Opioid Litigation Daily Media Report - 2/14/18

McCaskill Report

1. Opioid Litigants Get Boost From Senate Report

   Feb 13, 2018 | The Street

   By Bill Meagher
   
   
   The hundreds of pending opioid abuse lawsuits likely have just received a jolt from a report from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs linking opioid manufacturers and patient advocacy groups.
2. Drugmakers paid $10M+ to groups that pushed wide opioid use, investigation finds (UPDATE)

   Feb 13, 2018 | FiercePharma

   By Eric Sagonowsky
   
   
   Even as the marketing by opioid drugmakers came under increasing scrutiny through hundreds of lawsuits and multiple investigations, the industry contributed millions of dollars to advocacy groups that backed wide use of the meds. Sen. Claire McCaskill this week published details about the payments in a report of her probe into five companies.
3. US drug companies accused of being 'cheerleaders' for opioids

   Feb 13, 2018 | The Guardian (UK)

   By Joanna Walters
   
   
   The five biggest companies making prescription opioids have been accused by a US Senate committee of spending $10m on patient advocacy and medical groups to encourage use of the addictive drugs, which are at the root of a public health crisis in America.
4. Senate Report: Drugmakers Spent Millions Pushing Opioids in Patient Groups

   Feb 13, 2018 | U.S. News and World Report

   By Katelyn Newman
   
   
   Drugmakers have given more than $10 million to patient advocacy groups and affiliated physicians since 2012 to promote opioid use to individuals seeking help for chronic pain management, according to a report released by a U.S. Senator Monday.
5. Senate report ties drug company money to opioid advocacy

   Feb 13, 2018 | Consumer Affairs

   By Mark Huffman
   
   
   The ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has released a report tracing payments from major opioid drug makers to third party advocacy groups that have promoted the use of painkillers.
6. McCaskill report: Opioid manufacturers gave millions to advocacy groups (UPDATE)

   Feb 13, 2018 | The Hill

   By Rachel Roubein
   
   
   A new report from Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) found that five opioid manufacturers paid nearly $9 million to 14 outside groups between 2012 and 2017, alleging that the advocacy groups often “amplified messages favorable to increased opioid use.”
7. Report shows opioid manufacturers’ ties to third party advocacy groups

   Feb 14, 2018 | Life Science Daily

   By Dave Kovaleski
   
   
   A new report released by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) examines how opioid manufacturers have made financial investments to third party organizations which have engaged in pro-opioid advocacy.
8. Opioid Makers Funneled Millions to Patient Advocacy Groups

   Feb 13, 2018 | Mother Jones

   By Julia Lurie
   
   
   Opioid manufacturers funneled nearly $9 million to leading pain treatment advocacy organizations and industry groups that in turn promoted the painkillers, according to a report released Monday by Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) as part of an ongoing investigation into opioid makers.
9. Report Alleges Opioid Makers Bankrolled Patient Groups

   Feb 14, 2018 | Pain News Network

   By Pat Anson
   
   
   U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) has released a scathing report that is sharply critical of patient advocacy groups and medical pain societies for accepting money from opioid manufacturers.
10. US Pain Foundation Responds to Senator McCaskill Report on Pain Group Funding

    Feb 14, 2018 | National Pain Report

    By Ed Coghlan
    
    
    Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill released a report Monday alleging that from 2012 to 2017, leading manufacturers of opioids gave $9 million to pain treatment advocacy groups.

Commentary and FYIs

11. How a Police Chief, a Governor and a Sociologist Would Spend $100 Billion to Solve the Opioid Crisis

    Feb 14, 2018 | The New York Times

    By Josh Katz
    
    
    The American opioid epidemic has defied all efforts to contain it, and the number of overdose deaths continues to grow. President Trump directed the Department of Health and Human Services to declare the opioid crisis a public health emergency in October and said “we have to do something about it” in his State of the Union address, but his administration has yet to pursue a specific strategy.
12. Opioid maker changes tack as scrutiny mounts

    Feb 13, 2018 | AFP

    By Staff
    
    
    Accused of profiting from a deadly opioid crisis ravaging middle class America, the maker of the world's best-selling pain medication said Tuesday it is changing tack in the face of increasing scrutiny.
13. 75-Year-Old 'Kingpin Granny' Charged For Distributing Opioid In Tennessee

    Feb 14, 2018 | International Business Times

    By Ayushman Basu
    
    
    A Tennessee woman, aged 75, was arrested Friday for allegedly distributing opioid from her home.
14. Our View: Trump’s plan to fight opioids has a lot to like (EDITORIAL)

    Feb 14, 2018 | Portland Press-Herald (ME)

    By Staff
    
    
    A president’s budget proposal is more a statement of his priorities than a spending plan, as Congress typically tosses it aside quickly in favor of its own work. And for most of the Trump administration’s budget, a cruel and irresponsible proposal released Monday, the bottom of a trash can would be too good of an end.
15. Purdue Pharma Begins to Tackle America’s Opioid Crisis

    Feb 13, 2018 | Liberty Voice

    By Cathy Milne
    
    
    Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin®, a semisynthetic opiate, announced they will no longer encourage physicians to prescribe their drug to patients. While their action is a positive move toward tackling America’s opioid crisis, this is but one manufacturer and only one trade name.
16. Purdue Pharma Is Done Promoting Opioids. Here’s Why It’s a Big Deal.

    Feb 13, 2018 | Fortune

    By Anna Lembke
    
    
    It’s a harried morning in the clinic when suddenly there’s a good-looking guy at my office door holding out a steaming cup of coffee and a freshly baked muffin.
17. Facebook joins effort to fight opioid crisis in New Mexico

    Feb 13, 2018 | Associated Press

    By Russell Contreras
    
    
    Facebook is launching an effort to help fight the opioid crisis in New Mexico — a state that has battled heroin addiction for decades, the social media giant announced Tuesday.

MDL

18. Judge silences parties involved in opioid settlement discussions

    Feb 13, 2018 | Cecil Whig (MD)

    By Katie Tabeling
    
    
    Attorneys and opioid manufacturer representatives were ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Dan Polster last week to keep quiet about settlement discussions — that impact hundreds of local municipalities including Cecil County — that occur behind closed doors.

Northeast (MA, DE, NY)

19. Lowell Council weighs joining suits against opioid makers

    Feb 14, 2018 | Lowell Sun (MA)

    By Todd Feathers
    
    
    The city may soon join the growing list of municipalities, counties, and states suing drug manufacturers for improperly marketing prescription opioids that have contributed to a devastating addiction epidemic.
20. What Delaware's opioid lawsuits may accomplish for the state

    Feb 13, 2018 | Delaware Online (DE)

    By Brittany Horn
    
    
    More Delaware governments are exploring how they can get back some of what the opioid and heroin epidemic has taken from them.
21. Dover City Council votes to sue Big Pharma

    Feb 13, 2018 | ABC 47 (DE)

    By Danielle Jackson
    
    
    The Dover City Council voted to sue Big Pharma at their council meeting, on Monday evening.
22. Cayuga County one step closer to joining class action opioid lawsuit

    Feb 14, 2018 | Auburn Pub (NY)

    By Gwendolyn Craig
    
    
    A Cayuga County Legislature committee has unanimously voted for the county to join a class action lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies that manufacture opioids.

Midwest (ND, OH)

23. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sues opioid industry

    Feb 13, 2018 | Rapid City Journal (ND)

    By Amy Dalrymple
    
    
    The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe filed a lawsuit Monday against major manufacturers and distributors of opioids, joining other tribes that have filed similar lawsuits.
24. Standing Rock Sioux lawsuit targets drug companies

    Feb 13, 2018 | KFGO (ND)

    By Jim Monk
    
    
    North Dakota's Standing Rock Sioux has become the latest American Indian tribe to file a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies for the opioid epidemic.
25. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North and South Dakota sues major opioid manufacturers and distributors

    Feb 13, 2018 | Minnesota Star Tribune (MN)

    By Mark Brunswick
    
    
    A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday on behalf of the Standing Rock Sioux alleges that major manufacturers and distributors of opioids created a public health crisis on their reservation by fraudulently concealing the addiction risk of the drugs.
26. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Joins Opioid Lawsuit

    Feb 13, 2018 | KVRR (ND)

    By TJ Nelson
    
    
    The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is joining several tribes nationwide in suing major opioid manufacturers and distributors.
27. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sues opioid companies for misleading ads

    Feb 13, 2018 | Associated Press

    By Staff
    
    
    The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is suing major opioids manufacturers and distributors, joining several tribes nationwide that have filed similar lawsuits.
28. Montgomery County joins legal fight against opioid drug companies

    Feb 13, 2018 | Dayton Daily News (OH)

    By Cornelius Frolik
    
    
    Montgomery County joins legal fight against opioid drug companies Cornelius Frolik Staff Writer 3:22 p.m Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018 Dayton Facebook Twitter Share 0 DAYTON Following in the footsteps of the city of Dayton and the state of Ohio, Montgomery County plans to sue drug companies or others that county officials allege helped cause the opioid addiction and overdose epidemic that has ravaged the Dayton region and communities across the country.

Southeast (FL, SC, VA, AR, WV)

29. Sarasota Sues To Recover Damages From Opioid Crisis

    Feb 13, 2018 | WUSF (FL)

    By Andrea Martin
    
    
    The city of Sarasota is planning to file a lawsuit against a number of major pharmaceutical companies to recover damages from the opioid crisis. City Commissioners have voted to retain two attorneys to file the lawsuit.
30. County joins opioid lawsuit

    Feb 13, 2018 | Kingstreet News (SC)

    By Michael Duke
    
    
    Williamsburg County Council voted Monday, February 5, to retain a law group to represent the county in a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, marketers, and distributors. Attorney Cezar McKnight presented the proposed litigation during council’s January meeting. At that time council voted to retain the group, which consists of several lawyers to include McKnight, Andy Savage, Vincent Sheheen, and Marc J. Bern, without the presence of the county attorney, Billy Jenkinson. Attorney Mandy Shuler of local law firm Whetstone, Perkins and Fulda, LLC, presented a similar proposal to attorney Jenkinson in November.
31. Beaufort County sues pharmaceutical companies, doctors over opioid crisis

    Feb 14, 2018 | Savannah Morning News (GA)

    By Dan Hunt
    
    
    Beaufort County in South Carolina filed a lawsuit last week against several national pharmaceutical companies and nine unnamed local clinics and physicians for their alleged roles in the opioid crisis that has increasingly affected the state and county.
32. Scott County supervisors vote to join opioid lawsuit

    Feb 13, 2018 | Times News (VA)

    By Holly Viers
    
    
    Scott County has joined a growing list of counties in the region that are fighting a legal battle against opioid abuse.
33. Barling joins opioid lawsuit

    Feb 14, 2018 | Fort Smith Times Record (AR)

    By Thomas Saccente
    
    
    Barling has joined other Arkansas cities in a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors.
34. Parkersburg City Council approves drug nuisance resolution

    Feb 14, 2018 | News & Sentinel (WV)

    By Evan Bevins
    
    
    City Council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday declaring the unlawful distribution of prescription medications a public nuisance, and added a statement encouraging the city to sue the drugs’ makers and distributors.

Northwest (WA)

35. City signs on to lawsuit against opioid companies

    Feb 14, 2018 | goanacortes.com (WA)

    By Staff
    
    
    The Anacortes City Council voted unanimously last week to sign onto a lawsuit against the manufacturers of opioid narcotics.
36. Clallam County to file suit against opioid firms

    Feb 14, 2018 | Peninsula Daily News (WA)

    By Rob Ollikainen
    
    
    Clallam County has inked an agreement with a Seattle law firm to sue manufactures and wholesalers of prescription painkillers to recover the costs of fighting the opioid epidemic.

Southwest (TX)

37. Wichita Co. Commissioner: Opioid lawsuit already showing results

    Feb 13, 2018 | RNN Texoma (TX)

    By Jesse Canales
    
    
    On Tuesday, one Wichita County Commissioner said the lawsuit against Purdue Pharma, the creator of Oxycontin, has started to show results.

Broadcast Media Coverage

38. Nightly Business Report

    Feb 14, 2018 | WNET (PBS)

    By New York, NY
    
    
    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32678199?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84
39. KVUE News Daybreak

    Feb 14, 2018 | KVUE (ABC)

    By Austin, TX
    
    
    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32676334?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84
40. FOX 29 Morning News

    Feb 14, 2018 | KVHP (Fox)

    By Lake Charles, LA
    
    
    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32676844?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84
41. Noon Report

    Feb 14, 2018 | KFYR (NBC)

    By Minot-Bsmrck-Dcknsn(Wlstn), ND
    
    
    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32676336?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84
42. Good Morning KOTA Territory

    Feb 14, 2018 | KOTA (ABC)

    By Rapid City, SD
    
    
    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32677346?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84
43. KSFY Morning News

    Feb 14, 2018 | KSFY (ABC)

    By Sioux Falls, SD
    
    
    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32677688?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84
44. FOX 24 News at 7

    Feb 14, 2018 | KFTA (Fox)

    By Ft. Smith, AR
    
    
    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32677682?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84
45. WYFF News 4 at 6am

    Feb 14, 2018 | WYFF (NBC)

    By Greenville, SC
    
    
    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32677690?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84
46. CBS 21 Morning News

    Feb 14, 2018 | WHP (CBS)

    By Harrisburg, PA
    
    
    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32678195?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84
47. FOX 45 News in the Morning on ABC

    Feb 14, 2018 | WKEF (ABC)

    By Dayton, OH
    
    
    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32678194?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84
48. News Center 7

    Feb 14, 2018 | WHIO (CBS)

    By Dayton, OH
    
    
    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32678204?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84

McCaskill Report

1. Opioid Litigants Get Boost From Senate Report

   Feb 13, 2018 | The Street

   By Bill Meagher

   The hundreds of pending opioid abuse lawsuits likely have just received a jolt from a report from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs linking opioid manufacturers and patient advocacy groups.

