Todd Williams offer some of our best hope. Incarceration doesn’t help cure addiction, whether that addiction be to alcohol or opioids.
Under pretrial intervention, someone accused of a crime involving opioids gets an opportunity to maintain a clean record providing certain conditions are met. In this case, one of the conditions obviously would be to stay off drugs.
The opioid crisis is real, and it’s not going to go away. Yes, we need to enforce the laws. And yes, some people need to be locked away. But for most, treatment is better than incarceration, and that treatment must not be limited to crisis intervention. It must be continuing At the same time, we must hold responsible those physicians who prescribe too freely, those pharmacists who fill questionable prescriptions, and those manufacturers who turn out far too many pills than are needed for legitimate pain control.

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Opioid lawsuit may help find answers, fault (EDITORIAL)

Nov 19, 2017 | Tribune Chronicle (OH)

By Editorial Board

American taxpayers have been footing the bill for millions — perhaps billions — of dollars in social services that have become necessary due to the nation’s growing opioid crisis.
In Trumbull County, costs to taxpayers continue to grow for services like addiction treatment and recovery; response by police, fire and EMTs to daily reports of overdoses; an increase in child services now needed for kids left behind by overdose victims who either have died or are unable to care for their children due to addiction; support by job and family services for those addicts who have lost their jobs or are struggling to find employment while fighting to overcome addiction; and the exponential increase in autopsies being performed by the Trumbull County Coroner’s office because of overdose deaths.
These costs and more lead us to believe Trumbull County commissioners made the correct decision last week when they voted to join a lawsuit that could hold drug manufacturers accountable for this vast number of opioid addiction and deaths. Commissioners’ action allows the county to join other counties in hiring attorneys as a first step toward suing pain pill manufacturers to pay for the results of a population addicted to opioids.
The same group of attorneys last month filed a lawsuit in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court and representatives from the firms now have told Trumbull Commissioners they expect to file a similar suit in Trumbull County. Mary Jane Trapp, an attorney with the Cleveland law firm Thrasher, Dinsmore & Dolan, and a former judge in Warren’s Eleventh District Court of Appeals, said, “The drug manufacturers knew very early on that the painkillers, that their drugs that they manufacture and that they are making millions in dollars in profits from, were hooking people.”
The Cuyahoga County civil suit lists 24 defendants, including individuals and corporations in Ohio, New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Utah and California.
With the commissioners’ new resolution, the county joins 45 other counties in eight states to pursue a similar suit. The effort, however, brings no financial risk to the county because payment would come only if the county prevails in the suit. In that case, the county would surrender 25 percent of the winnings.
Drug manufacturers “have really promoted and touted them without properly explaining the dangers of those pain medications, which we know now leads to addiction and overdose deaths,”Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa said last week.
While no one knows for sure how true this claim may be, a lawsuit that contains the ability to depose involved sources and subpoena records will allow taxpayers and attorneys to delve deeply into what truly was known and when about the addictive nature of opioid-based painkillers.
With that in mind, the effort seems to be worth it. It’s true we live in a litigious society that often is ready to pull the trigger on a lawsuit in a moment’s notice. This case, however, does not appear to be frivolous.

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White House: Economic cost of opioid crisis about $504B

Nov 19, 2017 | The Hill

By Rachel Roubein

The economic cost of the opioid epidemic was about $504 billion in 2015, which is more than six times higher than other studies from previous years, according to a newly released analysis from the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA).
This figure accounts for roughly 2.8 percent of gross domestic product. The opioid crisis has garnered the national spotlight, as it has led to a significant uptick in overdose deaths since 1999 and, most recently, was declared a national public health emergency by President Trump.
CEA said the report, which will be released Monday, was needed because “in assessing the benefits of fiscal and regulatory policies that limit opioid abuse in the United States, it is important to understand the costs associated with the epidemic that policies might mitigate.”
The council noted that data on fatalities underestimate the number of deaths related to opioids. In 2015, there were more than 33,000 reported opioid-involved overdose deaths, but because fatalities are underreported, CEA pegged the number closer to about 41,000 deaths.
CEA’s analysis on the economic cost is much higher than previous studies from different years. This is because it adjusted for underreporting of fatalities, the crisis has gotten worse and it accounted for the value of lives lost utilizing a method federal agencies typically use. Additionally, it’s because previous studies only took into account the cost of prescription painkillers, but CEA’s analysis also included illicit opioids, like heroin.
This is the council’s first report on the opioid crisis, and it plans to issue more.
Policymakers and advocates are grappling with ways to curb the crisis. The president’s commission to address the opioid epidemic recently issued its final report, which called for more drug courts and a national media blitz, among more than 50 other recommendations.
Democratic lawmakers and many advocates are calling for a substantial infusion of federal funds, and were disappointed that the emergency declaration didn’t come with millions of dollars or a funding ask to Congress.

