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Opioid Litigation Daily Media Report - 1/25/18
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NYC Joins Cities, Counties and States In Bringing Opioid Lawsuit
Jan 24, 2018 | The Street
By Bill Meagher
Add New York City to the growing list of cities that are suing opioid drugmakers and distributors for driving the scourge of prescription drug abuse across the country. -
New York sues Big Pharma for deadly opioid epidemic
Jan 25, 2018 | RT
By Staff
New York City is suing eight companies that make or distribute prescription opioids for their role in the ongoing opioid crisis. The suits aim to recover $500 million for current and future costs combating the epidemic. -
New York City sues for $500 million in opioid-related damages
Jan 24, 2018 | The Pharma Letter
By Staff
The USA's City of New York has initiated legal proceedings against eight opioid manufacturers and distributors, suing for half a billion dollars in damages to help fight the ongoing opioid addiction crisis. -
New York City Files $500M Lawsuit Against Eight Drug Companies Over Deadly Opioid Epidemic
Jan 24, 2018 | Hollywood Unlocked
By Ariela Anis
In addition to President Donald Trump‘s August 2017 declaring a national emergency on the deadly opioid epidemic in the States, New York City is now suing eight drug producers for fueling the fatal crisis. -
NYC Is Suing Pharmaceutical Companies for Igniting the Opioid Epidemic
Jan 24, 2018 | Futurism
By Brad Jones
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced the city is taking legal action against prescription drug companies for their role in the opioid epidemic. -
Big Pharma Sued by New York City Over Opioid Crisis
Jan 24, 2018 | Newsmax
By Clyde Hughes
Big Pharma was sued by New York City on Tuesday over the opioid crisis, with officials charging that the pharmaceutical companies practiced deceptive marketing tactics and misrepresented the dangers of the drugs. -
NYC sues drug companies for $500M over role in opioid crisis
Jan 24, 2018 | SmartCitiesDive
By Kristin Musulin
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday that the city filed a lawsuit against a number of manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids "to account for their part in the city's ongoing deadly opioid epidemic." -
Chinese Drugmakers Are Getting Opioids Into the U.S. Through the Postal Service
Jan 25, 2018 | Associated Press
By Desmond Butler & Ericka Kinetz
Congressional investigators said Wednesday that Chinese opioid manufacturers are exploiting weak screening at the U.S. Postal Service to ship large quantities of illegal drugs to American dealers. -
Chinese labs use mail to send opioid fentanyl into US, Senate report finds
Jan 24, 2018 | Reuters
By Staff
Illegal shipments of the powerful and addictive opioid fentanyl are pouring into the United States by mail from China and the US Postal Service must step up the use of hi-tech detection methods to fight the problem, according to a congressional report unveiled on Wednesday. -
Lawmaker pushes to focus opioid epidemic fight on international mail
Jan 25, 2018 | CBS News
By Staff
There are growing calls to crack down on the delivery of illegal opioids by international mail. U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized more than 180 pounds of fentanyl last year – a new record. But a newly-released Senate report says that's only a fraction of what may be arriving. It found that the volume of international mail has more than doubled in recent years, overwhelming screeners. -
Online Sales of Illegal Opioids from China Surge in U.S.
Jan 25, 2018 | New York Times
By Ron Nixon
Nearly $800 million worth of fentanyl pills were illegally sold to online customers in the United States over two years by Chinese distributors who took advantage of internet anonymity and an explosive growth in e-commerce, according to a Senate report released on Wednesday. -
Powerful opioid easy to buy online, Congress finds
Jan 25, 2018 | Washington Examiner
By Robert King
Buying the powerful painkiller fentanyl is as easy as doing a Google search, a new congressional report finds. -
State to investigate makers of opioids
Jan 25, 2018 | Arkansas Online
By John Moritz
Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced Wednesday that she will "ramp up" her office's efforts to combat the state's opioid epidemic by investigating the companies that manufacture prescription painkillers. -
Arkansas Attorney General launches investigation into opioid manufacturers
Jan 24, 2018 | KATV (AR)
By Staff
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge made a major announcement on Wednesday about her latest approach to fighting the opioid epidemic within the state. -
Clay County Commission files lawsuit against major drug companies
Jan 24, 2018 | WSAZ (WV)
By Kelsey Hoak
Clay County has been added to the list of West Virginia counties to file suit against major drug manufacturers. -
Boonville suing opioid manufacturers, distributors
Jan 24, 2018 | Tristate Homepage (KY)
By Staff
The City of Boonville has hired a law firm to sue several major opioid manufacturers and distributors. -
Tuscaloosa County joins opioid lawsuit
Jan 25, 2018 | ABC 33 40 (AL)
By Elizabeth Lane
The Tuscaloosa County Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to join the nationwide lawsuit against three drug companies they believe are tied to the opioid epidemic. -
Tuscaloosa County to join opioid lawsuit
Jan 24, 2018 | Tuscaloosa News (AL)
By Stephen Dethrage
The Tuscaloosa County Commission has hired local law firm Prince Glover & Hayes to join a lawsuit against the nation’s biggest manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioid drugs. -
Candler County filing lawsuit against opioid drug makers
Jan 24, 2018 | WTOC (GA)
By Dal Cannady
One South Georgia community plans to take on some of the biggest drug companies in court. -
Monroe County files lawsuit against opioid makers, announced plan to fight epidemic
Jan 24, 2018 | WHAM (NY)
By Staff
Monroe County has joined in a lawsuit against the makers of opioid products, in response to the ongoing opioid epidemic. -
Prince George’s County is suing opioid manufacturers
Jan 25, 2018 | The Diamondback (MD)
By Michael Brice-Saddler
Prince George's County is suing opioid manufacturers and distributors for costs associated with Maryland's opioid epidemic, county officials said Wednesday. -
Philadelphia’s Novel Plan for Opioid Crisis: Supervised Drug Use
Jan 25, 2018 | The Wall Street Journal
By Jon Kamp
To address the deadly opioid crisis wracking Philadelphia, city leaders are backing a novel step to open a safe haven where addicts can use their drugs. -
TRUMP'S 24-YEAR-OLD PICK FOR SENIOR DRUG POLICY JOB STEPS DOWN AMID CONTROVERSY OVER LACK OF QUALIFICATIONS
Jan 25, 2018 | Newsweek
By Chantal Da Silva
A 24-year-old former Trump campaigner who was given a senior post in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy will step down at the end of the month, the Washington Post reported. -
Canada’s fix to the opioid crisis: Vending machines that distribute prescription opioids to addicts
Jan 24, 2018 | Washington Post
By Amanda Coletta
Among their many differences, Canada and the United States share a common crisis: opioid overdoses. -
News 8 at Five
Jan 24, 2018 | News 8 at Five
By Rochester, NY
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32233685?token=2cb6f92d-de9d-4ff9-84cd-ef633e9e6ea1 -
News 10 NBC at Noon
Jan 25, 2018 | WHEC (NBC)
By Rochester, NY
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32233695?token=2cb6f92d-de9d-4ff9-84cd-ef633e9e6ea1 -
Get up DC!
Jan 25, 2018 | WUSA (CBS)
By Washington, DC
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32233757?token=2cb6f92d-de9d-4ff9-84cd-ef633e9e6ea1 -
WDVM News at 6:00AM
Jan 25, 2018 | WDVM (WDVM)
By Washington, DC
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32233768?token=2cb6f92d-de9d-4ff9-84cd-ef633e9e6ea1 -
Chasing News
Jan 25, 2018 | WNYW (Fox)
By New York, NY
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32234617?token=2cb6f92d-de9d-4ff9-84cd-ef633e9e6ea1 -
Boston 25 Morning News at 9AM
Jan 25, 2018 | WFXT (Fox)
By Boston, MA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32234688?token=2cb6f92d-de9d-4ff9-84cd-ef633e9e6ea1 -
Squawk Box
Jan 25, 2018 | CNBC (CNBC)
By National Programming
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32234767?token=2cb6f92d-de9d-4ff9-84cd-ef633e9e6ea1 -
NBC 10 News Today at 6a
Jan 25, 2018 | WCAU (NBC)
By Philadelphia, PA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32234965?token=2cb6f92d-de9d-4ff9-84cd-ef633e9e6ea1
New York City Suit
Senate Investigation
Southeast (AR, WV, KY, AL)
Northeast (NY, MD)
Commentary and FYIs
Broadcast Media Coverage
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NYC Joins Cities, Counties and States In Bringing Opioid Lawsuit
Jan 24, 2018 | The Street
By Bill Meagher
Add New York City to the growing list of cities that are suing opioid drugmakers and distributors for driving the scourge of prescription drug abuse across the country.
The Big Apple brought its lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies Purdue Pharma LP, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) , Allergan plc (AGN) , Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) , and Endo International plc (ENDP) . The legal action also named distributors McKesson Corp. (MCK) , AmerisourceBergen Corp. (ABC) and Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH) .
The action, which seeks $500 million in damages, alleges that drugmakers used deceptive marketing and that the distributors made opioid available on a wide basis and that these actions in New York City placed a burden on the city's substance use treatments services, hospital services, criminal justice and law enforcement services as well as the medical examiner. The lawsuit maintains that misrepresentations of the safety and efficacy of long-term opioid use and distributors' oversupply of opioids enabled diversion to the illegal market fuel the crisis.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement about the lawsuit filed in state court, "More New Yorkers have died from opioid overdoses than car crashes and homicides combined in recent years. Big Pharma helped to fuel this epidemic by deceptively peddling these dangerous drugs and hooking millions of Americans in exchange for profit. It's time to hold the companies accountable for what they've done to our City, and help save more lives."