   Released Monday, Feb. 12, the report notes more than $10 million in payments to patient advocacy groups and affiliated physicians from 2012 to 2017 and illustrates how a group of five drugmakers used the donations to shape public opinion and raise the profile of their drugs. The companies in statements Tuesday, however, cast the payments as standard or charged the report with serving a political agenda.

   Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., led the effort to explore the relationship between the groups and Purdue Pharma LP, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., Insys Therapeutics Inc. (INSY) , Depomed Inc. (DEPO) and Mylan NV (MYL) . Those companies were the largest sellers of opioids on an international basis in 2015, according to the report from McCaskill, the top-ranked Democrat on the committee. The inquiry began in March 2017 when the committee requested documents from the drugmakers regarding payments from the companies to 15 different groups.

   The data show Purdue sent a total of $4.1 million to the groups, while Insys contributed $3.1 million, Johnson & Johnson Inc. (JNJ) affiliate Janssen paid $465,152, Depomed chipped in with $1 million, and Mylan paid $20,250. The companies made an additional $1.6 million in payments to physicians affiliated with the groups from 2013 to the present.

   The report pointed out that payments from drug companies to patient groups is not unusual. According to PharmedOut, a project of Georgetown University Medical Center, almost all of the 7,865 groups across the country take money from drug companies. But the $10 million flowing from opioid makers presents a particular danger given the current abuse crisis and the lack of transparency involving the funding.

   Another factor mentioned in the report is that while the money came without any outward strings, in some cases the groups that received money took positions supporting the companies' products or lobbied supporting their interests.

   "Several groups have also lobbied to change laws directed at curbing opioid use, strongly criticized landmark [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines on opioid prescribing and challenged efforts to hold physicians and industry executives responsible for overprescription and misbranding."

   The drugs named in the report include OxyContin, Fentanyl and Vicodin.

   The 23-page report, "Fueling an Epidemic: Exposing the Financial Ties Between Opioid Manufacturers and Third-Party Advocacy Groups," included not only which patient groups received money and from whom; it also detailed how drug manufacturers changed payment patterns based on factors that included market conditions and public opinion.

   For instance, Purdue has come in for criticism over the past year over the opioid crisis, and the company's donations dropped from $558,068 in 2016 to just $50,135 a year later.

   While Purdue scaled its donations back, Insys demonstrated its generosity by giving $2.5 million in 2017, the largest total for any manufacturer in any year in the report. The company in a statement characterized the payments as "patient focused," noting it "strived to comply with all such laws and regulations in making such contributions."

   Insys made headlines last year when former CEO John Kapoor and six other company officials were arrested on racketeering, fraud and conspiracy charges tied to allegedly bribing doctors to prescribe paid medication Subsys outside normal boundaries.

   The company pointed out in its statement that new management believes in emphasizing research and development, one reason for a 77% drop in donations in the second half of 2017.

   Two of the companies in the report, Janssen and Depomed, engaged in a transaction in 2015 that is reflected in the report's data. In January, Janssen sold opioid-based brand Nucynta to Depomed for $1 billion. Up to that point, Janssen had paid $465,152 to patient groups, but with Nucynta off its books, it stopped making donations altogether.

   But Depomed, with Nucynta now in its portfolio, picked up the pace in 2015 and 2016, paying out $668,357 in total, or more than triple the average of the three previous years. A subsequent deal led its patient group payments to decline to $80,879 in 2017: Depomed licensed Nucynta to Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc. (COLL) last year for just $10 million up front and a minimum of $135 million a year for four years.

   In a statement, Depomed spokesman Christopher Keenen said: "These contributions covered corporate advertising, conference booth fees, sponsoring training certifications and membership fees. Depomed believes that it has acted responsibly with respect to the marketing and advertising of the Lazanda and Nucynta franchises."

   A Janssen representative noted the company stopped developing opioid products in 2015 after the Nucynta sale, adding, "We recognize that opioid abuse and addiction are serious public health issues, and finding solutions will require collaboration among many stakeholders."

   Mylan took issue with its grouping with the other drugmakers, as its payments totaled only $20,250 from 2015 through 2017.

   "This executive summary is yet another example of Washington putting politics over people," the company said. "In fact, lumping Mylan in with this group of companies is not only highly irresponsible but also highlights more of a political agenda rather than finding real solution to the opioids crisis. Conspicuously, Sen. McCaskill omits the largest supplier of opioids in the U.S. that happens to be located in her home state. [The company is unnamed, but Mallinckrodt plc (MNK) has its U.S headquarters in St. Louis and makes oxycodone.] To address this national epidemic and find a solution, we believe the entire opioids supply chain needs to be examined instead of a targeted campaign against a select few."

   Purdue spokesman John Puskar said: "We have supported third-party organizations, including with annual dues and unrestricted grants, that are interested in helping patients receive appropriate care and share our commitment toward addressing the opioid crisis. We agree that the CDC's guideline [on opioid prescribing] is an important public health tool and have been directing prescribers to the guideline and its recommendations since it issued in March 2016."
   

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2. Drugmakers paid $10M+ to groups that pushed wide opioid use, investigation finds (UPDATE)

   Feb 13, 2018 | FiercePharma

   By Eric Sagonowsky

   Even as the marketing by opioid drugmakers came under increasing scrutiny through hundreds of lawsuits and multiple investigations, the industry contributed millions of dollars to advocacy groups that backed wide use of the meds. Sen. Claire McCaskill this week published details about the payments in a report of her probe into five companies.

   The report outlines contributions by Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson's Janssen, Depomed, Insys Therapeutics and Mylan to 14 patient organizations and affiliated individuals between 2012 and 2017. With pharma backing, the groups "amplified messages favorable to increased opioid use," according to the report.

   Purdue Pharma made more than $4 million in payments to the groups, according to the senator's report, followed up by Insys' $3-million-plus in contributions. Depomed contributed more than $1 million during the period, while Janssen paid $465,000 to the groups. At just over $20,000 in payments, Mylan shelled out only a small fraction—.2%—of the group's total. The report comes just days after Purdue Pharma said it would stop marketing OxyContin and other opioid pain meds to physicians. With that change, the company plans to lay off 200-plus sales reps, or more than half its staff.

   Additionally, doctors affiliated with the groups have accepted more than $1.6 million in payments from the companies since 2013, according the report.

   The advocacy groups downplayed opioid addiction risks, promoted opioids to treat chronic pain, lobbied to change laws that sought to curb opioid use and fought to reduce accountability for individuals who overprescribed or misbranded the meds, according to the report.

   Mylan hit back, saying its contributions were only a tiny fraction of the total. Depomed said it has promoted its opioid drugs responsibly. Insys responded that its contributions in 2017 were "patient focused."

   Citing the City of Chicago's lawsuit against multiple opioid drugmakers, the report shows that in one case, the American Academy of Pain Medicine and the American Pain Society released a 1997 statement that "endorsed opioids to treat chronic pain and claimed that the risk that patients would become addicted to opioids was low." A Purdue-backed speaker who is now the company's VP of Health Policy co-authored the statement, according to the city's complaint.

   When the CDC came out with opioid prescribing guidelines in 2016, many of the groups sought to "criticize and undermine" the new guidance, according to McCaskill's report.

   The "ostensibly neutral advocacy organizations have often supported industry interests at the expense of their own constituencies," the report states. The U.S. Pain Foundation received nearly $3 million in contributions from the drugmakers over the period, Sen. McCaskill's team found. The Academy of Integrative Pain Management and American Academy of Pain Medicine each received more than $1 million.

   In a statement, U.S. Pain Foundation president Paul Gileno said that the money "does not influence our values" and that the contributions don't steer the group toward any specific treatment options.

   "We support a balanced, multidisciplinary approach to pain care," he added.

   Including Mylan in the executive summary is "another example of Washington putting politics over people," a Mylan spokeswoman said in a response today. Mylan, as she noted, contributed only $20,250, compared to millions for some of the other drugmakers.

   She wrote that "lumping Mylan in with this group of companies is not only highly irresponsible, but also highlights more of a political agenda rather than finding real solution to the opioids crisis."

   Depomed said its contributions "covered corporate advertising, conference booth fees, sponsoring training certifications and membership fees." Further, the drugmaker said it believes it has "acted responsibly with respect to the marketing and advertising of the Lazanda and Nucynta franchises" and that it has a strong compliance program in place to oversee the activities.

   Insys, which has had a number of ex-employees charged for the the company's earlier marketing practices, said it has been cooperating with the probe since July 2016.

   "We believe that our 2017 charitable contributions, which have become the subject of media attention, are patient focused," the company's statement said. "With regard to the U.S. Pain Foundation specifically, our donation was directed to a disease-state fund for cancer patients with breakthrough pain, which many medical experts and healthcare providers believe is significantly undertreated in the U.S."

   The company added that "existing laws and regulations ... permit these types of charitable contributions that benefit patients."

   A Janssen spokesperson told FiercePharma the contributions "were made to support efforts to educate the public about the appropriate use of opioid pain medicines, and were transparently disclosed."

   Purdue didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

   Sen. McCaskill's report comes as opioid drugmakers face more than 200 lawsuits from cities and counties over their marketing practices; lawyers in those cases met recently in Cleveland to talk about a global settlement, according to multiple reports. Judge Daniel Polster wrote in a recent court filing that the discussion was "productive." The next settlement conference is scheduled for March 6.

   Separate from those cases, attorneys general from dozens of states have joined together to investigate the opioid industry's marketing.
   

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3. US drug companies accused of being 'cheerleaders' for opioids

   Feb 13, 2018 | The Guardian (UK)

   By Joanna Walters

   The five biggest companies making prescription opioids have been accused by a US Senate committee of spending $10m on patient advocacy and medical groups to encourage use of the addictive drugs, which are at the root of a public health crisis in America.

   “I think these groups were cheerleaders … cheerleaders too often for opioids,” said Senator Claire McCaskill, the top Democrat on the Senate homeland security and government affairs committee, which is investigating pharmaceutical company practices.

   The committee reported on Monday that Purdue Pharma, manufacturer of leading narcotic painkiller OxyContin, made the largest donations to outside groups that present themselves as advocates for people suffering from chronic pain.

   “In some instances they are merely fronting for these manufacturers, especially if you look at the lobbying they’ve done against restricting opioids,” said McCaskill, adding: “These financial relationships were insidious, lacked transparency, and are one of many factors that have resulted in arguably the most deadly drug epidemic in American history.”

   The committee, which has been investigating Big Pharma practices from 2012 to 2017, said Purdue Pharma gave the most money, $4.15m to 12 groups. Purdue said in a statement that it supported organisations interested in helping patients receive appropriate care.

   The report notes that organizations such as the American Academy of Pain Medicine play down the risks of addiction and abuse. The report names Purdue Pharma, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Mylan, Depomed and Insys Therapeutics.

   McCaskill launched the investigation last spring by saying: “We want to get to the bottom of why, all of a sudden, opioids have been handed out like candy in this country.”

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4. Senate Report: Drugmakers Spent Millions Pushing Opioids in Patient Groups

   Feb 13, 2018 | U.S. News and World Report

   By Katelyn Newman

   Drugmakers have given more than $10 million to patient advocacy groups and affiliated physicians since 2012 to promote opioid use to individuals seeking help for chronic pain management, according to a report released by a U.S. Senator Monday.

   Published by Sen. Karen McCaskill, D-Mo., the 23-page report looked into the financial connections between five pharmaceutical companies – Purdue Pharma L.P., Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Mylan N.V., Depomed, Inc. and Insys Therapeutics, Inc. – and 14 patient advocacy groups "working on chronic pain and other opioid-related issues" between 2012 and 2017.

   "These groups have issued guidelines and policies minimizing the risk of opioid addiction and promoting opioids for chronic pain, lobbied to change laws directed at curbing opioid use, and argued against accountability for physicians and industry executives responsible for overprescription and misbranding," the report states.

   "Notably, a majority of these groups also strongly criticized 2016 guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that recommended limits on opioid prescriptions for chronic pain – the first national standards for prescription opioids and a key federal response to the ongoing epidemic," it continued.

   The connection between medical culture with the pharmaceutical industry's goals means that many of the groups – with the U.S. Pain Foundation receiving the largest amount of payments – may have significantly contributed to the conditions that have led to the U.S. opioid epidemic, the report concludes.

   “It looks pretty damning when these groups were pushing the message about how wonderful opioids are and they were being heavily funded, in the millions of dollars, by the manufacturers of those drugs,” Lewis Nelson, a Rutgers University doctor and opioid expert, told The Center for Public Integrity.

   McCaskill's report echoes a similar 2012 Senate investigation, led by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, that delved into ties between three opioid manufacturers and seven medical organizations that pushed out guidelines on proper opioid prescription tactics to affiliated physicians. That investigation's findings never left the Senate Finance Committee's office.

   “The financial relationships between these groups and opioid manufacturers should be clear to the general public,” McCaskill said in a press release. “We passed a law ensuring the public had information on payments to doctors by pharmaceutical companies, and I can’t imagine why the same shouldn’t be done in this space.”

   A day after the report was released, Purdue Pharma issued a statement Tuesday announcing a restructuring of their opioid promotion that includes no longer promoting opioids to prescribers.

   According to McCaskill's report, nearly all health advocacy groups accept funding from drugmakers, leading to "concerns regarding the information and initiatives patient advocacy organizations promote."

   Multiple states, cities and counties across the U.S. have issued lawsuits against the leading pharmaceutical companies for downplaying the risks involved with prescribing opioids and thus fueling the opioid epidemic, which accounted for at least 42,000 deaths in 2017 alone.
   

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5. Senate report ties drug company money to opioid advocacy

   Feb 13, 2018 | Consumer Affairs

   By Mark Huffman

   The ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has released a report tracing payments from major opioid drug makers to third party advocacy groups that have promoted the use of painkillers.

   Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) says her report describes how drug makers have invested heavily in third party organizations that serve as pro-opioid advocacy groups. The report says these groups have issued guidance minimizing the risks of opioid addiction and endorsed opioid use for the long-term treatment of chronic pain.