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Broadcast Media Coverage

Bloomberg Markets: Americas

Nov 17, 2017 | BLOOM (Bloomberg)

By National Programming

Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30831055?token=3f72b612-c176-4f98-9973-cf89272143d8
Rough Transcript: this is front and center for the white house and for public health officials overall. give us a sense of whether purdue is getting ahead of this or is reacting defensively to charges that it set the opioid crisis. >> this is getting ahead of things. they approached some attorneys general but have not sued yet in hopes of bringing together a wider deal and may be potentially resolving this. this is the upward crisis that has been at the forefront of president trump and all over the media and the news for health professionals. what these lawsuits have focused on is creating a public health crisis. purdue is looking to settle potentially their role. there's a number of companies involved here. johnson & johnson have been accused. this is specifically purdue. julia: give us a sense of the scale here.

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Washington Journal

Nov 18, 2017 | CSPAN

By National Programming

Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30831069?token=3f72b612-c176-4f98-9973-cf89272143d8
Rough Transcript: responsibility experts pin on this one company and on the family behind it. the issue is that purdue pharma, through its aggressive marketing, they ended up changing medical taboos and customs in the country. they built this market. then everybody else feasted on the carcass. then we have all the other big manufacturers getting stock in the game, making their own opioids. they saw the profits produced from was making and they went after it. there is an interesting question, purdue pharma is a privately held company going to tory asleep secretive -- and notoriously secretive, owned by one family. they did not have to make the same kind of disclosures about what was going on at the company if they were publicly traded, if they were like pfizer or johnson and johnson. would the big boys really have

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Local 24 News at 6

Nov 17, 2017 | WATN (ABC)

By Memphis, TN

Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30831176?token=3f72b612-c176-4f98-9973-cf89272143d8
Rough Transcript: Richard: this just in -- local 24 news has learned shelby county mayor mark luttrell has vetoed a resolution by the county commission to file a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies over the opioid cris. commissioner heidi shafer filed the lawsuit -- the full commission then approved the move. earlier this week a judge ruled shafer did not have the authority to sue drug makers. now the mayor has vetoed the resolution to file.. which the commission can override with eight votes.

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Local 24 News at 10

Nov 19, 2017 | WATN (ABC)

By Memphis, TN

Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30831078?token=3f72b612-c176-4f98-9973-cf89272143d8
Rough Transcript: good evening and thanks for joing us i'm mary jo ola. you often hear about memphis' high homicide rate..but the rate at which people are dying from overdosing on opioids is just as alarming. the opioid epidemic is grabbing headlines. from shelby county suing pharmaceutical companies to donald trump declaring the problem a health emergcy. so how bad is it? local i-team senior investigator jeni diprizio breaks down the numbers. jeni diprizio/reporting: according to the west tennessee forensic center in downtown memphis....the number of people dying from opioid overdoses has skyrocketed. medical experts will tell you ..addiction to opioids often begins with getting hooked on prescription pain killers like oxycontin....then escalates to illegal opioids like heroin. the result...in our area ...just as many people are dying from opioid overdoses .... as they are being murdered on the streets." cassie milam/gabriesheski's aunt: "how many more do we have to lose. young people, old

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WREG News 3 Daybreak Saturday Edition

Nov 18, 2017 | WREG (CBS)

By Memphis, TN

Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30831163?token=3f72b612-c176-4f98-9973-cf89272143d8
Rough Transcript: reporting in memphis tw wreg nc3 we have an update on that opioid lawsuit involving the shelby county mayor and county commissioners. mayor mark lutrell "veto the commission's resolution.. to hire a new york law firm to sue pharmaceutical companies over the opioid crisis. it's been a "biter battle" between mayor luttrell.. and chair heidi shafer.