New York saw more than a 1,000 drug overdose deaths in 2016, the highest year on record.
While New York is not the first major city to bring a lawsuit over the cost of the opioids crisis, it does add scale and profile to the actions brought by other cities.
The list includes Baton Rouge, La., Cincinnati, Detroit, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, which filed last week, and Seattle. Pittsburgh is soliciting bids from law firms for its action and Nashville is considering an action.
And it isn't just big cities taking on the drug companies and distributors. On Tuesday, a group of 14 cities in Rhode Island brought public nuisance lawsuits and towns like Everett, Wash., Lorain, Ohio, and Princeton, W.Va., have brought legal actions as well.
Chicago was the first city in this wave of lawsuits against opioid makers and distributors. That city brought a lawsuit in 2014 against Purdue, Cephalon Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Endo. The action is in the discovery phase.
Countless counties have brought their own actions against the drug companies and distributors as well. And at least 41 state attorneys general have banded together to bring legal actions as well. Last month, the state of Montana withdrew from the group to bring its own action against Purdue, which faces at least lawsuits by 11 states.
The group of attorneys general as well as some states have equated the conduct of the drug companies to that of Big Tobacco and compared the hundreds of lawsuits brought by government entities as similar to the public pressure that was brought that led to a $246 billion legal settlement.
On Jan. 31, lawyers for 28 different states and Puerto Rico as well as the drug companies and hospitals and unions will gather in a courtroom in Cleveland to conduct preliminary settlement talks. Judge Aaron Polster has also invited state attorneys general to meet. Polster has said publicly that he is interested in a solution that's "not just moving money around."
Privately held Purdue is well-versed in how to handle opioid lawsuits. In 2007, the company pleaded guilty to federal charges that that it misbranded OxyContin and paid $634.5 million to wrap up a DOJ investigation.
That same year, Purdue paid $19.5 million to settle legal actions tied to opioids with 26 different states and the District of Columbia. In 2015 Kentucky picked up $24 million from Purdue to end a lawsuit.
Recently, McKesson has been on the hot seat since "60 Minutes" and the Washington Post did stories regarding a split between the DOJ and the DEA over the latter's desire to bring criminal charges against the company. The DOJ said there wasn't enough to bring an effective case and instead settled with the company paying $150 million.
McKesson has said the stories were inaccurate.
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New York sues Big Pharma for deadly opioid epidemic
Jan 25, 2018 | RT
By Staff
New York City is suing eight companies that make or distribute prescription opioids for their role in the ongoing opioid crisis. The suits aim to recover $500 million for current and future costs combating the epidemic.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said opioids killed more people in the city in recent years than car crashes and homicides.
“Big Pharma helped to fuel this epidemic by deceptively peddling these dangerous drugs and hooking millions of Americans in exchange for profit,”Mayor de Blasio said in a statement about the suits filed in New York State Supreme Court on Tuesday. “It’s time [to] hold the companies accountable for what they’ve done to our city, and help save more lives.”
The complaint, City of New York v Purdue Pharma LP et al, said the opioid crisis has had a serious impact on NYC, with the number of overdose deaths increasing in each of the last six years. More than 1,100 people died from opioid-induced overdoses in 2016.
The opioid crisis was caused by the deceptive marketing of drugmakers, and by distributors bringing large amounts of prescription painkillers into the New York market, according to the complaint. It further argues that this has caused the city to spend millions of dollars on substance abuse treatment programs, hospital services, emergency medical services and law enforcement.
New York City said in its press release that roughly 2.5 million to 2.7 million opioid prescriptions were filled each year from 2014 to 2016.
The defendants named in the suit include manufacturers Allergan Plc, Endo International Plc, Johnson & Johnson, Purdue Pharma LP and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and distributors AmerisourceBergen Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc and McKesson Corp.
The suit alleges that manufacturers and distributors created a false perception that “using opioids to treat chronic pain was safe for most patients and that the drugs’ benefits outweighed the risks,” and that this was achieved through deceptive marketing and promotion which began in the late 1990s, became more aggressive around 2006 and “continue today.”
Allergan, Endo, Johnson and Johnson, Purdue, Teva, AmerisourceBergen and McKeeson in separate statements emphasized the importance of using opioids safely.
Endo, Johnson & Johnson and Purdue denied the city’s allegations, while McKesson declined to comment on the lawsuit.
New York City has a population of 8.54 million and joins a list of other states and municipalities that have sued drug companies over opioid abuse, which President Donald Trump has called a national public health emergency.
Opioids, including prescription painkillers and heroin, played a role in the 42,249 deaths in 2016, up 28 percent on 2015 and 47 percent on 2014, according to US Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
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New York City sues for $500 million in opioid-related damages
Jan 24, 2018 | The Pharma Letter
By Staff
The USA's City of New York has initiated legal proceedings against eight opioid manufacturers and distributors, suing for half a billion dollars in damages to help fight the ongoing opioid addiction crisis.
New York joins a growing list of state and local government bodies to file suits against the pharmaceuticals industry, alleging that companies deliberately understated the risks of addiction from prescription opioids.
Addiction to such medications, which often leads to dependency on illegal opioids such as heroin, contributed to an estimated 59,000 deaths from overdose in 2016.
In an effort to "hold manufacturers and distributors to account," the city’s mayor Bill de Blasio announced the action against drugmakers Allergan, Endo International, Johnson & Johnson, Purdue Pharma and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.
Also named are distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson Corp, who are accused of fueling the crisis through oversupply, and failing to take action against suspicious orders.
“More New Yorkers have died from opioid overdoses than car crashes and homicides combined in recent years,” Mr de Blasio said, adding “‘Big Pharma’ helped to fuel this epidemic by deceptively peddling these dangerous drugs and hooking millions.”
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New York City Files $500M Lawsuit Against Eight Drug Companies Over Deadly Opioid Epidemic
Jan 24, 2018 | Hollywood Unlocked
By Ariela Anis
In addition to President Donald Trump‘s August 2017 declaring a national emergency on the deadly opioid epidemic in the States, New York City is now suing eight drug producers for fueling the fatal crisis.
Consequently, via mayor Bill de Blasio, NYC is holding the distributing companies at fault for afflicting more than 1,100 opioid-induced deaths in the most populous U.S. city in 2016.
Additionally, the $500 million suit seeks damages to help fight the crisis that kills more in the city annually than homicides and car accidents combined.
Furthermore, de Blasio states:
“Big Pharma helped to fuel this epidemic by deceptively peddling these dangerous drugs and hooking millions of Americans in exchange for profit. It’s time for hold the companies accountable for what they’ve done to our City, and help save more lives.”
In addition to Allergan Plc., other manufactures included are: Endo International Plc., Johnson & Johnson, Purdue Pharma LP and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
Also, distributors like AmerisourceBergen Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp.
Moreover, each defendant are accused of creating a public nuisance, with distributors at fault for negligence.
While a spokeswoman for Janssen Pharmaeuticals, owned by J&J stated,
“We maintain that the allegations made in these lawsuits against our company are baseless and unsubstantiated. Our actions in the marketing and promotion of our opioid pain medicines were appropriate and responsible.”
Teva follows,
“Teva is committed to the appropriate use of opioid medicines, and we recognize the critical public health issues impacting communities across the U.S. as a result of illegal drug use as well as the misuse and abuse of opioids that are available legally by prescription.”
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NYC Is Suing Pharmaceutical Companies for Igniting the Opioid Epidemic
Jan 24, 2018 | Futurism
By Brad Jones
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced the city is taking legal action against prescription drug companies for their role in the opioid epidemic.SEE YOU IN COURT
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that the city is pursuing legal action against the manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioid drugs. This action is part of a national campaign that seeks to make these companies accountable for their role in the United States’ opioid epidemic.
This strategy is nothing new for Mayor de Blasio. Earlier this month, his administration detailed its plan to sue several of the biggest oil companies in the US, including BP and ExxonMobil, citing the damage they’ve done to the environment by continuing to burn fossil fuels despite knowing the harmful effects.
New York’s lawsuit contends that the present crisis was a direct result of drug companies misrepresenting their product, and distributors flooding the city’s market with opioids. Purdue Pharma, Teva, Cephalon, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen, Endo, Allergan, Watson and various subsidiaries were all manufacturers named in the lawsuit.
More than 90 Americans a day die of an opioid overdose, according to data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that opioid adduction, abuse, and overdose cost the nation $78.5 billion in 2013. A more recent report by the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) concluded that the opioid epidemic cost the U.S. economy more than $500 billion in 2015. New York City alone has spent millions on healthcare, law enforcement, and treatment programs directly linked to opioid addiction. The legal action aims to recoup some of those expenditures.
“It is a national tragedy,” de Blasio said, as reported by the New York Times. “It’s time for Big Pharma to pay for what they’ve done.”WAVE OF LITIGATION
New York City is one of many major metro areas that are taking opioid drug companies to court. Chicago was among the first to do so in 2014; the lawsuit is yet to be resolved. In January 2018 both Philadelphia and the state Delaware also filed suits, and Oklahoma became the first state to set a trial date after filing its initial claim seven months prior.
Bill de Blasio and his staff compared their efforts to the string of lawsuits leveled against major tobacco companies by state officials in the late 1990s. In the end four tobacco manufacturers were forced to pay out over $200 billion in settlements, and a similar scenario could play out for the currently accused drug companies.