   Misuse of opioid painkillers has become a serious health issue in the U.S. over the last decade. According to the Pew Charitable Trust, almost 33,000 Americans died from an opioid overdose in 2015 -- nearly half from prescription opioids.

   Last fall 39 state attorneys general signed a letter to Congressional leaders urging support of legislation increasing consumers' access to drug addiction treatment.

   “As state attorneys general, our offices are on the frontlines of the opioid epidemic. We write today in bipartisan support of HR 2938 (“Road to Recovery Act”), which will expand a key tool in this battle,” the attorneys general said.

   Financial relationship

   Using her position of a key Senate committee, McCaskill says she is looking into the financial relationships between the pharmaceutical companies that make powerful painkillers and the doctors and organizations that have defended and promoted their use.

   “The pharmaceutical industry spent a generation downplaying the risks of opioid addiction and trying to expand their customer base for these incredibly dangerous medications and this report makes clear they made investments in third-party organizations that could further those goals,” McCaskill said.

   “These financial relationships were insidious, lacked transparency, and are one of many factors that have resulted in arguably the most deadly drug epidemic in American history.”

   The report contends that five major opioid manufacturers contributed nearly $9 million to 14 third party advocacy organizations over a five-year period. It logs another $1.6 million in payments to doctors affiliated with these groups between 2013 and the present.

   Governments respond with lawsuits

   A number of opioid manufacturers face lawsuits from cities and states that say the opioid addiction crisis is taking a huge human and financial toll on their resources.

   Last summer, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine sued five major opioid manufacturers. He accused the drug companies of engaging in fraudulent marketing of drugs by minimizing the risks and inflating the benefits of prescription opioids.

   The state of New York settled a similar lawsuit against two opioid drug manufacturers in 2016. Earlier this month, the Cherokee Nation sued several companies involved in making, distributing, and selling opioid painkillers.
   

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6. McCaskill report: Opioid manufacturers gave millions to advocacy groups (UPDATE)

   Feb 13, 2018 | The Hill

   By Rachel Roubein

   A new report from Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) found that five opioid manufacturers paid nearly $9 million to 14 outside groups between 2012 and 2017, alleging that the advocacy groups often “amplified messages favorable to increased opioid use.”

   The groups — many of which work on chronic pain and other opioid-related issues — lobbied to defeat prescriber limits on opioids and many criticized facets of 2016 guidelines that limited the prescribing of painkillers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), according to the report.

   Additionally, the report noted a “lack of transparency” around the donors who give to the advocacy groups. While the groups aren’t required to disclose their donors publicly, McCaskill said that should be changed.

   “The financial relationships between these groups and opioid manufacturers should be clear to the general public,” McCaskill said. “We passed a law ensuring the public had information on payments to doctors by pharmaceutical companies, and I can’t imagine why the same shouldn’t be done in this space.” 

   This is the second report on opioids from McCaskill, the ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The reports come at a time when deaths from opioid overdoses continue to rise.

   Purdue Pharma said in a statement: “We have supported third-party organizations, including with annual dues and unrestricted grants, that are interested in helping patients receive appropriate care and share our commitment toward addressing the opioid crisis.”

   The company views the 2016 CDC guidelines as “an important public health tool,” according to the statement.

   Depomed said its contributions averaged $20,000 per year to nine groups and that it believes it acted responsibly when it marketed its drugs. It said the money covered items such as corporate advertising and conference booth fees.

   Insys said in a statement that "We believe that our 2017 charitable contributions, which have become the subject of media attention, are patient-focused."

   Mylan pushed back on its inclusion in the report, saying it had a “minuscule role in the manufacturing and marketing of opioids” and made limited payments, amounting to $20,250 over three years, to one group.

   Several organizations said the money didn’t influence their groups, according to news reports.

   Bob Twillman, the executive director of the Academy of Integrative Pain Management, told The Associated Press that “we really don’t take direction from them about what we advocate for.” His group received nearly $1.3 million from four opioid manufacturers.

   Similarly, Jessica Castles Smith, a spokesperson for Janssen Pharmaceuticals, said their contributions were used to "support efforts to educate the public about the appropriate use of opioid pain medicines, and were transparently disclosed."

   The U.S. Pain Foundation said $2.5 million it received from one company went toward a fund to help cancer patients pay for pain drugs, and also noted that the money did not alter the group's values in any way, according to Reuters.
   

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7. Report shows opioid manufacturers’ ties to third party advocacy groups

   Feb 14, 2018 | Life Science Daily

   By Dave Kovaleski

   A new report released by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) examines how opioid manufacturers have made financial investments to third party organizations which have engaged in pro-opioid advocacy.

   The report, “Fueling an Epidemic: Exposing the Financial Ties Between Opioid Manufacturers and Third Party Advocacy Groups,” found that many of these third party groups have minimized the risks of opioid addiction and endorsed their use for the long-term treatment of chronic pain. The issue is that this is not an approach that’s backed up by medical science.

   McCaskill said this particular connection between the pharmaceutical industry, the medical community, government, and the general public needs to be further investigated.

   “The pharmaceutical industry spent a generation downplaying the risks of opioid addiction and trying to expand their customer base for these incredibly dangerous medications and this report makes clear they made investments in third-party organizations that could further those goals,” McCaskill said. “These financial relationships were insidious, lacked transparency, and are one of many factors that have resulted in arguably the most deadly drug epidemic in American history.”

   Specifically, the report revealed that the five leading opioid manufacturers have contributed nearly $9 million to 14 third party advocacy organizations over the past five years. In addition, there have been payments of $1.6 million from the five manufacturers to physicians affiliated with these groups since 2013. Further, several of these groups received the majority of their outside contributions from opioid manufacturers.

   The report said the third party groups often amplified messages favorable to increased opioid use. They also issued guidelines and policies minimizing the risk of opioid addiction and promoted opioids for chronic pain. Further, they lobbied to change laws directed at curbing opioid use and argued against accountability for physicians and industry executives responsible for over-prescription and misbranding.

   “The fact that these same manufacturers provided millions of dollars to the groups described [in this report] suggests, at the very least, a direct link between corporate donations and the advancement of opioids-friendly messaging,” the report stated. “By aligning medical culture with industry goals in this way, many of the groups described in this report may have played a significant role in creating the necessary conditions for the U.S. opioids epidemic.”

   McCaskill’s report also cites a lack of transparency surrounding the advocacy organizations. Due to their classification under the U.S. tax code, many of the groups profiled have no obligation to disclose their donors publicly. And none of the organizations featured in the report chose to disclose their donors. McCaskill said that needs to change.

   “The financial relationships between these groups and opioid manufacturers should be clear to the general public,” McCaskill said. “We passed a law ensuring the public had information on payments to doctors by pharmaceutical companies, and I can’t imagine why the same shouldn’t be done in this space.”

   McCaskill is currently drafting a bill to strengthen the Drug Enforcement Administration’s opioid enforcement abilities.

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8. Opioid Makers Funneled Millions to Patient Advocacy Groups

   Feb 13, 2018 | Mother Jones

   By Julia Lurie

   Opioid manufacturers funneled nearly $9 million to leading pain treatment advocacy organizations and industry groups that in turn promoted the painkillers, according to a reportreleased Monday by Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) as part of an ongoing investigation into opioid makers.

   The report examines payments between 2012 and 2017 from five pharmaceutical companies, including the makers of OxyContin and prescription fentanyl, to 14 organizations that help shape the policy and public opinion around opioids. The groups that received pharmaceutical funding—like the US Pain Foundation and the Academy of Integrative Pain Management—in turn issued guidelines minimizing the risks of opioid addiction, lobbied to change laws aimed at curbing opioid abuse, and sought to protect doctors sued for overprescribing painkillers, according to the report.

   “This is part of how the game works: You have people speaking on your behalf but it’s not clear that they are,” says Keith Humphreys, a Stanford psychiatry professor and drug policy advisor under Bush and Obama. Some advocacy organizations, he said, “might as well just be a division of the companies.”

   The majority of the organizations receiving money from the opioid manufacturers opposed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention opioid prescription guidelines released in 2016, which discourage the use of the painkillers for chronic pain. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and the Academy of Integrative Pain Management led a 2015 effort to protect a Tennessee law that makes it difficult to discipline doctors for overprescribing opioids, according to an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity and Associated Press. The US Pain Foundation is “actively engaged in 70 legislative bills in 20 states,” according to the organization’s annual report, and one of the foundation’s key issues is “balanced access to pain management.”

   Among the five opioid manufacturers identified in the Senate report, OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma led the way, giving $4.2 million to the outside organizations over the five-year period. A Purdue statement read, “We have supported third-party organizations, including with annual dues and unrestricted grants, that are interested in helping patients receive appropriate care and share our commitment toward addressing the opioid crisis.” The company made news last week when it cut its sales team in half.

   Next came Insys, the maker of the prescription fentanyl spray Subsys. Insys donated $2.5 million to the US Pain Foundation for the “Gain Against Pain” program, which provides financial assistance for medical copays of patients with acute cancer pain. (An Insys statement read, “[W]e are committed to improving the quality of patient care and bringing significant innovation to disease areas with unmet medical needs, including breakthrough cancer pain, refractory pediatric epilepsy and anaphylaxis.” A US Pain Foundation spokesman said the funding “does not influence our values.”) A previous investigation by McCaskill’s office found that Insys repeatedly misrepresented its product in order to boost sales among non-cancer patients. Company founder John Kapoor was arrested in October on federal bribery and fraud charges.

   In addition to payments to advocacy organizations, pharmaceutical companies paid another $1.6 million to individuals associated with the outside organizations, including board members, staff members, and other executives. Dr. Charles Argoff, president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine Foundation, received more than $600,000 from opioid manufacturers between 2013 and 2016; over the same period, National Pain Foundation chairman Dr. Daniel Bennett received $170,000 from Insys.

   McCaskill’s report notes that nearly all health advocacy organizations receive funding from pharmaceutical companies, but they aren’t by law required to report the donations. “The financial relationships between these groups and opioid manufacturers should be clear to the general public,” she said in a statement. “We passed a law ensuring the public had information on payments to doctors by pharmaceutical companies, and I can’t imagine why the same shouldn’t be done in this space.”

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9. Report Alleges Opioid Makers Bankrolled Patient Groups

   Feb 14, 2018 | Pain News Network

   By Pat Anson

   U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) has released a scathing report that is sharply critical of patient advocacy groups and medical pain societies for accepting money from opioid manufacturers.

   The report found that Purdue Pharma, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Mylan, Depomed and Insys Therapeutics provided nearly $9 million to over a dozen non-profits and medical societies from 2012 to 2017.  In many cases, the amount of the donations was not fully disclosed by the recipients.

   “These financial relationships were insidious, lacked transparency, and are one of the many factors that have resulted in arguably the most deadly drug epidemic in American history,” McCaskill's report alleges.

   Opioid Maker Payments to Advocacy Groups

   Purdue Pharma             

   $4,153,000

   Insys Therapeutics        

   $3,146,000

   Depomed                       

   $1,071,000

   Janssen                            

   $465,000

   Mylan                                 

   $20,250

   Over the same five year period, physicians affiliated with the advocacy groups and medical societies accepted more than $1.6 million in payments from the opioid manufacturers.  

   McCaskill, who is the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has long been critical of opioid prescribing practices and the role they played in fueling the so-called opioid epidemic.  Her report suggests that advocacy groups that criticized the CDC’s 2016 opioid prescribing guidelines did so to curry favor with drug makers -- not because of the well-documented harm the guidelines were causing pain patients.  

   “Initiatives from the groups in this report often echoed and amplified messages favorable to increased opioid use — and ultimately, the financial interests of opioid manufacturers. These groups have issued guidelines and policies minimizing the risk of opioid addiction and promoting opioids for chronic pain, lobbied to change laws directed at curbing opioid use, and argued against accountability for physicians and industry executives responsible for overprescription and misbranding,” the report found.

   "The fact that these same manufacturers provided millions of dollars to the groups described below suggests, at the very least, a direct link between corporate donations and the advancement of opioids friendly messaging. By aligning medical culture with industry goals in this way, many of the groups described in this report may have played a significant role in creating the necessary conditions for the U.S. opioids epidemic."   

   Top 10 Recipients of Funding from Opioid Makers

   U.S. Pain Foundation

   $2.922,000

   American Academy of Integrative Pain Management    

   $1,265,000

   American Academy of Pain Medicine       

   $1,199,000

   American Pain Society                                                    

    $962,000

   National Pain Foundation                                                  

   $562,000

   Washington Legal Foundation                                          

   $500,000

   American Chronic Pain Association                                  

   $417,000

   American Society of Pain Management Nursing               

   $323,000

   AAPM Foundation                                                             

   $304,000

   Center for Practical Bioethics                                            

   $163,000

   "Sen. McCaskill and the others haven’t spent the necessary time talking to us to understand how we do things and what we have to offer," Bob Twillman, PhD, Executive Director of the American Academy of Integrative Pain Management said in a statement. "It appears that they’ve simply looked at how much money we got from a set of pharma companies, constructed a narrative about what that means, and published it."

   Perhaps the most surprising detail in the report is the amount of money Insys Therapeutics gave to the U.S. Pain Foundation – over $3.1 million --- with $2.5 million paid in 2017 alone. Insys is the manufacturer of Subsys, a potent fentanyl-based spray that has been blamed for hundreds of overdose deaths.

   Former Insys executives and sales representatives have been charged with racketeering and bribing doctors to prescribe Subsys off label to non-cancer patients. The Arizona drug maker has also been accused of misleading and defrauding insurance companies to pay for Subsys, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars for each 30-day prescription.

   U.S. Pain founder and president Paul Gileno released a statement defending his non-profit's acceptance of the Insys money. He said the funds were used by the organization to fund a co-pay assistance program for cancer patients.   

   "This funding, like any funding we receive, does not influence our values. When it comes to opioids, we believe both that people with legitimate pain have a right to effective care and that systematic changes must be made to address the ongoing opioid crisis," Gileno said.