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Fox 16 News at 9

Nov 20, 2017 | WJKT (FOX)

By Jackson, TN

Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30831169?token=3f72b612-c176-4f98-9973-cf89272143d8
Rough Transcript: Rudy: new at 9. cw 30 has learned shelby county mayor mark luttrell has vetoed a resolution by the county commission to file a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies over the opioid cris. commissioner heidi shafer filed the lawsuit -- the full commission then approved the move. earlier this week a judge ruled shafer did not have the authority to sue drug makers. now the mayor has vetoed the resolution to file.. which the commission can override with eight votes. since it originally passed with eight votes.. tonight it seems likely that will happen.

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WRTV News: The News at 5:30

Nov 17, 2017 | WRTV (ABC)

By Indianapolis, IN

Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30831177?token=3f72b612-c176-4f98-9973-cf89272143d8
Rough Transcript: we're tracking several stories tonight in our five at five. 3 first, a second lawsuit's been filed in indiana -- against pharmaceutical companies for their alleged role in fueling the opioid abuse cris. that suit, filed by the city of hammond -- claims companies used deceptive practices to promote painkillers beyond their short-term use. indianapolis filed a similar lawsuit tuesday.

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FOX 9 Morning Saturday

Nov 20, 2017 | KMSP (FOX)

By Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30831131?token=3f72b612-c176-4f98-9973-cf89272143d8
Rough Transcript: the minneapolis city council giving the go ahead to file a lawsuit against manufacturers and distributors of opioids. the proposed action seeks monetary damages incurred by the city in responding to the opioid cris. there were 376 opioid-related deaths in minnesota last year, which is a 12% increase from the year before. the city says the minneapolis fire department has saved 328 lives since may of last year, all by administering the

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45 News at 9pm

Nov 17, 2017 | KSTC

By Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30831167?token=3f72b612-c176-4f98-9973-cf89272143d8
Rough Transcript: >> thank you, dave. minneapolis is now the first major city in minnesota to join the legal fight against opioid manufactures and distributors. it's part of a new strategy to save lives. chisago and saint louis counties are already on board. our kirsten swanson is here to explain what the city hopes to accomplish. >> first and foremost, city leaders are looking for money. they say these opioid-related overdoses are stressing resources and budgets. and they want to hold drug manufacturers and distributors accountable for the opioid-related addictions and even deaths. the lawsuit comes as the city of minneapolis finds itself in an opioid epidemic. over 300 emergencies since may of 2016. they carry with them the drug noloxone, and first responders administers 551 doses in that time period. >> it is just story after story.

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5 Eyewitness News AM

Nov 18, 2017 | KSTP (ABC)

By Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30831126?token=3f72b612-c176-4f98-9973-cf89272143d8
Rough Transcript: >> minneapolis is now becoming the first major city in minnesota to join the legal fight against pharmaceutical companies. city council members voted on friday to sue opioid manufacturers and distributors. they are arguing in part that deceptive marketing practices and an oversupply are among the leading causes of our current spiral of addiction overdoses and deaths. it's part of the lawsuit there. the city is seeking monetary damages right now in that suit. chicago and st. louis counties are already onboard with this, and council president barb johnson in minneapolis tells us that the overdoses are seriously

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KARE 11 News Saturday

Nov 18, 2017 | KARE (NBC)

By Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30831122?token=3f72b612-c176-4f98-9973-cf89272143d8
Rough Transcript: >>> the development in the fight against the opioid epidemic. the minneapolis city council has authorized the city attorney to file a lawsuit against manufacturers and distributers of opiods. the suit would seek to recoup money lost by the city after responding to the opioid cris in minneapolis. since may of 2016, if fire department responded to 363 opioid overdose emergencies in the city. >>>

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