In the aftermath of the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, companies were forced to commit to changing their marketing practices. The money states received from the legal settlements was used to offset medical costs and fund anti-smoking campaigns.
The lawsuits that are now being filed against prescription opioid companies could perhaps lead to a similar outcome, but it depends on how these legal battles shake out, and how quickly. At least two of the companies named in the suit — Janssen and Purdue Pharma — have already denied the accusations, so this litigation could certainly be a long, uphill battle that may not yield any dividends.
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Big Pharma Sued by New York City Over Opioid Crisis
Jan 24, 2018 | Newsmax
By Clyde Hughes
Big Pharma was sued by New York City on Tuesday over the opioid crisis, with officials charging that the pharmaceutical companies practiced deceptive marketing tactics and misrepresented the dangers of the drugs.
Opioid deaths in the city are currently outpacing homicides and traffic deaths combined in 2016 and 2017, WNYC reported.
The New York Post reported the lawsuit targeted Purdue Pharma Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., Johnson & Johnson, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals. The Hill reported that distributors AmerisourceBergen Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. were also listed as defendants.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said he hoped the lawsuit will lead to a change in behavior from the drug companies.
"While we're trying here in this city to find solutions and so many other cities and towns and counties around the country are trying to do the same, who's getting away with bloody murder right now?" de Blasio asked, per The Observer.
"The big pharmaceutical companies. That's what's really going on. The people who created the crisis are getting away with it. They are not only not paying for what they have done, they're continuing to do what they started. They haven't changed."
De Blasio quoted statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that claimed that prescription opioid sales quadrupled from 1999 to 2014, the Observer said. In 2012, there were 282 million prescriptions written for opioids in the United States — enough for every adult American to have their own bottle of pills, the publication reported.
John Puskar, director of public affairs at Purdue Pharma Inc., said the drug company denies the city’s charges, per the Post.
"We are deeply troubled by the prescription and illicit opioid abuse crisis, and are dedicated to being part of the solution," 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.”
Sarah Freeman, a spokeswoman for Janssen Pharmaceuticals that is owned by Johnson & Johnson, charged that the city's complaints are "baseless," The Hill said.
"We maintain that the allegations made in these lawsuits against our company are baseless and unsubstantiated," Freeman said. "Our actions in the marketing and promotion of our opioid pain medicines were appropriate and responsible."
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NYC sues drug companies for $500M over role in opioid crisis
Jan 24, 2018 | SmartCitiesDive
By Kristin Musulin
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday that the city filed a lawsuit against a number of manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids "to account for their part in the city's ongoing deadly opioid epidemic."he suit, which is seeking $500 million in damages, names a number of opioid manufacturers, including Teva, Allergan, Endo, Johnson & Johnson and Purdue Pharma, as well as major distributors including McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen.In 2016, more than 1,000 people died from an opioid overdose in New York City, and in 2017, more city residents died from opioid overdoses than from car accidents and homicides combined, according to the mayor's office.Dive Insight:
Though New York City is now the largest municipality to sue "big pharma," it joins hundreds of cities, counties and even states in attempting to hold these companies accountable for the nationwide opioid epidemic. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that in 2016, 116 people died every day from opioid-related drug overdoses, while 11.5 million people misused prescription opioids and more than 17,000 deaths were attributed to overdosing on commonly prescribed opioids.
Some of these opioid suits draw parallels to suits filed against the tobacco industry in the late 90s, which argued that tobacco companies should be held responsible for the addictive drug and its harmful effects. Following a 1998 Master Settlement Agreement involving the tobacco industry and nearly all U.S. states, the industry was left to pay in perpetuity for states' anti-smoking campaigns and health programs.
The success of that settlement — the largest civil litigation settlement in U.S. history — may suggest some optimism in the efforts of cities and states to target pharmaceutical companies. However this issue is different in that it is hard to blame opioid manufacturers and distributors for their customers' misuse or overuse of the drug.
This is the second big lawsuit coming out of Mayor Bill de Blasio's office this month, following legal action taken against five major oil companiesfor their contributions to climate change. The New York Times reportsthat these lawsuits may be a "new favored tactic" by de Blasio to raise his profile on a national level. However the tactic may create backlash if some begin to perceive this action as a way to place the blame of his city's shortcomings on the shoulders of industries.
As some cities face these pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors in court, others are taking matters into their own hands to combat the crisis. Cities such as Cary, NC are testing drug-detecting robots in their sewers to track drug use, while others like Philadelphia are making efforts to host safe-injection sites. Despite the success of suits from New York and others, these initiatives indicate there is more that can be done internally to end this public health crisis.
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Chinese Drugmakers Are Getting Opioids Into the U.S. Through the Postal Service
Jan 25, 2018 | Associated Press
By Desmond Butler & Ericka Kinetz
Congressional investigators said Wednesday that Chinese opioid manufacturers are exploiting weak screening at the U.S. Postal Service to ship large quantities of illegal drugs to American dealers.
In a yearlong probe , Senate investigators found that Chinese sellers, who openly market opioids such as fentanyl to U.S. buyers, are pushing delivery through the U.S. postal system. The sellers are taking advantage of a failure by the postal service to fully implement an electronic data system that would help authorities identify suspicious shipments.
At a time of massive growth in postal shipments from China due to e-commerce, the investigators found that the postal system received the electronic data on just over a third of all international packages, making more than 300 million packages in 2017 much harder to screen. Data in the Senate report shows no significant improvement during 2017 despite the urgency.
The U.S. Postal Service said it has made dramatic progress in the last year in total packages with opioids seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“The Postal Service will continue to work tirelessly to address this serious societal issue,” spokesman David Partenheimer said in a statement.
He said implementing the use of electronic data is slowed by the need to negotiate with international partners, but the service is making progress.
The Senate probe matches many of the findings of a 2016 investigation by The Associated Pressthat detailed unchecked production in China of some of the world’s most dangerous drugs.
AP reporters found multiple sellers willing to ship carfentanil — an opioid used as an elephant tranquilizer that is so potent it has been considered a chemical weapon. The sellers also offered advice on how to evade screening by U.S. authorities.
Researchers on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations also contacted Chinese sellers directly. The sellers preferred payment in Bitcoin.
Investigators traced the online sellers to seven U.S. opioid deaths and 18 drug arrests. The Senate has cleared the report to be handed over to law enforcement.
In one case, the investigators traced orders from an online seller in China to a Michigan man who wired $200 in November 2016. The next month he received a package from someone identified by the investigators as a Pennsylvania-based distributor. A day later, the Michigan man died of an overdose from drugs, including a chemical similar to fentanyl.
The huge influx of opioids has led to a wave of overdose deaths across the U.S. in recent years. Republican Sen. Rob Portman, the subcommittee’s chairman, noted that fentanyl now kills more people in his home state than heroin.
“The federal government can, and must, act to shore up our defenses against this deadly drug and help save lives,” he said.
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Chinese labs use mail to send opioid fentanyl into US, Senate report finds
Jan 24, 2018 | Reuters
By Staff
Illegal shipments of the powerful and addictive opioid fentanyl are pouring into the United States by mail from China and the US Postal Service must step up the use of hi-tech detection methods to fight the problem, according to a congressional report unveiled on Wednesday.
A year-long investigation by a Senate homeland security and government affairs investigations subcommittee found there is easy access for buyers in the United States to purchase fentanyl, often in relatively large quantities, through the internet.
The drugs are mailed by “labs” in China to individuals who consume them or to middlemen who dilute them for resale.
Investigators refused to divulge the names of the labs. According to the report, the US Postal Service has failed to widely deploy a system to capture “advanced electronic data” about packages destined for American ports, which would help identify suspicious mail to be turned over to US Customs and Border Protection agents.
Staff of the permanent investigations subcommittee said they focused on six “very responsive” providers in China, out of hundreds of pages of websites offering fentanyl for sale.
The result was the identification of 500 online transactions involving fentanyl, mainly in powder form, with a street value of about $766m.
US fatalities linked to opioids including fentanyl have been rising dramatically and totaled more than 42,000 in 2016, according to government data.
Online sales from China tracked by the Senate investigators were linked to seven confirmed synthetic opioid-related deaths in the US, they said.
The investigation was overseen by Senator Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio and the subcommittee chairman, and Senator Tom Carper of Delaware, the panel’s senior Democrat.
Investigators said the Chinese sellers were eager to ship the fentanyl using Express Mail Service, which operates worldwide through each country’s postal operations, including the US Postal Service.
Surcharges are applied, the investigators said, for customers demanding shipment through private delivery services, such as FedEx, DHL and United Parcel Service, because of the greater likelihood the goods would be seized.
The Senate investigation concluded that the US Postal Service received advanced electronic data on 36% of all international packages, meaning about 318m parcels last year were not monitored.
“We now know the depth to which drug traffickers exploit our mail system to ship fentanyl and other synthetic drugs into the United States,” Portman said in a statement.
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Lawmaker pushes to focus opioid epidemic fight on international mail
Jan 25, 2018 | CBS News
By Staff
There are growing calls to crack down on the delivery of illegal opioids by international mail. U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized more than 180 pounds of fentanyl last year – a new record. But a newly-released Senate report says that's only a fraction of what may be arriving. It found that the volume of international mail has more than doubled in recent years, overwhelming screeners.
President Trump has used the illegal drug trade as justification for the $18 billion border wall.