   McCaskill’s report makes no mention of the increasing role played by illegal opioids, such as heroin and illicit fentanyl, in fueling the opioid epidemic. A recent CDC report blamed illicit fentanyl for over half of the overdoses in ten states -- including McCaskill's home state of Missouri.  

   According to a survey of over 3,100 patients by Pain News Network and the International Pain Foundation, the CDC guidelines have reduced access to pain care, harmed many patients and caused some to consider suicide. Over 70 percent said their opioid medication had been reduced or cutoff by doctors. One out of ten (11%) said they had obtained opioids illegally for pain relief since the guidelines came out. 

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10. US Pain Foundation Responds to Senator McCaskill Report on Pain Group Funding

    Feb 14, 2018 | National Pain Report

    By Ed Coghlan

    Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill released a report Monday alleging that from 2012 to 2017, leading manufacturers of opioids gave $9 million to pain treatment advocacy groups.

    Here’s how her home state St. Louis Post Dispatch covered the story.

     The report claims the arrangement “may have played a significant role in creating the necessary conditions for the U.S. opioids epidemic.”

     The U.S. Pain Foundation, which we note is a partner of the National Pain Report, had been working with Senator McCaskill as she developed the report. U.S. Pain Foundation President Paul Gileno was very concerned that the report doesn’t tell the entire story of what the funding does.

     “Sadly, Senator McCaskill’s office did not use all of the information we sent over about our funding and how we use it,” he said. “We were transparent and explained how we use all of our funding and how it helped our hands-on programs and services to help people with pain.”

     Later in the day, Gileno’s organization put out the following statement:

    U.S. Pain Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to serving the 100 million Americans living with chronic pain. As an organization entirely comprised of people with pain and their caregivers, we work hard to offer effective programs to educate, empower, connect, and advocate for people with debilitating chronic illnesses.

     In order to provide these programs, we receive funding from a number of sources, including pharmaceutical companies. Our donors are listed publicly on the transparency section of our website, and the funding we receive is not used to promote one type of treatment over another. We promote a balanced, multidisciplinary approach to pain care. Doctors and their patients must weigh the benefits and the risks of all pain management options and work together to decide on the right treatment plan.

     A report was recently published detailing the funding that patient advocacy and physician organizations receive from manufacturers of pain medications. U.S. Pain Foundation is included in this report. It is important to clarify that $2.5 of the $2.9 million of funding received in the last five years goes toward a large copay assistance program for cancer patients dealing with pain. The program helps to cover the high costs of treatment. The program is not limited to any specific type or brand of pain medication. (If you would like to know more about this program, please contact us.)

     This funding, like any funding we receive, does not influence our values. When it comes to opioids, we believe both that people with legitimate pain have a right to effective care and that systematic changes must be made to address the ongoing opioid crisis. As a patient advocacy organization, we support the discovery and development of safer, more effective pain treatments. We also support sensible reforms like prescription monitoring programs, more training for clinicians on screening for and treating chronic pain and substance use disorder, and limits on opioids for acute pain. The chronic pain and substance use disorder patient populations must work together on solutions like these.

    We are very proud of the work we do on behalf of the pain community.

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Commentary and FYIs

11. How a Police Chief, a Governor and a Sociologist Would Spend $100 Billion to Solve the Opioid Crisis

    Feb 14, 2018 | The New York Times

    By Josh Katz

    Link to story online with charts: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/14/upshot/opioid-crisis-solutions.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

    The American opioid epidemic has defied all efforts to contain it, and the number of overdose deaths continues to grow. President Trump directed the Department of Health and Human Services to declare the opioid crisis a public health emergency in October and said “we have to do something about it” in his State of the Union address, but his administration has yet to pursue a specific strategy.

    We asked 30 experts to think big, but realistically, about solutions. Imagine you had $100 billion to spend over five years — a little less than current federal domestic H.I.V./AIDS spending — to address the opioid crisis. Where would you put that money?

    Here, in aggregate, is what our panel said:

    The consensus of the experts was that any effective strategy should include funding for four major areas: treatment, harm reduction, and both demand- and supply-focused solutions. The answer above is an average, as our panelists disagreed about the best way to divide up the money they were considering.

    Our panel spent more money on treatment programs than anything else. (Over two million Americans are currently estimated to have a problem with opioids.) It was the top priority for more than 20 of the experts.

    There was substantial disagreement about whether to focus on treating addiction or on trying to prevent the addiction from forming in the first place by addressing the underlying social issues that allow opioid addiction to thrive.

    Our answers also suggest that the severity of the opioid crisis is breaking down longstanding divisions between public health officials and law enforcement, with over two-thirds of our panel including increased funding for law enforcement or international interdiction efforts. (Most of our panelists are public health and policy experts; others are politicians and law enforcement officials who have dealt with the crisis extensively.)

    One point of agreement: No panelist spent any of the hypothetical $100 billion on a border wall with Mexico.

    Panelists who emphasized treatment

    Each chart above depicts a single panelist’s budget, with the size of the boxes corresponding to the share of proposed spending.

    For the panelists who emphasized treatment, expanding access to medication-assisted treatment — like methadone and buprenorphine — was at the top of the list. Robust evidencesupports these kinds of medications to treat opioid addiction, with systematic reviews showing they cut mortality rates by more than half.

    Another large chunk of money went to expanding Medicaid, which is a primary source of funding for addiction treatment and also reduces the uninsured population. Our panel dismissed an idea suggested by some Republican senators that Medicaid fueled the opioid epidemic. On the contrary, said Jay Unick, a professor at the University of Maryland, Medicaid expansion would be “the most important intervention for improving outcomes related to the opiate epidemic,” arguing that “all the other interventions discussed here only work if individuals have access to quality health care.”

    Everyone thought at least some money should go toward addictiontreatment in jails and prisons. Many people who are severely addicted end up incarcerated at some point. Almost 90 percent of inmates with substance-use disorders receive no medical treatment for them, which experts say leaves them prone to relapse and overdose when they are freed.

    Pre-trial diversion programs are designed to keep people out of the prison system altogether by sending low-level drug offenders into treatment and social services. The panel also allocated a significant fraction of money toward more research — not just into which kinds of treatments are most effective, but also into which public policy interventions can have the most impact.

    Panelists who emphasized demand

    The primary divide among panelists was treating addiction versus preventing addiction by reducing demand. The largest share of money in the latter category went to community development — such as child care, family services, job training — to revitalize communities and strengthen the social safety net.

    “Until we provide people with an alternative source of dopamine, in the form of family connections, meaningful work and a sense of purpose in their lives, the problem of addiction will continue to grow,” said Dr. Anna Lembke, the medical director of addiction medicine at Stanford.

    There were also significant allocations for post-incarceration social programs to help the incarcerated re-integrate into society. Several pointed to research showing that inmates are most at risk for relapse and death just after they are released from confinement.

    Many public health experts are skeptical about education and advertising campaigns. Roughly half of our panelists allocated less than a percentage point of their budgets toward this effort.

    But education doesn’t always mean a DARE-style campaign in schools, an approach considered generally ineffective. It can mean educating doctors and the general public. That’s the kind of program envisioned by Dr. G Caleb Alexander, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness, who argued for “a mass media campaign that includes messages regarding prevention, treatment and recovery” in addition to “targeted outreach to clinicians to improve their ability both to manage chronic non-cancer pain as well as to identify and treat those with opioid addiction.”

    Finally, research into alternative pain therapies claimed a smaller share of our panel's budget. Several panelists argued that such therapies — including acetaminophen, ibuprofen and many others— already exist. Others apportioned money here but stressed that they would focus it on researching the underlying causes of addiction.

    Panelists who emphasized harm reduction

    Harm reduction rests on the idea that if you can't stop drug use, you should at least make it safer. This category includes syringe exchange services and development of vaccines and treatment for H.I.V. and hepatitis. In general, these measures had wide support among our panel while requiring a smaller amount of funding.

    Most of our panelists allocated at least one percent of their money toward increasing the distribution of naloxone, an overdose antidote. Only three of the 30 did not put any money here. “Naloxone is safe, effective and it saves lives,” Dr. Alexander said. That includes the lives of emergency personnel, local law enforcement officers and drug-sniffing dogs, all of whom can come into contact with fentanyl inadvertently.

    Drug checking services, which would allow people to test drugs for the presence of fentanyl or other contaminants, and supervised consumption spaces, where people could use drugs under medical supervision, are meant to reduce both the likelihood of an overdose and the chance that it leads to death.

    Supervised consumption spaces are in use in Europe and in Canada, which is dealing with a fentanyl crisis of its own, but they are illegal under federal law in the United States. Nevertheless, local governments in Philadelphia and Seattle are planning the first sanctioned sites in the country, and at least one unsanctioned sitehas been operating in secret for several years.

    Panelists who emphasized supply

    Reducing opioid supply isn't always about law enforcement. Electronic databases for monitoring opioid prescriptions are a proven method for reducing opioid prescribing. They can also be used to identify those at risk of opioid addiction and guide them into treatment.

    Public health experts are typically skeptical of law enforcement approaches, but several panelists designated small amounts for interdiction. The reason is the emergence of fentanyl, which has been entering the country almost entirely from Mexico and China. “No one in the public health community would say that we should let China keep sending fentanyl to the United States,” said Jon Zibbell, a public health scientist at RTI International.

    Nevertheless, Keith Humphreys, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford, said, “Too many people in the public health community see police as the enemy, when they should see them as valuable partners in responding to the opioid epidemic.”

    Of our 30 panelists, just under a third would not commit money toward increased funding for local police, drug task forces or international interdiction (this includes screening of border traffic and international mail, increased staffing/support at customs checkpoints and the development of enhanced narcotics detection techniques).

    A small sum went to programs for reducing diversion of prescription opioids, like drug take-back initiatives and the development of secure prescription containers. Dr. Andrew Kolodny, the co-director for opioid policy research at Brandeis University, argued there's no need for anything so elaborate, noting that the F.D.A. recommends simply flushing extra pills down the toilet.

    President Trump has repeatedly spoken in ways that suggest he views the crisis primarily as a law enforcement problem that can be solved with harsher legal penalties for drug dealers and a border wall with Mexico. But none of the 30 panelists we asked would commit a single dollar to the effort. In their view, such a wall would have no effect on curbing the opioid epidemic.

    In addition to the argument that the real problem is prescription opioids, there was no support among our panel for the idea that a wall would be effective in keeping out opioids like heroin and illicitly manufactured fentanyl. J. Scott Thomson, the Camden County, N.J., chief of police and president of the Police Executive Research Forum, highlighted this point. “For any parent that has experienced the unimaginable pain of burying a child that has overdosed, a wall would not have prevented your tragedy,” he said. “The No. 1 entry point for fentanyl into this country is J.F.K. Airport via U.S. Mail, postmarked from China.”

    This is far from an exhaustive list of solutions, but it provides a rough guide for how to prioritize future spending, written by those with deep experience in studying and confronting the opioid epidemic.

    As many of our panelists pointed out, some of the most important changes will come not from spending on new programs but from cultural shifts like reducing the stigma of addiction and changing how we think about pain. Our panel also cited changes in federal law — increasing addiction training for physicians, reforming the pharmaceutical industry and removing federal restrictions on prescribing buprenorphine — that would be critical in addressing the epidemic.

    Many expressed frustration at the pace of federal action to curb the rising number of deaths. Last week, the government reached a budget deal that included an additional $6 billion to combat the crisis, but the details of how that money will be spent remain unclear.

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12. Opioid maker changes tack as scrutiny mounts

    Feb 13, 2018 | AFP

    By Staff

    Accused of profiting from a deadly opioid crisis ravaging middle class America, the maker of the world's best-selling pain medication said Tuesday it is changing tack in the face of increasing scrutiny.

    Purdue Pharma, a privately-held firm that made the fortune of the Sackler family of philanthropists, confirmed on Twitter that it is asking business representatives not to encourage doctors to prescribe the anti-pain medications often abused by addicts.

    "We have restructured and significantly reduced our commercial operation & our sales representatives will no longer promote opioids to prescribers," Purdue Pharma said.

    Oversubscription of pain medications has led to dependence by millions of Americans and an explosion of fatal overdoses.

    Purdue Pharma is among manufacturers named by New York City in a $500 million lawsuit filed in January to recoup costs that could help battle the escalating opioid crisis.

    The deadly toll from overdoses in New York doubled between 2010 and 2016, when more than 1,000 people died from opioid excess.

    More New Yorkers died from opioid overdoses than from car accidents and homicides combined.

    The lawsuit, like hundreds of others, accuses manufacturers of deceptive marketing and distributors of over-supplying prescription painkillers, burdening the city with increased health care, criminal justice and law enforcement costs.

    President Donald Trump in October described the opioid crisis as a national public health emergency.

    An estimated 2.4 million Americans are addicted to opiates, the narcotics that include prescription painkillers, as well as heroin.

    OxyContin, sold by Purdue Pharma, is the world's most popular anti-pain medication and made the fortune of the Sackler family, among the country's biggest philanthropic dynasties.

    The company's founding brothers Mortimer and Arthur Sackler are dead but their name lives on at multiple museums in the United States, in London and in Paris at the Louvre.

    Other Sackler family members still sit, quietly, on Purdue Pharma's board of directors.

    In October, The New Yorker magazine said that OxyContin generated $35 billion to Purdue Pharma since it went on the market in 1995, a large part of which went to the Sacklers.

    But the family remains discrete about its links with Purdue Pharma. The group's website does not identify Sacklers who serve on the company's board.

    In January, American photographer Nan Goldin began a public campaign about the link between opioids and the wealthy philanthropists.

    A former opioid addict, she formed the group PAIN (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) and launched the hashtag #ShameonSackler.

    The aim is to push Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers to finance programs for treatment and prevention, to limit prescriptions for opioids and to publicize their dangers.

    - 'Morally abhorrent' -

    Goldin also called on museums and universities that benefited from the Sacklers' largesse to refuse future donations.

    Paradoxically, her crusade received support from Elizabeth Sackler, a daughter of Arthur, who told American media that "the opioid epidemic is a national crisis and Purdue Pharma's role in it is morally abhorrent to me."

    She underlined that her father, who died in 1987, played no role in the development and commercialization of OxyContin and his stake in Purdue Pharma was sold to brothers Mortimer and Raymond.

    "None of his descendants have ever owned a share of Purdue stock nor benefited in any way from it or the sale of OxyContin," she said.

    Purdue Pharma posted on its website a warning about the effects of opioids and said it is committed "to being part of the solution by partnering with local law enforcement, state and local government agencies, and community groups across the country."

    But, according to a report made public Monday by Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill, Purdue Pharma financially supported the Washington Legal Foundation, a group that in 2016 criticized recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention aimed at limiting the prescription of opioids for cases of chronic pain.

    The report lists a long series of medical associations specialized in the treatment of pain that Purdue Pharma and other producers have aided financially.

    "Organizations receiving substantial funding from manufacturers have, in fact, amplified and reinforced messages favoring increased opioid use," McCaskill said.

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13. 75-Year-Old 'Kingpin Granny' Charged For Distributing Opioid In Tennessee

    Feb 14, 2018 | International Business Times

    By Ayushman Basu

    A Tennessee woman, aged 75, was arrested Friday for allegedly distributing opioid from her home.

    Betty Jean Jordan, dubbed “Kingpin Granny” by the police authorities, was arrested at her home in Parsons, Decatur County in Tennessee. According to a report by WWAY, a CBS, ABC and CW affiliated television station, Decatur County Sheriff officials said Jordan was selling prescription drugs to people.

    As part of an ongoing probe into sale of prescription pills, Jordan’s house was searched by the investigators where they discovered and confiscated more than 1,000 prescription pills, which included the likes of Morphine, Xanax and Oxycodone. The investigators also seized $12000 in cash and assets, the report said.

    The charges on Jordan include three counts of manufacturing, sale and delivery and possession of drugs, two counts of possession of a legend drug with intent, one count of possession of a legend drug and one count of evading arrest.

    Jordan was sent to the Decatur County Detention Center on Friday and was released with a $50,000 bond. The investigation is still underway and more arrests are expected to be made.

    Tennessee’s history with opioid epidemic was not good. According to a September 2017 report by WREG, a CBS-affiliated television station, more than 1,600 people died in Tennessee due to drug overdose in 2016, which was a 21 percent increase from 2015.

    One of the major reasons for the number deaths going up was the usage of fentanyl. Deaths related to fentanyl overdose rose from 169 in 2015 to 294 in 2016, which marked a 74 percent increase. People in the age groups of 25-34 were the worst hit with 114 deaths in 2016, which was a massive increase from 42 in 2015.

    Usage of heroin was another driving factor. As many as 260 deaths due to heroin were reported in 2016 — a 26 percent increase from 2015, and deaths related to opioids and stimulants such as methamphetamine rose from 65 in 2015 to 111 in 2016, the report said.

    These statistics resulted in Tennessee leading the way in a multi-state investigation into the manufacturing and distribution of opioids in the United States. Lawyers in 41 states had issued subpoenas to numerous companies which included Endo, Janssen, Cardinal Health and McKesson asking them to show documents and other related information on their drug distribution methods.

    Attorney General and Reporter for the State of Tennessee, Herbert H. Slatery III, said, “The opioid crisis impacts all of us, and is a threat to families in every community in Tennessee and across the country.”

    “We will use all resources available to identify and hold accountable those parties responsible. There is too much at stake not to attack this problem from all sides,” added Slatery III.

    Also, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report released in July 2017, three Tennessee counties, namely Campbell County, Claiborne County and Cocke County, were included in a list of U.S. counties that used most opioid painkillers per capita annually.

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14. Our View: Trump’s plan to fight opioids has a lot to like (EDITORIAL)

    Feb 14, 2018 | Portland Press-Herald (ME)

    By Staff

    A president’s budget proposal is more a statement of his priorities than a spending plan, as Congress typically tosses it aside quickly in favor of its own work. And for most of the Trump administration’s budget, a cruel and irresponsible proposal released Monday, the bottom of a trash can would be too good of an end.

    But before the proposal is thrown promptly into the proverbial circular file cabinet, Congress should rip out the section on the opioid epidemic. For the first time, the Trump administration has provided a hint on how it wants to fight the deadly crisis – and there is a lot to like. As long as you ignore the bad stuff.

    First off, Trump’s proposal offers funding that attempts to meet the size of the epidemic – $13 billion in new funding over two years, following the $6 billion Congress included in the two-year budget approved earlier this year.

    For context, the United States spent $24 billion a year on HIV/AIDS at the peak of that crisis in the mid-1990s, when it claimed around 41,000 lives a year.

    Last year, opioid overdoses killed 64,000 Americans, and the epidemic is estimated to have cost the U.S. economy $1 trillion and counting since 2001. Costs may exceed $500 billion for the next three years as the crisis worsens.

    Secondly, the proposal embraces what the police officers and treatment providers on the ground of the epidemic have been saying for years – that this crisis will be overcome only when proven forms of treatment and rehabilitation are available everywhere.

    Trump’s budget would expand grants to states for prevention, treatment and recovery support services. More importantly, it suggests expanding Medicaid coverage of medication-assisted treatment.

    More details are needed here, but just putting medication-assisted treatment at the head of the discussion is a step forward. Medications such as methadone or buprenorphine are the most effective form of intervention available, yet they are – inexcusably – still scarcely available. Making them more accessible could save thousands of lives.

    The budget is not all rosy on this topic, however. Any progress resulting from this plan could be negated by initiatives elsewhere in the budget, and in the administration.

    The budget calls for significant cuts in Medicaid, through which 40 percent of nonsenior adults with addiction get their health care coverage. Again, the administration wants to repeal Obamacare, which some experts feel could wipe outany gains from the increased spending on addiction.

    The spending plan also, once again, attempts to all but eliminate the Office of National Drug Control Policy. That’s after the president nominated for its director a congressman who had sought to limit the Drug Enforcement Administration’s ability to investigate the opioid manufacturers and distributors who contributed so heavily to the start of the epidemic.

    Trump has also put Kellyanne Conway, a political operative with no public health experience, in charge of his office’s response to the opioid epidemic. Reports indicate that Conway has frozen out addiction experts; her group’s contribution to the debate so far has been to back the useless and costly Mexican border wall, and to call for a renewal of the widely discredited “just say no” campaign.

    It’s hard to make sense of such conflicting actions, and there’s really no reason to. We’ll just say that the president has offered a real plan for the opioid epidemic, one based on evidence and experience, and we’ll forget the rest. Congress should, too.

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15. Purdue Pharma Begins to Tackle America’s Opioid Crisis

    Feb 13, 2018 | Liberty Voice

    By Cathy Milne

    Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin®, a semisynthetic opiate, announced they will no longer encourage physicians to prescribe their drug to patients. While their action is a positive move toward tackling America’s opioid crisis, this is but one manufacturer and only one trade name.

    When not referring to an opioid by its brand name, these highly addictive and often deadly drugs are identified using generic terminology. Each of the following is used by manufacturers to create their prescription drug:

    Hydrocodone

    Oxycodone

    Methadone

    Fentanyl

    Morphine

    Natural, synthetic, and semisynthetic opiate-related deaths have risen at an alarming rate. Official stats between 1999 and 2016 reflected significant increases; 6.1 of 100,000 individuals compared to 19.8. These numbers include heroin users as well.

    In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported more than 63,600 people died from overdoses of these drugs. Forty percent of these were individuals who died while using prescriptions.

    Fentanyl and variations, called analogs, are prescription painkillers. Some studies seem to indicate that Fentynal is the number one cause of opioid deaths, mainly when they are used in combination with heroin or cocaine. According to data listed on the website of Levin Papantonio, a law firm reviewing the cases brought against the distributors:

    Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, and 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin. One fentanyl analog, Carfentanil®, is 5,000 times stronger than heroin. An amount as small as a few drops of sand can be fatal. The drug is so powerful that even when numerous doses of the antidote naloxone (Narcan®) are timely administered, the person will be lucky to survive.

    In fact, lawsuits are mounting against opioid manufacturers. The suits claim the pharmaceutical companies relentless promotion of their products contributed to the epidemic. Purdue Pharma is one of the numerous drug companies such as McKesson Corporation, Covidien, Cardinal Health, Watson Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (Janssen Pharmaceuticals), Allergan (Actavis), AmerisourceBergen, and more.

    Whether or not these lawsuits change the availability of opioids will have an effect on drug-related deaths is yet to be determined, but Purdue Pharma’s move to begin tackling their part in the epidemic a beginning.

    Certainly, opioids have changed the public concept of drug abusers. Accordingly, instead of the homeless or African-Americans being the face of the opioid epidemic, middle-class Caucasians residing in rural America make up the largest group of individuals dying.

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16. Purdue Pharma Is Done Promoting Opioids. Here’s Why It’s a Big Deal.

    Feb 13, 2018 | Fortune

    By Anna Lembke

    It’s a harried morning in the clinic when suddenly there’s a good-looking guy at my office door holding out a steaming cup of coffee and a freshly baked muffin.

    “Dr. Lembke,” he says, “I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by and say ‘Hi.’ Here, I brought you some coffee and a snack. I was hoping you might have a moment to chat about some exciting new information I think you’ll appreciate.”

    “I’m so sorry,” I say, taking the coffee and the muffin he’s straight-arming my way. “I wish I could.” And I really do. I’d love to spend a few moments indulging in a cup of Joe with a hunky guy. “But I’m in the middle of a busy clinic day…”

    “No problem,” he says, smiling brightly and thereby absolving me of my guilt. “I’ll just leave the information with you.” He hands me a couple of brochures and some sciency-looking articles.

    “Great! Thanks so much. I’ll definitely read these the second I get a chance.” He leaves. I slurp, and dash off to see my next patient.

    When I get a moment later in the day, I scan the brochures he left and read through the abstract of the article. I get the gist. Drug X, let’s call it, the one made by the company the hunky guy works for, is more effective with less risk than its competitors. That afternoon, I see a patient with a problem that Drug X is meant to fix, and I prescribe it.

    If you were to ask me the same day if I prescribed it because of the hunky guy and the treats, I would say, “No way! You think I’m that easily bought? I prescribed it because, well, it happens to be an effective drug … I just read an article about it …”

    Numerous studies show that even small gifts given to doctors can influence prescribing, whether or not doctors think they’re immune to promotion. ProPublica reported on the effects of gifts on prescribing for 150,323 physicians, and found that internists, family physicians, cardiologists, psychiatrists, and ophthalmologists who received any gifts from drug or device manufacturers prescribed a higher percentage of branded drugs overall than doctors who received no gifts.

    So the fact that Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin—the opioid pain reliever at the heart of the current opioid epidemic—announced on Saturday that it will no longer send out drug reps to market opioids to doctors, is actually a pretty big deal. It’s an admission of sorts that drug reps really do influence prescribing practices, an about face from previous messaging from drug companies, which implied that doctors make prescribing decisions based on the fine print on package inserts (the magnifying-glass worthy document tucked inside the box the drug comes in).

    Although drug reps are just one small piece of the puzzle, and heroin and illicit fentanyl account for at least half of all opioid overdose deaths today, prescription opioids are still a huge part of the problem, and opioid prescribing has decreased only 15% to 20% since its peak in 2012, despite widespread awareness of the epidemic.

    Will cutting Purdue’s sales force and eliminating OxyContin drug reps solve the opioid crisis? Of course not. The damage has already been done. But it’s a symbolic gesture, and as such counts for something. Two points for Purdue.

    What will make a difference? Actively re-educating doctors about the real risks (there are lots) and benefits (not very many) of opioids used long-term to treat chronic pain. Creating access and reliable insurance coverage for quality opioid addiction treatment. Providing de-prescribing clinics for those dependent on dangerously high doses of opioids, but not necessarily addicted, who will need time, compassion, and support tapering off. Promoting non-opioid, non-medication treatments for chronic pain (physical therapy, massage, mind-body work).

    A big question is who should pay for the remedy, or more to the point, should opioid manufacturers like Purdue Pharma foot the bill? That question will be answered in federal court, where Judge Dan Polster is presiding over a multi-district litigation case against opioid manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. To my mind, there’s plenty of evidence to date that opioid manufacturers like Purdue Pharma had a huge hand in the epidemic, and should be held partly responsible for the public health tragedy we face today.

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17. Facebook joins effort to fight opioid crisis in New Mexico

    Feb 13, 2018 | Associated Press

    By Russell Contreras

    Facebook is launching an effort to help fight the opioid crisis in New Mexico — a state that has battled heroin addiction for decades, the social media giant announced Tuesday.

    The tech company said it will work with New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas to show Facebook users how they can use its digital tools to combat addiction.

    Ana Martinez, head of Facebook's community engagement for the U.S. Southwest, said the social media company's online groups offer families support and information to fight addiction.

    "A great example of this is actually 'Facing Addiction', which is a Facebook page started by a nonprofit," Martinez said before Facebook brought together health experts and advocates in Albuquerque for training Tuesday. "They currently have 60,000 followers on their Facebook page."

    The members of the page started a more intimate forum where those impacted by addiction to find comfort and support, Martinez said.

    For years, New Mexico has battled heroin addiction that has claimed generations of families in places like Espanola, New Mexico. That history of an epidemic made the state a natural place for Facebook to experiment with an anti-opioid addiction campaign.

    The move comes as Facebook is preparing to open a data center in central New Mexico.

    But the Menlo Park, California-based company also faces criticism for allowing sellers to use its platform to offer illegal drugs and for not monitoring fictitious news on its pages.

    Prosecutors in the northern Mexico border state of Sonora this week said they captured nine people for allegedly offering drugs to minors via Facebook and messaging apps. The state detectives' agency said a gang sold marijuana and meth to youths, with messages advertising certain drugs and prices.