"We need the wall for stopping the drugs from pouring in," Mr. Trump said on Jan. 10.
But a former senior DHS official tells CBS News "that's not where the drugs are coming from."
For nearly a year, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and a team of investigators have tracked the deadly, door-to-door delivery of opioids. Like most Republicans, Portman supports Mr. Trump's push for a border wall. But after seeing how easy it can be to order and receive illegal opioids, he thinks the better place to make a stand against opioids is the mailbox, reports CBS News correspondent Tony Dokoupil.
"The problem is the P.O. Box in America that gets a shipment through our postal service straight from China," Portman told Dokoupil.It started with a simple Google search, which turned up retailers eager to make a deal.
"Our fentanyl is very good," wrote one. Another added: "All must go till 1 of July... is a hot sale!"
Portman's team never actually bought any drugs. But in a separate probe, they used shipping and payment data to track 500 apparently successful deliveries of opioids nationwide. The deals totaled nearly a quarter million dollars.
In every case, the country of origin was China, and the preferred method of shipping was the U.S. Postal Service's Express Mail Service.
"There is no requirement for any electronic data in advance to be able to tip off law enforcement," Portman said.The U.S. Postal Service is supposed to work with Customs and Border Protection. But Portman said they struggle with poor coordination and volume.
Last fall we saw that challenge at the nation's busiest mail room inside John F. Kennedy International Airport. Dogs and agents hand-screen only a fraction of the packages.Senate investigators want every package headed to the U.S. to include automated data with the sender's name and address. Eighteen of the people who received drugs tracked by Portman's committee faced charges – and seven died of an overdose.
"When that 49-year-old man outside of Cleveland, Ohio, dies of an overdose of fentanyl within a couple of weeks of getting his delivery, you realize we're not doing our job," Portman said.Mr. Trump's opioid commission has also recommended advanced mail screening, but Portman's bill has yet to come up for a vote. In a statement, the postal service said it supports the "goal of increasing advance electronic data," but has "suggested thoughtful modifications to the bill to make it workable."
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Online Sales of Illegal Opioids from China Surge in U.S.
Jan 25, 2018 | New York Times
By Ron Nixon
Nearly $800 million worth of fentanyl pills were illegally sold to online customers in the United States over two years by Chinese distributors who took advantage of internet anonymity and an explosive growth in e-commerce, according to a Senate report released on Wednesday.
A yearlong Senate investigation found that American buyers of the illegal drugs lived mostly in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. The Chinese sellers primarily used Bitcoin, the digital currency, as their preferred method of payment and shipped the drugs through other countries to reduce the risk of the opioids being seized by customs officials, Senate investigators said.
The 104-page bipartisan report was produced by the Senate Homeland Security Committee’s investigations arm. It was requested by Senators Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio and the panel’s chairman, and Tom Carper of Delaware, the committee’s top Democrat. They will discuss the report’s findings in a hearing set for Thursday and are expected to press law enforcement and Postal Service officials for details on plans to combat the growing opioid shipments.
China has a large pharmaceutical industry and hosts thousands of illegal labs that manufacture counterfeit and illicit drugs, Senate investigators said. The country has long been identified by American officials as the source of much of the illegal opioids flowing into the United States.
The report, Senate investigators say, shows how easy it is for Americans to buy the drugs online, and why officials at the post office and Customs and Border Protection has struggled to track and stop the shipments.
The Senate investigators said drugs traffickers are exploiting a loophole in the international mail system to send hundreds of pounds of deadly opioids into the United States each year.
Commercial shippers such as UPS and FedEx are required by law to supply Customs and Border Protection with advanced data about packages before they are shipped. The information includes names, addresses and the contents of the packages. That information is matched against intelligence and other enforcement data to flag suspicious parcels.
But customs officials say they currently do not receive advanced shipping data from all packages shipped through Postal Service that can help the agency spot opioids hidden in international packages. The service is not required to obtain advanced data from foreign postal organizations; mailed packages are inspected manually by customs officers at nine mail facilities in the United States that receive international mail.
Congress is considering legislation that would require foreign post offices to provide that electronic information, but the Postal Service said many poor countries are unable to produce the data.
But even with the advance data, some drugs get through, federal law enforcement officials said. Drug trafficking organizations continue to use FedEx and UPS to send heroin and opioids into the country, according to investigators with Homeland Security Investigations, a division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Investigators said synthetic drug traffickers are getting more creative in how they ship drugs through the postal system, exploiting the sheer volume of international mail and sending smaller packages.
According to federal investigators, the use of illegal fentanyl and other opioids in the United States has exploded since 2014. Nearly 43,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses in 2016, the most recent data available, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Last October, President Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency but did not make any new funding available to combat it.
On Monday, Patrick Kennedy, a former Democratic representative from Rhode Island and a member of Mr. Trump’s commission to address the opioid crisis, said the administration’s efforts were “essentially a sham.”
Nearly two weeks ago, Mr. Trump signed legislation to provide Customs and Border Protection officers with additional screening devices and other tools to detect illicit drugs.
The legislation provides $9 million to the agency to buy portable chemical screening devices and new laboratory equipment at land-based ports of entry, airports and international mail facilities.
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Powerful opioid easy to buy online, Congress finds
Jan 25, 2018 | Washington Examiner
By Robert King
Buying the powerful painkiller fentanyl is as easy as doing a Google search, a new congressional report finds.
Congressional investigators posed as first-time buyers of the opioid and found six online sellers able to easily ship the drug from overseas to the U.S. The report released Wednesday found major deficiencies in tracking packages partly due to a lack of international cooperation.
The probe conducted by the investigations subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee comes as localities are struggling with the proliferation of fentanyl, which can be 50 times more potent than heroin.
Fentanyl deaths have risen substantially in recent years. More than half of people in 10 states who died from an opioid abuse in the second half of 2016 tested positive for fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Thanks to our bipartisan investigation, we now know the depth to which drug traffickers exploit our mail system to ship fentanyl and other synthetic drugs into the United States,” said subcommittee Chairman Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.
Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, the top Democrat on the committee, added the report shows how “ill-equipped federal agencies were to prevent drug smugglers from taking advantage of a massive surge in recent years of e-commerce and international mail to ship synthetic opioids.”
Committee staffers started the investigation in May with a simple Google search looking for how to buy fentanyl. From there they identified six websites that responded quickly, some in less than 10 minutes, via e-mail to try and make a deal.
The online sellers wanted payment in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, likely because it is difficult to track and cheaper than processing funds through a wire transfer or money order. Sellers, however, were willing to take credit cards or money orders.
The staffers did not actually buy any fentanyl, but asked various questions about payment methods and how the drugs would be shipped. Aides said they would be turning over the information on the investigation and the online sellers to law enforcement authorities.
The sellers primarily use the international arm of the U.S. Postal Service. Sellers emphasized that the Postal Service was the way to go because other avenues such as FedEx heighten the risk of seizures, according to the report.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has identified China as the main exporter of fentanyl. Sometimes sellers will route a fentanyl package through Europe to throw off suspicion. It is not clear where the six online sellers are based.
The committee subpoenaed payment records for the six websites through Western Union, the main money order service used by the fentanyl sellers, according to a Senate aide.
The records showed that the six sellers sent $230,000 worth of fentanyl to more than 300 U.S. residents.
Staffers found seven individuals who died of fentanyl-related overdoses after sending money to one of the sellers. They also identified 18 people arrested for drug-related charges that also made purchases and got packages from the sellers.
The report found major weaknesses in the system used to identify suspicious packages and interrupt their shipment. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol is responsible for identifying suspicious packages sent through international mail, but the Postal Service and express mail services such as DHL or FedEx are required to locate and physically hand over targeted packages for inspection.
But the Postal Service has to comb through more than four times the amount of packages than the express providers. In 2016, the three major express services handled about 65.7 million international packages, compared to more than 275 million for the Postal Service, the report said.
In November 2015, Customs and the Postal Service started a pilot program that implemented advanced electronic data, or AED. A shipper provides the data when a package is dropped off that includes the contents and a sender and recipient’s name and address.
Before a package reaches the U.S., the Postal Service sends the advance data to Customs, which analyzes it to see if the package is suspicious. The Postal Service then must locate and present the targeted packages to Customs officials.
But a major issue is there isn’t a requirement for all countries to provide AED on packages, the report added. The Postal Service only gets an AED on 36 percent of all international packages, the report notes.
Portman pointed to the need to pass the bipartisan STOP Act, which he co-sponsored and released last year. The bill requires shipments from foreign countries to include electronic advance data on what is in it and where it is going. Neither the Senate or House versions of the legislation have gone anywhere.
Carper also called on agencies to “redouble their efforts to keep illicit opioids from reaching our shores.”
Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, the top Democrat on the full committee, called for the U.S. Postal Service’s watchdog to investigate how the agency identifies and seizes illegal opioids.
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State to investigate makers of opioids
Jan 25, 2018 | Arkansas Online
By John Moritz
Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced Wednesday that she will "ramp up" her office's efforts to combat the state's opioid epidemic by investigating the companies that manufacture prescription painkillers.
Flanked by printed graphics depicting Arkansas as one of the states hardest hit by the epidemic, Rutledge said the probe could last several months to several years, though its outcome is not guaranteed to result in litigation.
Fatal overdoses quadrupled in Arkansas over a 15-year period, Rutledge said, with more than 400 deaths in 2016. She pointed to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found Arkansans had the second-highest prescribing rate in the country.
"This opioid epidemic knows no boundaries, and I believe the lengths to which the state will go to stop this epidemic should also know no boundaries," Rutledge said.
For now, Rutledge said, her investigation will focus only on the drugmakers, not pharmaceutical distributors or doctors who prescribe the drugs. She did not rule out investigating whether "deceptive trade practices" were used to market and sell the drugs.
In addition to state attorneys who will be assigned to the investigation, Rutledge said, the state has contracted with several law firms, including Little Rock's Dover, Dixon & Horne. The other firms, in Washington, Mississippi and South Carolina, are involved in opioid-related lawsuits filed by Mississippi, Ohio and Louisiana.
While Rutledge said her office did not have a definitive list of the companies that would be targets of the investigation, one poster displayed at her news conference listed several brands such as Oxycontin, Vicodin and Percocet.
"Some of these companies may have profited substantially from the sale and distribution of opioid, within Arkansas, and those that have should be held accountable," Rutledge said. "We must remedy this crisis."
A spokesman for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, an industry group, declined to comment specifically on Rutledge's investigation but said the organization was committed to finding a solution to a "multifaceted challenge."
According to a copy of the attorney-services agreement provided by the attorney general's office, the outside counsel is under contract until March 31, 2023, unless terminated or reappointed by the attorney general (Rutledge is up for re-election this year).
Rutledge said hiring outside counsel was necessary to keep state attorneys free to continue their day-to-day work. The contingency-fee contract with the outside firms entitles them to a certain percentage of whatever award the state may receive from a successful lawsuit, as outlined in Arkansas Code Annotated 25-16-714.
Dover, Dixon & Horne referred a request for comment to Rutledge's office.
Local officials also have been involved with their own, separate claims against drugmakers.
The Arkansas Association of Counties recently filed a federal lawsuit against several pharmaceutical companies to recoup payments made to a health insurance fund for members' opioid prescriptions. That suit will remain unrelated to Rutledge's investigation. Colin Jorgensen, an attorney for the association, said at least 61 Arkansas counties are also planning a state-level suit against pharmaceutical companies and their distributors.
Standing on the sidelines of Rutledge's news conference Wednesday was Perry County Sheriff Scott Montgomery, president of the Arkansas Sheriffs' Association. While he didn't give a public speech, he told a reporter afterward that he was enthusiastic about the attorney general's investigation.
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Arkansas Attorney General launches investigation into opioid manufacturers
Jan 24, 2018 | KATV (AR)
By Staff
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge made a major announcement on Wednesday about her latest approach to fighting the opioid epidemic within the state.
Rutledge has retained outside counsel to assist staff attorneys in investigating and potentially prosecuting certain pharmaceutical companies that have contributed to the opioid epidemic in Arkansas.
In 1999 there were 100 overdose deaths in the state and in 2016, there were more than 400. According to the National Survey of Drug Use and Health, Arkansas is ranked the highest in the nation for the misuse of painkillers by people ages 12 to 17. The group says 6.2 percent of Arkansans in that age range misuse opioids, compared to the national average of 4.7 percent.
"The opioid epidemic knows no boundaries and the lengths in which the state will go to stop it should also know no boundaries,” said Rutledge.
Rutledge said she believes opioid manufacturers have profited substantially from the sale and distribution of opioids in the state and now they should be held accountable.
“This is a multifaceted problem," she said. "It’s hitting every demographic. It doesn’t care if you are rich or poor, black, white or Hispanic. Which neighborhood you live in, educated, uneducated -- it hits every single community in Arkansas."
The attorney general’s office has contracted with local and out-of-state law firms to help her look into opioid manufacturers' trade practices, which she described as deceptive.
Several of the firms represent states including Ohio, Louisiana and Mississippi in separate lawsuits against opioid manufacturers.
Prescription drug take back boxes have been available in the state since 2016. They've collected and led to the disposal of nearly 500 pounds of prescription drugs.
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Clay County Commission files lawsuit against major drug companies
Jan 24, 2018 | WSAZ (WV)
By Kelsey Hoak
Clay County has been added to the list of West Virginia counties to file suit against major drug manufacturers.
On Wednesday, Troy Law Firm filed the lawsuit on behalf of Clay County Commission.
The complaint says in the last 20 years there has been a widespread addiction to opioids like OxyContin and Percocet.
It goes on to say that Clay County has been on the front lines of this historic national health emergency where misuse, abuse and overdose of prescription pain pills has and continues to destroy lives and ruin the local economy.
In the lawsuit, the commission claims that these companies have flooded Clay County with excessive amounts of dangerous and addictive prescription opioids. They say the companies knew the addictive qualities of the drugs.
The lawsuit claims that the addictive drugs caused increases in crime in Clay County but the defendants were nowhere to be found and that Clay County had to dispatch police and prosecute cases.
According to 2013 estimates, Clay County had a population of 9,204. The lawsuit claims that from 2007 to 2012, the defendants distributed a combined 1,826,900 hydrocodone doses and 253,100 doses of oxycodone doses to Clay County pharmacies.
The lawsuit names Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Cephalon, Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Noramco, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Mallinckrodt LLC, Endo Health Solutions, Allergan, Actavis, Watson Pharmaceuticals, McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation, Rite Aid of Maryland, and the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy.
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Boonville suing opioid manufacturers, distributors
Jan 24, 2018 | Tristate Homepage (KY)
By Staff
The City of Boonville has hired a law firm to sue several major opioid manufacturers and distributors.
Purdue Pharma and Johnson & Johnson are on the list of defendants.
An attorney hired by the city said in a news release that the companies must be held accountable for their roles in creating the opioid epidemic.
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Tuscaloosa County joins opioid lawsuit
Jan 25, 2018 | ABC 33 40 (AL)
By Elizabeth Lane
The Tuscaloosa County Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to join the nationwide lawsuit against three drug companies they believe are tied to the opioid epidemic.
Doctors in Alabama prescribe more pain pills per 100 people than any other state in the country. Hayes, Prince and Glover are representing more than 110 cities and counties in Alabama suing the nation's three largest drug distributors.
"They're not supposed to be on ever street corner," Attorney Joshua Hayes said, "They're not supposed to be prescribed every time you go to the doctor for a simple ache."
The County argued manufacturers knew they were over-prescribing highly-addictive pills that often lead to heroin abuse, and overdose deaths. Commissioners said the epidemic is not only affecting communities, but college campuses across the state.
"It's sad when you get a college student addicted at such a young age," Hayes said.
Wesley Foundation Director Wade Langer works with students on a daily basis. Langer said it's an experimental and lax attitude drug use that is leading more students to try it for the first time.
"Whether you realize it or not, someone in your life has been affected by drug use," Langer said. "This is enough of a problem, we're seeing the emotional and psychological toll drugs can take, whether it's depression or irreversible actions."
County Commissioners said taxpayers wouldn't pay a dime out of pocket to file suit, unless the County recovered money. Some of the money would pay the firm, but the rest would go into an abatement fund to provide resources to people affected by the crisis.
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Tuscaloosa County to join opioid lawsuit
Jan 24, 2018 | Tuscaloosa News (AL)
By Stephen Dethrage
The Tuscaloosa County Commission has hired local law firm Prince Glover & Hayes to join a lawsuit against the nation’s biggest manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioid drugs.
Joshua Hayes, one of the firm’s partners, said Prince Glover & Hayes has partnered with seven other firms in Alabama, and even more outside the state, to represent more than 100 cities and counties nationwide.
“We’re part of an Alabama group and a national group of lawyers that have been working on this for over a year now and feel like we’re in good position to represent the county adequately,” Hayes said. “It’s a good opportunity for the county to recoup both lost revenues and expenses on the opioid crisis that is gripping America and our community in particular, but also we’re going to look to the future, funding things like treatment programs and foster care programs. Every area of life that’s been impacted by this crisis, we hope to be able to affect in a positive way.”
Hayes said the suit will be filed against several multinational corporations, including the three largest opioid distributors in the country, opioid manufacturers and other companies associated with the production of prescription painkillers. The three distributors — McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Corp. — combined to make more than $400 billion in 2016 and control 85 percent of the prescription drug distribution market.
“The opioid crisis was created by the manufacturers and distributors of what should be end-of-life drugs. They’re not supposed to be on every street corner, they’re not supposed to be prescribed every time you go to the doctor for a simple ache,” Hayes said. “These manufacturers knew what they were doing. They knew they were over-prescribing highly addicting medicines and flooding the market.”
The manufacturers, though, have said they won’t go down without a fight. John Parker is the senior vice president of the Healthcare Distributor Alliance, the national trade association representing distributors, including AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson.
“As distributors, we understand the tragic impact the opioid epidemic has on communities across the country. We are deeply engaged in the issue and are taking our own steps to be part of the solution — but we aren’t willing to be scapegoats,” Parker said in a statement. “Distributors are logistics companies that arrange for the safe and secure storage, transport, and delivery of medicines from manufacturers to pharmacies, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and others based on prescriptions from licensed physicians. We don’t make medicines, market medicines, prescribe medicines, or dispense them to consumers.”
Parker said solely blaming distributors for the number of opioid prescriptions being written demonstrates a lack of understanding of how the supply chain works but said their alliance is ready to have a serious conversation about solving a complex problem.
Hayes, though, said evidence shows that distributors are more responsible for the crisis than Parker is letting on.