    Last year, a CNBC investigation found that sellers in the U.S. and overseas were using Facebook pages and videos to offer opioids that U.S. laws say require a prescription.

    Unilever, the world's second-biggest advertiser, also recently threatened to pull advertising from Facebook and Google if both didn't improve monitoring of fake news stories.

    And Seattle's elections watchdog said last week Facebook is violating a Seattle law that requires the company to reveal who pays for political advertising on its influential social media platform.

    Martinez said the company planned to double the company's security team to 20,000 people this year to monitor fake news and other prohibited material. It currently has 10,000 people staff for that purpose.

    "We do not allow the buying, the selling or trading of drugs on our platforms," she said.

    Facebook encourages users to help flag inappropriate content so that the company's staff can remove it, Martinez added.

    Balderas said he welcomed Facebook's efforts in New Mexico to help battle the state's persistent opioid crisis and looked forward to working with Facebook.

    "I believe this is the type of effort that can save lives," he said. "I am excited they are willing to be partners in this public safety crisis."

    Balderas is suing in state district court a number of the nation's largest opioid manufacturers and three major wholesale distributors, alleging that the companies exacerbated opioid abuse in New Mexico.

    The lawsuit accuses opioid manufacturers of aggressively pushing highly addictive and dangerous drugs and falsely representing to doctors that patients would rarely succumb to addiction.

    New Mexico's drug overdose death rate is 25.2 per 100,000 residents while the U.S. national average is 19.8 per 100,000 residents.

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MDL

18. Judge silences parties involved in opioid settlement discussions

    Feb 13, 2018 | Cecil Whig (MD)

    By Katie Tabeling

    Attorneys and opioid manufacturer representatives were ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Dan Polster last week to keep quiet about settlement discussions — that impact hundreds of local municipalities including Cecil County — that occur behind closed doors.

    Polster wrote a two-paragraph order that instructed participants in the upcoming negotiations, including counsel and consultants, “shall maintain strict confidentiality as to the contents of those discussions.”

     Cecil County’s lawsuit against several pharmaceutical companies is one of 250 similar claims filed in courts across the nation that were consolidated into one pretrial proceeding before Polster. Burton LeBlanc of Baron & Budd P.C., the county’s lead counsel in this matter, alleges that 23 companies funneled opioids into the country through advertisements and ignored signs they were creating an epidemic.

     The opioid crisis has cost the United States more than $1 trillion since 2001, according to a recent study published by Altarum, a nonprofit group that studies the health economy. That figure comes in the form of lost wages, health care costs, tax revenue and criminal justice costs.

     Polster is using this opportunity to launch an opioid summit on Jan. 31, with his personal goal to reduce the number of drugs that are smuggled into illicit markets. Proceedings were closed to the press and the public ostensibly to reach a global settlement with companies frequently named in these lawsuits.

     Information still leaked to the press, as various attorneys spoke with media outlets after the meetings, both on or off the record. Bloomberg published a story on Feb. 2 that extensively detailed these close-door discussions, specifically that local government officials lobbied taking OxyContin, a drug made by Purdue Pharma, off the market to abate the opioid crisis.

     Days later, Polster issued a order that spelled out what involved parties could discuss publicly about the opioid summit.

     "Attorneys, parties, and officials may publicly state they have met, or will meet, but nobody is to disclose to the media or any other outside party the contents of the discussions, or provide to the media assessments or commentary regarding those discussions," Polster wrote in the order dated Feb. 6.

     Where Cecil County stands in the push for a global settlement from opioid manufacturers and distributors remains to be seen, as County Attorney Jason Alexander said that he has not heard from LeBlanc recently.

     “We have not discussed, in depth, whether we will participate in the settlement that the judge is pushing,” Allison said in a Monday email.

     As of Tuesday, LeBlanc was unavailable for comment.

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Northeast (MA, DE, NY)

19. Lowell Council weighs joining suits against opioid makers

    Feb 14, 2018 | Lowell Sun (MA)

    By Todd Feathers

    The city may soon join the growing list of municipalities, counties, and states suing drug manufacturers for improperly marketing prescription opioids that have contributed to a devastating addiction epidemic.
    
    

    On Tuesday, several city councilors expressed initial support for joining such a lawsuit. With two members absent, the council ultimately voted unanimously to refer the matter to the Law Department for a recommendation.

    "I feel strongly that pharmaceutical companies need to be held accountable for this," said Councilor Rodney Elliott, who brought forward the motion.

    Over the past several years, scores of state and local governments have sued some of the nation's leading drug manufacturers. At least three cities in Massachusetts have filed such lawsuits: Greenfield, Charlton, and Quincy.

    Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has also partnered with 40 other states' attorneys general to investigate a handful of drug manufacturers and distributors.

    On Tuesday, the council also:

    n Requested that the city manager contact the Department of Mental Health and Lowell's Statehouse delegation regarding the closing of Lowell Treatment Center.

    n Requested a report on emergency management plans.

    n Requested an update on the Change for Change initiative.

    n Requested an update on the Hamilton Canal Innovation District.

    n Requested an update on the Tanner Street business corridor.

    n Requested that the city manager consider re-establishing the position of downtown coordinator.

    n Canceled meetings scheduled for Feb. 20 and April 17.

    n Received a report on the city's strategy to market itself to new businesses.

    n Received a report on property valuations and budget impact on tax bills.

    n Received an update on major capital projects.

    n Authorized the city manager to make minor changes to the Ayer City Industrial Park Revitalization and Development Plan.

    n Voted to take, by eminent domain, several parcels of land necessary for the development of the Ayer City Industrial Park.

    n Voted to transfer $150,000 to pay for restoration of the Pollard Memorial Library.

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20. What Delaware's opioid lawsuits may accomplish for the state

    Feb 13, 2018 | Delaware Online (DE)

    By Brittany Horn

    More Delaware governments are exploring how they can get back some of what the opioid and heroin epidemic has taken from them.

    Last week, New Castle County announced that it hired a law firm to determine how best to take legal action against Big Pharma, and Monday night, Dover City Council voted to take similar action.

    Both follow state Attorney General Matt Denn's filing of a lawsuit against drug manufacturers, distributors, and drugstores last month, which looks to recoup millions of dollars for the state, for systems including health care, criminal justice, social services and education.

    These lawsuits have become the new norm across America as companies like Purdue Pharma – responsible for manufacturing and distributing drugs like OxyContin – continue to shell out millions in legal settlements.

    Attorneys assert – and often win – claims that those who run these pharmaceutical companies knowingly put addictive drugs into the hands of doctors, pharmacies and other agencies in hopes that they would make it to consumers and further the industry.

    “Opioid manufacturers misrepresented the addictive nature of their products," Denn said. "They, along with national opioid distributors and national pharmacies, knew that they were shipping quantities of opioids around the country so enormous that they could not possibly all be for legitimate medical purposes, but they failed to take basic steps to ensure that those drugs were going only to legitimate patients. ... The failure of these corporate defendants to meet their legal obligations has had a devastating impact on Delawareans."

    The Associated Press reported late last month that more than 300 similar claims have been filed in federal courts across the country and consolidated under Judge Dan Polster, who is based in Cleveland. The federal judge last week issued a gag order to attorneys and others about the closed-door settlement talks involving six state attorney generals, other state representatives and dozens of attorneys.

    Polster has called the epidemic “100 percent man-made” and asserted that other branches of government have “punted” on solving it. He is pushing for a resolution before the case goes to trial.

    Already this year, 24 people have died from suspected overdoses in Delaware, according to the state Department of Health and Social Services. The impact is costing the state millions of dollars to handle, though a concrete figure is difficult to come by.

    “Saving lives is one of the most important services that any government provides,” said New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer. “The conduct of multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical companies has caused significant pain and cost so many New Castle County families the lives of their loved ones. We cannot rest until those causing this are held to account and required to contribute to real solutions.”

    The county retained the law firm of Motley Rice to "lead an investigation of the conduct of relevant companies that have done business in New Castle County, including those involved in the supply and delivery of opioids." The firm previously represented the first municipalities to file opioid-related cases in 2014 and also serves as co-lead counsel in the national multi-district opioid litigation.

    In Dover, city council approved the hiring of Marc J. Bern & Partners, a New York-based firm that has experience in opioid-related lawsuits. City Councilman Tanner Polce said the decision occurred in executive session and came after a unanimous vote.

    "If you look at the origin of the proliferation of opioid addiction, it really starts with a decision of mass marketing and pushing product from pharmaceutical companies in the '90s," Polce said. "I think this was a really proactive measure that the city took."

    Polce, who also serves as the policy director for Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, deals with this issue of addiction on a daily basis, but said the impact to his own constituents in Dover and Kent County hit home recently in an annual report from Delaware State Police Troop 3.

    The troop reported calls to more than 200 overdoses in 2017, he said. Last year's final overdose numbers have not yet been released, but the state health department's running online tally indicated at least 233 people died from suspected overdoses at the close of 2017.

    Polce stressed, too, that taxpayer dollars will not fund the lawsuit, but rather, will be supported on a contingency basis – as is the case for New Castle County's suit.

    "My concern, for my constituents, is that I want to make sure that some of those dollars are recouped for the city of Dover," he said, adding that the money could then be used toward education, awareness, and early intervention for drug addiction, as it was during the tobacco company settlements.

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21. Dover City Council votes to sue Big Pharma

    Feb 13, 2018 | ABC 47 (DE)

    By Danielle Jackson

    The Dover City Council voted to sue Big Pharma at their council meeting, on Monday evening.

    According to city officials, the Council voted unanimously to approve a motion to retain Marc J. Bern and Partners, and all other required associates, to file suit, per the terms discussed, against recommended pharmaceutical companies that mass manufacturer and distribute opioids, in which the Council believes is a root of the opioid addiction epidemic.

    Councilman Tanner Polce says that the council is the first municipality in the state to take this action.

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22. Cayuga County one step closer to joining class action opioid lawsuit

    Feb 14, 2018 | Auburn Pub (NY)

    By Gwendolyn Craig

    A Cayuga County Legislature committee has unanimously voted for the county to join a class action lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies that manufacture opioids.

    Legislators at the Government Operations Committee meeting Tuesday night discussed which law firm to hire, ultimately going with the committee's recommendation from October, New York City law firm Napoli Shkolnik PLLC. 

    While the committee unanimously passed the hire and joining of the suit, Legislator Tucker Whitman voiced some concerns he had. The multi-county lawsuit claims that there's a link between addiction to prescription drugs and substance abuse. Whitman said he'd yet to receive an answer on how much documentation the county has on whether prescription opioid medications are leading to drug addiction and use in Cayuga County specifically. 

    "I'm a little leery," he said. "I guess we don't have a lot to lose."

    Cayuga County Administrator J. Justin Woods said he expected the attorneys the county hires would help county staff walk through how to find that information. 

    "There's no coincidence that this is a national epidemic," Woods said. "I think the bigger issue is addressing the problem and creating accountability."

    Onondaga County has already joined the lawsuit in addition to about a dozen other New York counties. States across the nation are also seeking damages against pharmaceutical companies.

    The resolution authorizing the litigation still needs to go through the Ways and Means Committee and the full Legislature. According to the county's online calendar, Ways and Means will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20 in the Sixth Floor Chambers of the Cayuga County Office Building, 160 Genesee St., Auburn. 

    In other news: 

    • The Ward W. O'Hara Agricultural Museum could soon be getting a new garage to exhibit two antique Model T cars and farm equipment. The Legislature's Public Works Committee passed a resolution for the project Tuesday night. 

    The structure will be paid for completely through donations, and Cayuga County Parks and Trails and Buildings and Grounds Director Gary Duckett said it will not exceed $10,000. 

    The 20-foot by 24-foot garage would be assembled on a runner, thus allowing it to be moved at anytime if necessary, according to project proposal documents. Visitors would not be allowed to enter the garage, but the doors would be opened so they could view its contents. The garage would also be a workshop for repairs of museum equipment. 

    Legislator Joe Bennett asked Duckett whether the building coincided with the Emerson Park Master Plan, a document detailing future projects for the county's park in Owasco. He pointed out that the body had recently dismissed tentative plans from the Cayuga County Agricultural Society for building fairground structures in a similar location. 

    Duckett said it did go along with the park's plan because that document includes supporting the museum and its activities. 

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Midwest (ND, OH)

23. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sues opioid industry

    Feb 13, 2018 | Rapid City Journal (ND)

    By Amy Dalrymple

    The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe filed a lawsuit Monday against major manufacturers and distributors of opioids, joining other tribes that have filed similar lawsuits.

    The case in U.S. District Court in North Dakota against 24 opioid industry defendants seeks monetary damages, alleging the companies have seen “blockbuster profits” while the use of opioids has taken an enormous toll on the tribe.

    It’s the second lawsuit filed by former North Dakota U.S. Attorney Tim Purdon and former South Dakota U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson, who now work for national firm Robins Kaplan.

    “The opioid epidemic has hit Indian County hard, and the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation is no exception,” Purdon said in a statement.

    The complaint notes that Native Americans suffer the highest per capita rate of opioid overdoses. It alleges the defendants used false and misleading advertising and failed to prevent drug diversion, creating a “virtually limitless opioid market.”

    While Purdon was U.S. Attorney, he announced a 14-month federal drug trafficking investigation on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in 2012 that yielded multiple arrests, including several defendants accused of distributing prescription opioids.

    Robins Kaplan attorneys filed a similar lawsuit on behalf of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe and the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate in South Dakota in January. That case is among several lawsuits filed by communities around the country that are consolidated before a federal judge in Ohio.

    Like the South Dakota case, the lawsuit from Standing Rock seeks unspecified damages for allegations of deceptive trade practices, fraudulent and negligent conduct and alleged violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act. It seeks injunctive relief that would prevent defendants from continuing unlawful conduct.

    Purdon said in an interview he thinks additional tribes from the Great Plains will file similar lawsuits.

    John Parker, senior vice president of the trade association Healthcare Distribution Alliance, said in a statement that the abuse of prescription opioids is a complex challenge that requires “a collaborative and systemic response.”