“We have proof, and we will get more proof as this litigation continues that the marketing scheme that influenced local doctors to over-prescribe pills was directed by these large, multinational companies,” Hayes said. “They knew that the promotional materials they were putting out were false, they knew they were misleading, and they did it anyway in order to line their pockets. ”
Hayes also noted that the lawsuit is essentially risk-free. His firm will pay the cost of filing and litigating the suit and not collect any payment unless a settlement or judgment is reached that results in the county getting money.
District 3 County Commissioner Mark Nelson said outlining how the opioid crisis has directly affecting Tuscaloosa County may be difficult, but it’s clear that the county has been damaged.
“There are a lot of damages that are hard to prove, but you have lost employee time, you have sickness, and not just with our employees, there’s the cost of enforcement issues and rehabilitation here in our county,” Nelson said. “So while it may be difficult to put a finger on exactly what the damages are, I think as far as the infrastructure and the different things we’ve had to do with the sheriff’s department, even with the local hospital — there have been damages that the county itself has suffered.”
At the municipal level, city attorneys Glenda Webb in Tuscaloosa and Ron Davis in Northport said their respective city councils and mayors are weighing their options but have yet to file or join a lawsuit.
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Candler County filing lawsuit against opioid drug makers
Jan 24, 2018 | WTOC (GA)
By Dal Cannady
One South Georgia community plans to take on some of the biggest drug companies in court.
Candler County leaders voted to file suit over what's been called an opioid epidemic. The county's attorney says the abundance and abuse of opioid drugs have cost the community, so they're joining other cities and counties in suing the drug makers.
The county is finding itself wading into a national legal fight. When they laid out the facts, it didn't need much debate.
"Candler County is eighth of 159 counties when it comes to a drug problem," said County Attorney, Kendall Gross.
Gross quotes data from a report by the Center for Disease Control that says there are more opioid prescriptions in the area than there are people.
Candler County commissioners voted to work with a law firm in Athens who is filing a suit against pharmaceutical companies that make some of the most common opioid drugs. Gross says the prescription drug abuse costs the county millions in several ways.
"We have babies being born, addicted to these products," he said.
They also see the costs of treating patients in the county hospital and increased costs to law enforcement in drug-related crimes. Gross says other communities face the same burden and he thinks others will join the case. It could mean big money to help the community recover.
"But this problem has cost huge sums of money, and the manufacturers and distributors of these products have made huge sums of money," Gross said.
Gross says these kinds of cases can take years to get results, but he thinks this one could be completed within two years.
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Monroe County files lawsuit against opioid makers, announced plan to fight epidemic
Jan 24, 2018 | WHAM (NY)
By Staff
Monroe County has joined in a lawsuit against the makers of opioid products, in response to the ongoing opioid epidemic.
County officials filed the lawsuit just before noon Wednesday.
"We intend to hold these companies accountable for their actions in order to recoup costs for taxpayers and reinvest in increased prevention, treatment, and enforcement moving forward," Dinolfo said Wednesday.
The lawsuit was announced during a news conference at which Dinolfo unveiled a plan to combat the opioid epidemic in our area. The county executive announced the creation of an advisory panel on opioids. This committee would be convened by County Health Director Michael Mendoza and would consist of medical experts, including individuals from the University of Rochester Medical Center and Rochester Regional health.
Mendoza said they will look at emergency rooms first.
"We know that people who present to the emergency department with a nonfatal overdose have 5-fold chance of having another overdose," he said. "Sadly, sometimes fatal. As I see it, ERs are a logical place to identify individuals who are most likely to benefit from our support."
Dr. Holly Ann Russell of University of Rochester said this task force is the first step in finding long-term solutions.
"Meeting people where they're at, in whatever way we can," she said. "Whereas, we're just waiting for people to come to us. So this is sort of like us coming to them when they come to the emergency room for the overdose, and not letting them leave without some sort of treatment."
Dinolfo also announced the county’s intentions to streamline data on overdoses and work to remove any barriers in gathering that information. She said the data collected could act as a, “road map,” to learning how to fight the epidemic. The county is also partnering with Rochester's Drug Court for a new "Opioid Response Partnership."
Monroe County has seen more than 200 opioid or heroin deaths in 2016. It's still unclear how many people died from overdoses last year. The county executive's plan includes hiring two additional toxicologists to help with autopsies.
"Families deserve to know what happened to their loved one," Dinolfo said.
The county executive wants to not only track overdose deaths but non-fatal overdoses as well. She said this would offer a better picture of this public health emergency and how to address it.
The county is also expanding Narcan training and distribution, which includes restaurants.
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Prince George’s County is suing opioid manufacturers
Jan 25, 2018 | The Diamondback (MD)
By Michael Brice-Saddler
Prince George's County is suing opioid manufacturers and distributors for costs associated with Maryland's opioid epidemic, county officials said Wednesday.
Pharmaceutical companies knowingly misled people about the addictive nature of prescription pain relievers, County Executive Rushern Baker said during a news conference, which has caused increased addiction rates throughout the county and state. The drugs have been overprescribed, which has compounded the crisis, Baker added.
He said the county is seeking monetary damages to help mitigate the financial strain the crisis has placed on the county's Health and Fire and EMS departments, as well as the Department of Corrections.
The county hired a national law firm, Napoli Shkolnik, PLLC, to serve as lead counsel in the suit.
"Today is about getting justice for Prince George's County and citizens of the state," Baker said.
The county plans to go after Purdue Pharma in addition to other manufacturers and distributors, said Paul Napoli of Napoli Shkolnik, PLLC. He added that the county will look at tobacco litigation as a model for the lawsuit.
There were 981 overdoses in Prince George's County last year, county Fire Chief Ben Barksdale said, which has forced the department to use more resources than it has in the past.
In 2014 the county's Fire and EMS Department averaged less than one Narcan administration per day, he said. Now the department averages 2.7 administrations — a 260 percent increase.
Barksdale said costs for Narcan, the brand name of medication used to reverse the symptoms of an opioid overdose, have gone up 50 percent since 2014, which has stretched the department's budget. Moreover, he said, the growing opioid crisis has forced the department to take additional steps such as bolstering training for first responders and offering community-based paramedics.
These efforts, however, have been futile in the county's attempt to combat the growing crisis, he said.
"Everything we do and continue to do isn't enough," Barksdale said. "This epidemic is causing a widespread addiction and killing our residents at an alarming rate."
During the first six months of 2017, there were 1,029 opioid-related deaths in Maryland, compared to 873 during the same period the year before.
Prince George's County Health Officer Pamela Creekmur and Department of Corrections Director Mary Lou McDonough detailed other ways in which the opioid epidemic has impacted the county.
McDonough said county jails have seen upticks in drug use, addiction and people requesting placement into drug treatment programs. She said some inmates go through withdrawal while they are incarcerated, leading them to overdose upon release.
"It's a severe problem and I'm glad to see something being done about it," she said.
Baker said he asked Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan for additional funding during the past three years; however, the county still hasn't received it.
"What we've gotten is studies," Baker said. He said that he told Hogan and the Maryland General Assembly the opioid crisis is well-established and did not need to be studied anymore.
"We need resources now to deal with it," he said.
Hogan has called for a similar lawsuit, and New York City filed one Tuesday.
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Philadelphia’s Novel Plan for Opioid Crisis: Supervised Drug Use
Jan 25, 2018 | The Wall Street Journal
By Jon Kamp
To address the deadly opioid crisis wracking Philadelphia, city leaders are backing a novel step to open a safe haven where addicts can use their drugs.
The idea of permitting the open use of illicit opioids is controversial and largely untested in the U.S., but proponents argue that bringing opioid use out from the shadows would save lives. Opponents, including law-enforcement agencies and some public officials, say it would essentially sanctify an illegal activity and enable addicts.
In Philadelphia, officials are trying to slow an opioid crisis that has rapidly worsened. Last year, about 1,200 people died from drug overdoses, mostly opioids, up 32% from 2016.
“We are facing an epidemic of historic proportions,” Philadelphia Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said Tuesday, when announcing city support for what are commonly called supervised-injection sites. “We have an obligation to do everything we can to prevent those people from dying.”
The concept is simple: People who use in a supervised facility with professional help will less likely overdose and die. This strategy builds on commonplace harm-reduction methods in the U.S., like needle exchanges to reduce HIV risk and widespread dispersal of the overdose-reversal drug naloxone.
A scientific review released by Philadelphia authorities estimated that a single supervised-injection site there could prevent as many as 76 overdose deaths each year. Supervised injection could also save the city money by reducing emergency-medical costs, the health commissioner said.
The city isn’t planning to open such facilities on its own but is encouraging private-sector “comprehensive user engagement sites.” These would include a place where people could bring in opioids, use them under supervision and get immediate help if they overdose. The sites would include other services, too, including referral to treatment, clean needles and wound care, social services and naloxone access.
This recommendation was one of many in a city task-force report issued last May. More recently, a delegation including Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia, which has long had a supervised-injection site, and Seattle, which plans to add one.
San Francisco is also aiming to get at least one supervised-injection site up and running this year, according to Health Director Barbara Garcia. There are bills in several states—including New York, California and Colorado—aimed at providing legal cover for communities to establish injection sites.
These bills are an uphill push, several sponsors acknowledged, amid worries about intensifying the health crisis.
In Vermont, where policy makers are also debating the idea, the local U.S. Attorney’s office issued a sharp rebuke last month. These sites “would encourage and normalize heroin use, thereby increasing demand for opiates and, by extension, risk of overdose and overdose deaths,” the office said.