    “Given our role, the idea that distributors are responsible for the number of opioid prescriptions written defies common sense and lacks understanding of how the pharmaceutical supply chain actually works and is regulated,” Parker said. “Those bringing lawsuits would be better served addressing the root causes, rather than trying to redirect blame through litigation.”

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24. Standing Rock Sioux lawsuit targets drug companies

    Feb 13, 2018 | KFGO (ND)

    By Jim Monk

    North Dakota's Standing Rock Sioux has become the latest American Indian tribe to file a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies for the opioid epidemic.

    In a complaint filed in federal court, the tribe says drug companies "flooded the market with opioids and pocketed billions of dollars in the process."

    The complaint says the drug companies also used false statements to persuade doctors and patients that opioids pose a low risk of addiction.

    The tribe is seeking damages to be awarded at trial.

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25. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North and South Dakota sues major opioid manufacturers and distributors

    Feb 13, 2018 | Minnesota Star Tribune (MN)

    By Mark Brunswick

    A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday on behalf of the Standing Rock Sioux alleges that major manufacturers and distributors of opioids created a public health crisis on their reservation by fraudulently concealing the addiction risk of the drugs.

    The tribe, located in North and South Dakota, sued 24 defendants in the opioid industry, seeking damages for what it alleges are violations of federal racketeering laws, deceptive trade practices, and fraudulent and negligent conduct.

    The 102-page complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in North Dakota, says the American Indian community has been particularly hard hit by the opioid epidemic.

    Indians suffer the highest per-capita rate of opioid overdoses, and pregnant Indian women are more than eight times more likely to be diagnosed with opioid dependency compared with the next highest demographic, the suit alleges. Drug-overdose deaths among all Americans increased by more than 200 percent between 1999 and 2015. At the same time, the death rate rose by more than 500 percent among Indians and native Alaskans, according to the lawsuit.

    As a consequence, the suit alleges, tribal costs have skyrocketed for such things as child welfare and foster care, law enforcement, and health care.

    “The opioid epidemic has hit Indian Country hard, and the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation is no exception,” said Tim Purdon, a former U.S. attorney for North Dakota and a member of the Robins Kaplan legal team that filed the suit on behalf of the tribe.

    Defendants in the case include pharmaceutical manufacturers Purdue Pharma L.P., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., and Allergan PLC, and pharmaceutical distributors McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc., and AmerisourceBergen Corp.

    In response to the suit, the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, the national trade association representing wholesale distributors, said the litigation is misdirected. The alliance includes McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen as members.

    “The misuse and abuse of prescription opioids is a complex public health challenge that requires a collaborative and systemic response that engages all stakeholders,” John Parker, senior vice president of communications for the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, said in a statement. “Given our role, the idea that distributors are responsible for the number of opioid prescriptions written defies common sense and lacks understanding of how the pharmaceutical supply chain actually works and is regulated. Those bringing lawsuits would be better served addressing the root causes, rather than trying to redirect blame through litigation.”

    The suit is the latest among Indian tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas that are taking legal action against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

    Three North and South Dakota tribes filed suit in federal court last month against two dozen companies. Minnesota’s Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe filed a similar suit in December, the same month the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin filed suit against the industries they accuse of minimizing nationwide abuse of prescription narcotics.

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26. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Joins Opioid Lawsuit

    Feb 13, 2018 | KVRR (ND)

    By TJ Nelson

    The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is joining several tribes nationwide in suing major opioid manufacturers and distributors.

    The tribe filed the lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in North Dakota against 24 defendants in the opioid industry.

    It alleges companies used false and misleading advertising and failed to prevent drug diversion.

    The lawsuit also alleges that opioid use has taken an enormous toll on the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe while the defendants have seen “blockbuster profits.”

    The tribe seeks monetary damages.

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27. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sues opioid companies for misleading ads

    Feb 13, 2018 | Associated Press

    By Staff

    The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is suing major opioids manufacturers and distributors, joining several tribes nationwide that have filed similar lawsuits.

    The Bismarck Tribune reports that the tribe filed the lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in North Dakota against 24 defendants in the opioid industry. It alleges companies used false and misleading advertising and failed to prevent drug diversion.

    The lawsuit also alleges that opioid use has taken an enormous toll on the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe while the defendants have seen "blockbuster profits."

    The tribe seeks monetary damages for allegations of deceptive trade practices, fraudulent and negligent conduct and violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act.

    The tribe's attorneys also filed a similar lawsuit on behalf of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe and the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate in January.

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28. Montgomery County joins legal fight against opioid drug companies

    Feb 13, 2018 | Dayton Daily News (OH)

    By Cornelius Frolik

    Montgomery County joins legal fight against opioid drug companiesCornelius Frolik  Staff Writer 3:22 p.m Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018  Dayton Share0DAYTON

    Following in the footsteps of the city of Dayton and the state of Ohio, Montgomery County plans to sue drug companies or others that county officials allege helped cause the opioid addiction and overdose epidemic that has ravaged the Dayton region and communities across the country.

    At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Montgomery County commissioners announced they have approved an agreement with Motley Rice, one of the nation’s largest plaintiffs’ litigation firms, to take legal action against “individuals and entities related to the marketing, prescribing, distribution or sale of opioids.”

    Montgomery County has hired the firm to investigate and then litigate claims related to the marketing and overprescribing of powerful opioid medications, said Mary Montgomery, chief of civil division of the Montomery County prosecutor’s office.

    She said the goal is to hold those people and companies responsible for the opioid crisis accountable for it and try to recover the costs to taxpayers. That includes drug treatment programs, medical care, hospitalizations, law enforcement, prosecution and incarceration, Montgomery said.

    Other costs include caring for the children whose parents have died of a drug overdose or who have lost custody because of their drug use, she said.

    “Any money recovered will be for treatment programs as well as to reimburse the county for all of the expenses just mentioned,” she said.

    Montgomery County has been particularly hard-hit by the opiate crisis, county officials said, noting that between 60 to 70 percent of the bodies in the county morgue last summer were overdose victims.

    In 2016, prescribers in the county wrote almost 93 opioid prescriptions for every 100 residents, and there were more opioid prescriptions written each year between 2006 and 2015 than there were people living in the county, said Montomery.

    “Nationally, the economic toll of the opioid crisis is estimated to have topped $1 trillion from 2001 to 2017,” she said.

    Motley Rice, based in Washington, D.C., is lead counsel in lawsuits filed against pharmaceutical companies by the city of Chicago and Santa Clara County. The firm also represents four states, seven counties and a handful of cities and townships in other opioid-related litigation.

    Last year, Santa Clara County, home to Silicon Valley in California, reached a $1.6 million settlement with drug maker Teva over “deceptive” marketing of prescription opioid painkillers, according to Motley Rice.

    Closer to home, the city of Dayton last June announced it was suing more than a dozen pharmaceutical companies, distributors and pain specialists who city officials allege misrepresented the dangers of opioid medications and profited from opioid dependency and use.

    This is about basic fairness for Montgomery County taxpayers, and the companies that ignited and fed this deadly epidemic should help clean it up, said Commissioner Dan Foley.

    “We believe … that the drug companies have a moral obligation to pay our community back,” Foley said.

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Southeast (FL, SC, VA, AR, WV)

29. Sarasota Sues To Recover Damages From Opioid Crisis

    Feb 13, 2018 | WUSF (FL)

    By Andrea Martin

    The city of Sarasota is planning to file a lawsuit against a number of major pharmaceutical companies to recover damages from the opioid crisis. City Commissioners have voted to retain two attorneys to file the lawsuit. 

    The attorneys are Bill Robertson with Kirk Pinkerton and Steven Teppler with the Abbott Law group. The lawsuit will be filed in federal court in Tampa against at least seven major pharmaceutical and distribution companies.

    Sarasota City Commissioner Hagen Brody states that the consequences of the opioid crisis over the last few years has led to this lawsuit.

    “We’ve had a huge opioid crisis in this community for decades,” Brody said. “Anything that we can claw back from the pharmaceutical companies that made profits on unscrupulous marketing and sales tactics for addictive opiates is, in my mind, something worth pursuing.” 

    According to the city, previous litigation revealed that manufacturers nationwide falsely stated that opioid use was non-addictive.

    The city is filing its own lawsuit that, according to Brody, will be consolidated into multi-district litigation.

    “We are, I believe, the first city or municipality in the state of Florida to file a suit,” Brody said. “I expect others to join. I expect to see (Florida) Attorney General (Pam Bondi) file some sort of similar lawsuit on behalf of municipalities that aren’t filing with the state itself.”

    A Florida Medical Examiners report showed there were more than 5,700 opioid overdose-related deaths in the state in 2016. Governor Rick Scott declared a public health emergency last year, saying the opioid  posed a severe threat to the state.

    “It’s as bad as it gets,” Brody said. “The opioid issue has literally touched just about every single person that I know. It’s an epidemic that knows no socioeconomic boundaries, no geographic boundaries.”

    According to Brody, the opioid epidemic is a direct result of painkiller use.

    “We’re still losing people because now that the folks that began an addiction on pain pills have now moved to street drugs to satisfy their addiction,” Brody said. “These street drugs are being cut with carfentanil, fenmol and additives that are killing people left and right.”

    Brody hopes the lawsuit will lead to future policy and practice changes from the companies.

    “The only way to get them (the companies) to listen is through their bottom line,” Brody said. “I am fully in support of pursuing this.”

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30. County joins opioid lawsuit

    Feb 13, 2018 | Kingstreet News (SC)

    By Michael Duke

    Williamsburg County Council voted Monday, February 5, to retain a law group to represent the county in a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, marketers, and distributors. Attorney Cezar McKnight presented the proposed litigation during council’s January meeting. At that time council voted to retain the group, which consists of several lawyers to include McKnight, Andy Savage, Vincent Sheheen, and Marc J. Bern, without the presence of the county attorney, Billy Jenkinson. Attorney Mandy Shuler of local law firm Whetstone, Perkins and Fulda, LLC, presented a similar proposal to attorney Jenkinson in November.

    Though a decision was made prior to the February 5, meeting, both groups presented their proposals to council. The groups believe manufacturers and distributors changed the medical practice to teach physicians that opioids are safe for long-term chronic pain instead of a short-term solution. The groups agreed to take the matter at no cost to the county unless the county receives a settlement or judgment in connection with the anticipated litigation. Law suits such as this can take years to settle.

     The Whetstone team proposed to file multi-district litigation (MDL) a federal procedure designed to speed the process of handling complex cases. The group that includes McKnight will file in state court, where the county will join other defendants.

     McKnight said filing in state court would provide more control. “You have far more control in state court than federal court,” he said. McKnight said the rules of civil procedure in state court are more favorable to the county. “Multi-district litigation puts us with all of the states, whereas we are here, just in South Carolina. That provides us with a unique opportunity to have a more fair shake at it.”

     Charles Whetstone, Jr. responded to McKnight’s comments. “The whole fight in keeping the case in state court is going to be keeping it there and if you lose that fight, you’re going to end up in the same MDL we’re already in,” said Whetstone. “That’s going to be the battle, trying to bring it in state court. That’s going to be a long battle and not an easy one. We’ll already be moving forward with our case while they’re still trying to keep in state court.”

     There is a chance the case will go to federal court and be consolidated into MDL. Duane Shuler, who is part of the Whetstone group believes this will be the case. “I don’t believe any juror in Williamsburg County will ever sit on a jury and decide this case. It ain’t going to happen in Williamsburg County,” said Shuler who is a retired circuit judge. “You can bring the action if you want to but it’s not going to stay here. It’s going to federal court.”

     McKnight said if they end up in federal court it would be in Florence - a more friendly court. “Williamsburg County puts us in the catbird seat,” said McKnight. “Yes, the best case scenario is for it to stay. But if not, we end up in federal court and we end up with a cadre of judges that would be more favorable to us, I think.”

     Opioids are powerful drugs used to provide pain relief. They are also highly addictive and can be a gateway to other drugs such as heroin. Today opioids are the most prescribed class of drugs - more than blood pressure, cholesterol, or anxiety drugs.

     According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the U.S., $55 billion is spent on health and social costs related to prescription opioid abuse. Each day 650,000 opioid prescriptions are given out and 91 people die from over overdose.

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31. Beaufort County sues pharmaceutical companies, doctors over opioid crisis

    Feb 14, 2018 | Savannah Morning News (GA)

    By Dan Hunt

    Beaufort County in South Carolina filed a lawsuit last week against several national pharmaceutical companies and nine unnamed local clinics and physicians for their alleged roles in the opioid crisis that has increasingly affected the state and county.

    The county joins several others across the state and country that are suing drug companies and local prescribers for their alleged negligence toward the health issues related to opioids and addiction.

    A sentence from Beaufort County’s 126-page complaint says the “defendants have manufactured, promoted, and marketed opioids for the long-term management of chronic pain… by misleading consumers and medical providers through misrepresentations or omissions regarding the appropriate uses, risks and safety (of) opioids.”

    The primary financial motive in many of these cases, Beaufort County included, is compensation for costs related to serious incidents involving opioids, particularly overdoses.

    The complaint says, “Plaintiff spends millions of dollars each year to provide or pay for the health care, pharmaceutical care, and other necessary services and programs on behalf of indigents and otherwise eligible residents, including payments for prescription opium-like painkillers, which are manufactured, marketed, promoted, sold, and/or distributed by the defendants.”

    The three law firms Beaufort County has employed for the case are Yelverton Law Firm LLC, Finger Melnick & Brooks PA, and Marc J. Bern & Partners LLP. The first two operate locally while Marc J. Bern & Partners operates out of Pennsylvania and is involved in several opioid suits nationwide.

    Ben Shelton, an attorney who will be representing the county via Finger Melnick & Brooks, said prosecutors have not asked for a particular dollar amount for actual and punitive damages but he expects “actual damages to be in the millions for Beaufort County.”

    Shelton explained how the county’s alleged financial losses to the opioid crisis have occurred.