In Pennsylvania, Republican House Speaker Mike Turzai blasted what he called Philadelphia’s “drug addiction-enabling plan.” Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, is worried supervised injection “presents a number of serious public health and legal concerns,” a spokesman said.
Pat Trainor, spokesman for the Philadelphia office of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, said the agency “does not condone or approve” of supervised injection. One worry is a Philadelphia site would draw more traffickers to the city’s hardest-hit neighborhoods, he said.
There are about 100 injection sites in other countries, and while data are limited, evidence indicates they “can have a substantial effect on reducing mortality,” according to Philadelphia’s review of the evidence. Proponents also cite a positive track record for connecting users to treatment, and another report, from Vermont’s largest county, concluded these sites don’t encourage more drug use.
No user “has suggested to me that A, they wanted to get to the place that they got to, and B, that having support is somehow encouraging them,” said Bob Bick, chief executive at the Howard Center, a Burlington, Vt., health center that includes a needle-exchange program.
A research paper last year said there is one known injection site in the U.S., and it is operating in secret at an undisclosed, urban location.
Many physicians support broadening the concept. The American Medical Association last June encouraged pilot programs to further explore the issue in the U.S., two months after the Massachusetts Medical Society made a similar state-level recommendation.
While lawmakers have focused on policing pill prescriptions and expanding treatment, they need to do more for the actively addicted, said Henry Dorkin, the Massachusetts society’s president.
“In order to be rehabilitated, you have to be alive,” he said.
Supporters hope federal authorities will stick to focusing on drug trafficking, and not local-level users struggling with addiction. Philadelphia’s supervised-injection concept also has some local legal cover from a new, supportive district attorney, Democrat Larry Krasner.
Richard Ross Jr., the city’s police commissioner, acknowledged he was dead-set against the idea but is now open to it. He addressed the issue at the city’s press conference.
“For me, I went from being adamantly against it to just having an open mind,” he said.
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Jan 25, 2018 | Newsweek
By Chantal Da Silva
A 24-year-old former Trump campaigner who was given a senior post in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy will step down at the end of the month, the Washington Post reported.
Taylor Weyeneth's only professional experience before assuming the position of Deputy Chief of Staff for the ONDCP was working on the Trump 2016 presidential election campaign.
Before that, he had been in college at New York's St John's University, where he graduated in May 2016.
"Mr Weyeneth has decided to depart ONDCP at the end of the month," the White House told The Post.
The ONDCP has been in charge of combating the opioid epidemic in the U.S., with its office overseeing the government's billion-dollar anti-drug campaigns.
Drug overdoses are the leading cause of death for Americans under 50, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and President Donald Trump had vowed to address the crisis.
But the drug office has seen high turnover in staff in the year since Trump took office and the White House attributed Weyeneth's rise to the top of the ONDCP as being a result of staff departures, according to The Post.
“ONDCP leadership recognizes that we have lost a few talented staff members and that the organization would benefit from an infusion of new expert staff,” said a January 3 memo from acting director Richard Baum. “The functions of the Chief of Staff will be picked up by me and the Deputy Chief of Staff.”
Nonpartisan oversight group American Oversight posted a document it has identified as one of Weyeneth's résumés, outlining a string of previous jobs, mostly administrative posts.
The Post had previously detailed inconsistencies and outright inaccuracies on three résumés Weyeneth had submitted to the government.
On all three, the 24-year-old had claimed to have a master's degree from Fordham University, but a university spokesman said he had not completed his course work.
He had also changed the dates of a number of jobs listed on his résumé, including one position at a New York law firm, of which a partner alleged that Weyeneth had been "discharged" from the company because of his poor attendance.
The appointment of Weyeneth to a senior drug policy position sparked backlash from watchdogs and members of the public, with many pointing out that the college graduate was "unqualified" for the job.
A member of the Trump administration's opioid commission also recently admonished the undertaking of being a "sham" by Republican-led Congress.
"The thing's a charade," former Democratic Representative Patrick Kennedy told CNN.
"You can't expect to stem the tide of a public health crisis that is claiming over 64,000 lives per year without putting your money where your mouth is."
The commission, which made 56 recommendations, including setting up drug courts nationwide to direct drug abusers to treatment rather than the prison system, officially ended its work on December 1.
A White House official had told The Post Weyeneth had been hired in March demonstrating "his passion and commitment on the issue of opioids and drug addiction."
The 24-year-old was said to have become passionate about the issue after a relative's death from a heroin overdose several years ago.
The White House did not immedaitely respond to a request for comment.
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Canada’s fix to the opioid crisis: Vending machines that distribute prescription opioids to addicts
Jan 24, 2018 | Washington Post
By Amanda Coletta
Among their many differences, Canada and the United States share a common crisis: opioid overdoses.
Drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, killing more people than the AIDS epidemic at its peak. More than 42,000 Americans died of opioid-related causes in 2016, and the crisis shows no signs of receding.
Canada, too, is in the grip of an opioid overdose epidemic, but public health officials in the province of British Columbia — which is projected to account for nearly one-third of overdose deaths in the country in 2017 — are hoping to prevent a surge in deaths with a novel approach: a vending machine that distributes prescription opioids to addicts.
The B.C. Center for Disease Control (BCCDC) announced last month that it plans to install three vending machines this spring that will dispense hydromorphone pills, a powerful prescription opioid, to people with a high risk of overdose. A landmark study in 2016 found the painkiller to be an effective opioid replacement therapy, and experts say it could also reduce dependencies on contaminated street drugs cut with lethal substances such as fentanyl.
A $1 million grant from Health Canada will help to fund the project, which officials say could be expanded as early as this summer after its launch in the spring.
“This is an emergency crisis situation,” said Mark Tyndall, the executive medical director of the BCCDC and a backer of the project. “We don’t have the luxury of pilot testing these things on a few people over the next year.”
At least 1,460 people died of an opioid-related overdose in Canada in the first half of 2017, a figure that Canada’s public health agency projects will surpass 4,000 once data is reported for the rest of the year. British Columbia declared a public health emergency in 2016. More than 1,208 people died of opioid overdoses from January to October 2017, according to the B.C. Coroners Service.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is up to 100 times more powerful than morphine, was detected in 83 percent of overdose deaths in British Columbia. It is increasingly being used to cut street drugs like cocaine and heroin — sometimes surreptitiously — dramatically boosting their potency, with often deadly consequences.
Death rates from drug overdoses in British Columbia are almost as high as those in the states hardest-hit by the opioid epidemic in the United States. In British Columbia, the drug overdose death rate was 30.2 deaths per 100,000 people from January to October 2017. In Delaware and Rhode Island, it was 30.8 per 100,000 people in 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The severity of the crisis in British Columbia has pushed it to go further than the rest of the country in finding ways to reduce the harm done by drugs. The province is home to eight supervised injection sites, where addicts ingest illegal drugs under the supervision of nurses who can intervene in case of an overdose. Since 2011, Vancouver’s Crosstown Clinichas offered injections of pharmaceutical-grade heroin to addicts for whom other therapies have been ineffective, and it recently began administering injectable hydromorphone for opioid addicts. But while these programs have been effective, officials say that their models are costly, difficult to scale and limited in their accessibility, particularly for those in remote communities.
The vending machine project could solve those problems. Under the pilot project, drug users would be able to get two to three hydromorphone pills three times a day. The cost per patient would be roughly 3 Canadian dollars per day — far less than the 25,000 Canadian dollars per person per year that it costs for the programs at the Crosstown Clinic. The machines are relatively inexpensive, making it easy to expand the program quickly.
Vending machines have long been used as a harm-reduction tool. Syringe-dispensing vending machines have existed for decades in Puerto Rico, Europe and Australia to reduce the spread of HIV and hepatitis through injection drug use. Clark County, Nev., and Ottawa, Ontario, started syringe-vending machine initiatives last year.
The vending machine project is not without its critics. A letter writer in a newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia, worried that hydromorphone would “be dispensed like candy.”
Vancouver police Sgt. Jason Robillard said that while there is a need for projects like this one that aim to mitigate the harm done by illegal drugs, he has concerns about “the safety and security of the people using the machines, and keeping the pills inside the machines secure.”
Tyndall said those concerns are unfounded. A company with experience designing vending machines for cannabis — which also requires extra security — has created prototypes of opioid-dispensing machines. The units would be linked in real-time to monitors and accessed using biometrics. The small quantity of pills dispensed and severity of the users’ addiction make it unlikely that they would sell their pills, he said. And if they did, the pills would be safer than toxic street drugs.
“I’m trying to get people out of the image of these as shopping mall-type vending machines that everyone can access,” Tyndall said. “These are really armored ATMs.”
Spokespeople for the syringe-dispensing machine projects in Clark County and Ottawa report no instances of theft or vandalism. Clark County is already expanding its program with two new machines this year.
Others have voiced concerns that the project’s focus on increasing the availability of clean drugs to addicts to counter the tainted street drug supply was misguided. Marilyn Gladu, a Conservative party lawmaker and the shadow minister for health, said efforts to deal with the crisis should center on preventing addiction and getting addicts into rehabilitation.
“We don’t think it’s a good idea to pay for drug addicts to keep taking drugs,” she said. “It’s not an elimination of the problem.”
The goal, Tyndall said, is to reduce the number of deaths from overdoses. “You cannot get someone into rehabilitation when they’re dead,” he said.
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Jan 24, 2018 | News 8 at Five
By Rochester, NY
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32233685?token=2cb6f92d-de9d-4ff9-84cd-ef633e9e6ea1
Rough Transcript: monroe county has officially joined a nationwide lawsuit that targets pharmaceutical companies. it claims big firms like johnson and johnson and purdue pharmaceuticals have used aggressive marketing and fraudulent practices to pump prescription pills into the community --- and that has contributed to the opioid crisis here at home. the legal battle is part of a larger plan to tackle the problem. 5:07 PMashley edlund has the details. ((ashley intv)) a multi-pronged approach to combating the opioid cris was announced today by monroe county officials. so while that lawsuit is a big part of it--more than one way to go about it was discussed. officials discussed narcan traing that will happen across the county. they plan to provide opiod overdose prevention traing open to the public. monroe county says some of their action plan has already begun. they say over a dozen informational seminars with the department of health and the monroe county legislator have happened in the past six months in local school districts. the program actually launched in 2016--and will continue to expand this year. )) ((sot)) in addition to local schools we will also be bringing these presentations in local partners like the rochester public library local churches coming up this saturday the chamber of commerce lollypop farm rotary ((ashley intv)) monroe county officials also said they will hire two new toxicologists for the medical examiners department--to help with caseloads. the county executive's budget includes funding to support those hires. maureen? ((maureen/webclick )) thanks ashley. monroe county is holding outreach seminars on the use of narcan.
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Jan 25, 2018 | WHEC (NBC)
By Rochester, NY
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32233695?token=2cb6f92d-de9d-4ff9-84cd-ef633e9e6ea1
Rough Transcript: new york city is suing several prescription drug companies due to the ongoing and deadly opioidepidemic. the $500 million lawsuit targets companies like purdue, johnson & johnson and jensen. several drug companies dispute the allegations. there were more than 1000 opioid overdose deaths in new york city just in 2016. the monroe county executive is going to hold a press conference talking about the ongoing drug cris.
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Jan 25, 2018 | WUSA (CBS)
By Washington, DC
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32233757?token=2cb6f92d-de9d-4ff9-84cd-ef633e9e6ea1
Rough Transcript: prince georges county taking opioid manufacturers and distributors to court. in the lawsuit prince georges county accuses those companies of lying to the public about how addictive pain killers can be. now the concurrent plans on using money to help county residents affected by opioid addiction.
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Jan 25, 2018 | WDVM (WDVM)
By Washington, DC
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32233768?token=2cb6f92d-de9d-4ff9-84cd-ef633e9e6ea1
Rough Transcript: as the opioid epidemic... continues to spread... maryland leaders... are proposing ideas... to stop it. w-d-v-m's kylie khan... has more... from annapolis. opioid epidemic. on tuesday, governor larry hogan authorized the state attorney general to sue opioid manufacturers for misleading advertising. he also introduced the overdose data reporting act, which allows e- m-s and law enforcement to share data about overdoses. maryland would be one of 27 states to use this technology. kylie khan: "$13 million dollar are included in the governor's budget to deal with the opioid and heroin epidemic." delegate neil parrott/(r) washington county: "he called i an emergency last year, and now they're putting more money into trying to have treatment and going after the opioidmanufacturers to make sure that there's fair advertising." khan: as a frederick police officer, delegate william folden knows that this is a real issue plaguing our communities. delegate william folden/(r) frederick county: "i've seen th effects of opioids on our community, and i've also seen the amazing work that happens when people are given naloxone. these people are given a second chance." khan: delegate folden is introducing a bill that would dedicate funding to the ranch, a treatment center in frederick county. delegate william folden/(r) frederick county: "there's small structure on the front of their facility that would be great for what we call a stabilization center. it would basically take a lot of the burden off the emergency rooms of the hospitals locally, and it could be the first of its kind in the washington part of the state...and in this region, really." khan: party affiliation, lawmakers hope to work together to end the crisis. delegate david moon/(d) montgomery county: "everybody agrees that this is a public health issue that we've got to address, so i think you're going to see a lot of cooperation on this."
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Jan 25, 2018 | WNYW (Fox)
By New York, NY
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32234617?token=2cb6f92d-de9d-4ff9-84cd-ef633e9e6ea1
Rough Transcript:
but first, let's talk about new york city mayor bill de blasio taking on big pharma. he has did he see youd to have the city sue the pharmaceutical companies because he wants to recover the $500 million in costs he says it cost new york fighting the opioid addiction crisis. allison gormly has the full story. allison, what do you got for us. >> new york city mayor bill deblass sy yo-yo announced new york city filed a lawsuitagainst multiple companies. accoring a press release the aim 1:45 AMis to hold prescription opioidmanufacturers and distribute accountable for their part in the city's ongoing deadly epidemic. the suit which named companies like johnson and jon and pharmaseeks to over a half billion dollars for future costs the city will n'dour combat this epidemic. >> who is getting away with bloody murder right now? it is a big approval rating suit call company. that is what is going on. the people who created the crisis are getting away with it. >> the release states that morning know, died in 2016 from opioid overdoses than homicides and car accidents combined. we spoke to glen regan who is a mother of recovering addict and co-founder of a relapse prevention program called lud and clear about the lawsuit. >> they should be held account whether it is giving money to the cities in order to pay for 1:46 AMthe law enforcement efforts that have been made, the treatment. the funerals. i mean, people are unable to even pay for their children's funeral. >> they sent a statement us to saying they vigorously denied the allegations and look forward to the opportunity to prevent our defense. i am allison gorm my reporting for "chasing news. bill: thank you, allison. let's bring packback the a plus panel here. i will start with you. you have been involved in opioid cases as am attorney. it seems to me that the lawsuit goes nowhere. it is a lot of political posturing. what do you my well, look, as far as i am concerned. i handled these cases. it doesn't go nowhere. it will be litigated but what lawyers look to is big tobacco. tobacco users, it is fixed with correct use of the product where as opioids, if you use it correctly, there is no issue. this it he is the misuse of the 1:47 AMproduct, so that is why the lawsuits are not going to be successful at the end of the day. >> there is a bigger picture here. it seems like our culture today every time something goes wrong, we look to blame one? we go back to health care. what are doctors doing. what is happening in terms of the pain management? where are we watt the relationship with the patients? are they sitting down to take the time to access and andly pain or sem ply providing prescriptions that does nothing to benefit? >> , it is always somebodies' fault and now big pharmaand he this is he will run for president? the lawsuits have been brought about because people have looked at the action of big farm m and said you are wrong. this medication being overprescribed and leading done the line to massive epidemics. bill: from a medical perspective. do you think this is being abused by the doctor as someone getting away or someone looking to tooned the right direction. >> a lot of times it is people trying find the right doctor. pain optionment suffered from this. we have police outside of the offices. the pain management doctor's offices watching prescription.
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Jan 25, 2018 | WFXT (Fox)
By Boston, MA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32234688?token=2cb6f92d-de9d-4ff9-84cd-ef633e9e6ea1
Rough Transcript: a new set of reports says that drug traffickers are using the u.s. mail system -- the u.s. mail system. the drugs are coming from china.>> a year-long investigation in the senate found nearly $800 million worth of fentanyl hills were illegally sold to online customers here in the u.s. by chinese distributors. they were shipped through the regular mail. and investigation revealed purchases made from 43 states and most buyers lived in florida, ohio and pennsylvania. this morning at a hearing on capitol hill lawmakers will have tough lessons for postal officials, customs and border protection and other law enforcement. they want to know why they can't better track and stop these chip -- these shipments more than 61,000 americans died from drug overdoses in 2016. two thirds of the deaths were caused by opioids including fentanyl.>>>
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Jan 25, 2018 | CNBC (CNBC)
By National Programming
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32234767?token=2cb6f92d-de9d-4ff9-84cd-ef633e9e6ea1
Rough Transcript: i saw yesterday one cigarette a day is as bad as a pack, that's something to keep in mind you can't be one of these people who can quit completely. when we have individuals who come on and are frustrated with how we're dealing with the opioid crisis. they talk about long-term methadone use, if you need it for the rest of your life, that's better than dying is that the state of the art now for treating opioid addiction? you might be on something that's less trouble but still has a stigma >> there's three approved treatments for open roioid addin and they all work. there's a difference between being addicted to opioids and being physically dependent on it some of the treatments are opioid-like, so there's a view that you are still on an opioid, you're still addicted, but you're not you can be physically dependent on the opioid to prevent withdrawal simtemperatuymptomsto but not addicted people can be on long-term treatment and live productive lives.
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Jan 25, 2018 | WCAU (NBC)
By Philadelphia, PA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32234965?token=2cb6f92d-de9d-4ff9-84cd-ef633e9e6ea1
Rough Transcript: this morning philadelphia's plan to create safe injection sites to help stop the opioid epidemic is getting push back from opponents. yesterday city officials announced they'll push for safe injection sites that provide trained staff who can immediately respond to an overdose and provide users with treatment options. supporters say the safe sites would reduce the spread of zees and cut down on neighborhood blight. while advocates believe a safe injection site will help addicts, opponents say it could have the opposite effect. >> we want people someplace safe, someplace someone can help them when they're ready and god forbid if they overdose, save their lives. >> we're going to create a robust system that meet people where they are and are sensitive to the treatments they need. we have a lot of work to do before we get to something like this, which may save lives. >> the city has yet to decide where the sites would be located. meanwhile philadelphia has the largest opioid death rate of any u.s. city. more than 1,200 died from an overdose last year.
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