    “They are defined losses that are fairly easily ascertainable, for example the coroner’s office,” Shelton said. “They have to respond to deaths that would otherwise not be there. But they do because opioids are deceptively marketed, overly sold, overly prescribed, etc. And then folks get hooked on prescribed opioids and end up going to cheaper sources and better highs such as heroin and fentanyl.

    “In addition, you have first responders, the sheriff’s office and different emergency services responding. In a lot of townships now, fire departments respond more to medical calls than they do to actual fire emergencies and the majority of those medical calls, from my understanding, are opioid overdose-related.”

    Shelton cited other health services and contributions the county “has to make,” including “increasingly expensive” Narcan pens — overdose antidotes that now are carried by most first responders — specialized training for county workers related to overdoses, and police officers tending to overdoses when they would otherwise be “monitoring the streets.”

    “Those are things that can be defined by manpower and dollars spent in the county budget,” Shelton said. “Beyond that, what could end up being much greater in terms of economic loss in the community, you have people hooked on drugs that are no longer contributing to society in ways that they once were in terms of wages.

    “Statistics show that many of those individuals are mid-life males. So these folks have families and children that are no longer being provided for, which becomes another drain for county resources.”

    Shelton also said loss of life to overdoses is a strain on tax dollars.

    “I don’t want to sound crass because this is a tragedy to each and every one of them, but these are taxes that are no longer collected because we have a drain on the economy,” he said.

    The long list of pharmaceutical companies being sued includes household names like Rite Aid of South Carolina Inc. and Johnson & Johnson. At the end of the defendants list is a section with four assumed prescribers referred to as “John Doe” and another five clinics that also are anonymous.

    Shelton said he and his associates are choosing to keep certain parties anonymous while they gather more information. He also said the number of defendants won’t necessarily stay the same.

    “At this point, we’re still working to define who those responsible parties are,” he said. “Upon some information, we believe that those folks are operating in Beaufort County, but we’re not going to name any of those parties until an appropriate time.”

    Shelton said he wants the public to understand that prosecutors are “not trying to put every physician out of business.”

    “This isn’t about every single doctor out there that is prescribing opioids,” he said. “There are certain conditions where they need to be prescribed. This is about folks that are prescribing vastly too many and are not prescribing them for medical services.”

    It is not clear how long the legal battle will take to play out, but prosecutors are preparing for a lengthy case.

    “We fully expect this case to be like any other lawsuit in that it could take a number of years to resolve. It could also be a matter that comes to a fairly quick resolution, but we don’t expect that,” Shelton said.

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32. Scott County supervisors vote to join opioid lawsuit

    Feb 13, 2018 | Times News (VA)

    By Holly Viers

    Scott County has joined a growing list of counties in the region that are fighting a legal battle against opioid abuse.

    During last week’s Board of Supervisors meeting, board members unanimously voted to join a class action lawsuit against opioid distributors and manufacturers, hoping to recover some of the costs they’ve incurred from the opioid epidemic.

    County attorney Sally Kegley explained to the supervisors that the effort is being spearheaded by Delegate Terry Kilgore.

    “He’s working with a national consortium of attorneys that are looking at a class action against opioid manufacturers and distributors,” Kegley said, “and he would like to have all the counties in Southwest Virginia to participate … to recover costs that we all have from the opioid crisis that’s going on.”

    Kegley said Kilgore is working with an attorney from a law firm in West Virginia that filed a similar lawsuit in early 2017.

    “If we did get something (from the lawsuit), it’d be more than we have now,” Kegley said. “There’s no cost to the county to join.”

    Board of Supervisors Chairman David Redwine said the Duffield Regional Jail remains one of the county’s biggest expenses, in large part due to the opioid epidemic.

    “These pharmaceutical companies are getting filthy stinking rich over providing these opioids for these people so they can abuse them and wreck their lives and end up in jail,” Redwine said. “So I think if we get on board, it’s a good thing, and if they get $1, we’d get our share.”

    The next board meeting will be held March 7 at 8:30 a.m.

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33. Barling joins opioid lawsuit

    Feb 14, 2018 | Fort Smith Times Record (AR)

    By Thomas Saccente

    Barling has joined other Arkansas cities in a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

    The Barling Board of Directors voted to authorize City Administrator Mike Tanner to sign an opioid litigation engagement letter between the city and the Arkansas Municipal League defense program. A copy of the letter that was included in the meeting packet sets out in writing the terms and conditions upon which multiple law firms will provide legal services to Barling in relation to the investigation and prosecution of claims against companies and other parties involved with the manufacture and/or distribution of opioid medications.

    Prior to the vote, Barling City Attorney Matt Ketcham recommended the board of directors authorize Tanner to sign the letter.

    “I’ve talked with Mark Hayes (director of legal services for the Arkansas Municipal League) extensively, his general counsel,” Ketcham said. “This is happening whether we sign on to it or not. The attorney general is acting on it. This is going to start happening all across the country. This is probably the next Big Tobacco assault like they did Big Tobacco, 10, 20 years ago, only, I think the way that it is explained to me was expecting more money to trickle down to locales, municipalities, as opposed to the tobacco money that seemed to stop at the state.”

    Ketcham said he understands much of that money is going to be put back into things such as law enforcement training and ways to fight drugs and opioids. The counties and cities in the state have joined forces in this matter, as well as the Association of Counties and the Arkansas Municipal League.

    “Most of the cities and towns across Arkansas have signed up,” Ketcham said. “I think every county has signed up.”

    Ketcham said this is not going to cost Barling anything.

    “The law firms are assuming all of the cost and all of the risk, and it’s being done on a contingency fee basis there,” Ketcham said. “I believe the contract specifies that they will get 25 percent of any recovery. They’ll also get the return of their cost, but that would leave, you know, roughly ... 70, 75 percent of that money being distributed at the state and local level.”

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34. Parkersburg City Council approves drug nuisance resolution

    Feb 14, 2018 | News & Sentinel (WV)

    By Evan Bevins

    City Council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday declaring the unlawful distribution of prescription medications a public nuisance, and added a statement encouraging the city to sue the drugs’ makers and distributors.

    “I certainly agree with this,” Councilman Jeff Fox said. “I would like to make a motion that our council recommend following with a lawsuit.”

    After Councilman Mike Reynolds asked how the resolution would help the city address the opioid crisis that led police to respond to more than 200 reported overdoses in 2017, City Attorney Joe Santer said the outside counsel the city engaged for a potential lawsuit recommended the resolution to demonstrate officials’ united stance on the issue.

    Charleston attorney Rusty Webb representing the city on the potential litigation, which claims companies that manufacture and distribute opioid medication bear responsibility in its abuse for supplying excessive amounts. He said he’s working with 22 cities and counties in the state and plans to seek damages for costs they’ve incurred battling the drug problem.

    Mayor Tom Joyce said after the meeting that the resolution’s passage does not automatically greenlight a suit but is part of the process.

    Parkersburg resident Sue Ellen Waybright spoke during the public forum in favor of the resolution.

    “I think it’s a great first step,” she said. “I hope there will be additional steps because we do have a problem, and I think this drug problem is contributing to the negative perception of the City of Parkersburg.”

    The only other speaker during the public forum clashed with Council President John Reed over the rule adopted in January limiting topics of discussion during the forum to items on the meeting’s agenda.

    As she did at the Jan. 23 meeting, Parkersburg resident Jennifer Bryant cited the forum’s presence as item VI on the agenda as justification for discussing the topic. Reed banged the gavel and called her out of order.

    “You aren’t in order with what this council intended,” he said.

    “The intent doesn’t matter, sir. The wording does,” Bryant said. “I would like clarification from Mr. Santer.”

    A motion was made by Councilman J.R. Carpenter to suspend the rules “to hear this out.” It failed in a 5-4 vote, with Carpenter, Fox and Councilmen Bob Mercer and Zach Stanley voting for it. The same motion failed in a 4-4 tie on Jan. 23, with Reynolds absent.

    Carpenter then questioned Reed’s statement at the start of the forum that a section had been added to the sign-in sheets allowing residents to “express concerns not on the agenda, which will be directed if you request to your city councilman for follow-up.”

    “That operational change was not voted on,” he said.

    After Carpenter called for a point of order, Reed said the change to the sign-in sheet could be addressed with an amendment at the next meeting.

    When he tried to move on to the next speaker, Bryant said, “I still haven’t gotten an answer from Mr. Santer on the fact that you’re changing rules without procedure,” leading to another exchange between her and Reed.

    “I’m not going to sit here and argue, OK?” Reed said.

    “Well, I am, because I’m saying that that’s not what you voted on,” Bryant said.

    Councilman Eric Barber asked for an opinion from Santer on Bryant’s argument.

    Santer said that while his original thought was that the restriction would have still allowed someone to raise the issue of the public forum itself, upon further reflection “it was clear to me that what council intended was that the public would only be permitted to speak on those items that the council would be addressing on that particular night.”

    After the meeting, Santer said the change to the sign-in sheet and the addition of the words “resolutions and ordinances listed below” after “public forum” on the agenda would not have required further action from council. The newer sign-in sheet also asks for the speaker’s topic, which Santer said a person is not obliged to fill out because that was not part of the resolution approved Jan. 9.

    In other business:

    * Joyce distributed the 2018 infrastructure capital plan to council, which includes replacement of three fire stations over a projected three-year period, annual paving work and an as-yet unscheduled replacement of the central garage.

    Also in the plan is the construction of a splash pad at the City Park pool. The city allocated $800,000 for the project in the current fiscal year and received a $250,000 contribution from a local charitable foundation. The plan lists the total cost as $1.5 million, with the administration intending to seek another $250,000 from the general fund in the fiscal year 2018-19 budget and $200,000 through philanthropy or private enterprise.

    Joyce said the additional funds are needed for features of the splash pad and repair of surrounding facilities, including concrete, fencing and concession stands. He said his understanding from council is that those issues should be addressed along with the splash pad.

    * Council unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance requiring a cash bond for entities digging into city streets, primarily for utility work. The money would be used to make repairs to the street if standards set forth by the West Virginia Department of Transportation were not met when the sites were repaired.

    The amounts were $2,000 for a single excavation and $10,000 for a year, with two separate amendments to increase those amounts to $4,000 and $25,000 and $3,000 and $15,000 rejected in 6-3 votes.

    * Council unanimously approved a resolution for $546,477 worth of mid-year budget revisions. The lion’s share, $300,000, is to move the donation and previously allocated funds for the splash pad project into a capital line account.

    * Council also unanimously approved the $30,000 purchase of 7 acres of property around 12th Street on the Ohio River side of the floodwall for part of the planned multiuse trail.

    * Council voted 9-0 to approve the submission of the annual tax-increment financing report for the Avery Court Redevelopment District to the West Virginia Development Office.

    * Another 9-0 vote approved the first reading of an ordinance to authorize replacement pages for the city’s updated codified ordinances.

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Northwest (WA)

35. City signs on to lawsuit against opioid companies

    Feb 14, 2018 | goanacortes.com (WA)

    By Staff

    The Anacortes City Council voted unanimously last week to sign onto a lawsuit against the manufacturers of opioid narcotics.

    Anacortes is joining Skagit County and the other cities in the county on the lawsuit, which targets three of the main opioid narcotics producers in the country. The goal is to hold the producers responsible for the impact of the opioid epidemic in this area, city attorney Darcy Swetnam told the council.

    A complaint was filed Jan. 25 on behalf of Skagit County and the cities of Mount Vernon, Sedro-Woolley and Burlington in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Anacortes is now joined with that action.

    “Whereas, as a result of the flood of opioids into this country, counties like Skagit have been forced to deal with the crippling and expensive effects of widespread opioid addiction; and whereas, the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) recently estimated that the total economic burden of prescription opioid abuse costs the United States $78.5 billion per year, which includes significantly increased costs for health care and addiction treatment, and dramatic increases in strains on human services and criminal justice systems, as well as substantial losses in work force productivity; and whereas, the cost in human lives is even more staggering,” the city resolution reads. “Today, opioids are the leading cause of accidental deaths in the country, surpassing deaths caused by car accidents. And exposure to these dangerous drugs is initiated by purportedly legitimate prescriptions written by doctors and dentists, making this an epidemic like no other.”

    Other jurisdictions in Washington that have sued are Everett and Tacoma.

    Around the country, the states of Ohio, Illinois and Mississippi, as well as counties in New York and California and New York City have filed similar lawsuits.

    The lawsuit in Skagit County asks for relief for violations of the Washington Consumer Protection Act, public nuisance, negligence, gross negligence, unjust enrichment and violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

    Since the 1990s, the sales of opioids has increased ten-fold, Swetnam said.

    Health care professionals across the country write 289 million opioid prescriptions, enough for every adult in the country to have more than one bottle of pills, Swetnam said.

    About 4.6 percent of the global population consumes 80 percent of the opioid supply.

    Skagit County had 66 opioid overdose deaths between 2012 and 2016.

    An estimated 75 percent of new heroin users in the country were hooked on opioids they were prescribed by a doctor, said Attorney Daniel Mensher, who filed the lawsuit with Keller Rohrback.

    The epidemic manifests itself in different ways but has a tremendous impact on communities, he said.

    The three manufacturers named in the lawsuit are Purdue, Janssen and Endo, Swetnam said.

    The lawsuit will present substantial evidence that the manufacturers misrepresented addictive properties of their products, represented that the products were suitable for long-term pain relief and downplayed the addictive qualities, Swetnam said.

    “We are telling them ‘You created this problem, you should have to pay to deal with this problem,’” Mensher said.

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36. Clallam County to file suit against opioid firms

    Feb 14, 2018 | Peninsula Daily News (WA)

    By Rob Ollikainen

    Clallam County has inked an agreement with a Seattle law firm to sue manufactures and wholesalers of prescription painkillers to recover the costs of fighting the opioid epidemic.

    County commissioners voted 3-0 Tuesday to approve the contingency fee agreement with Keller Rohrback LLP to file a complaint in federal court, joining several Western Washington jurisdictions that have taken similar actions.

    Keller Rohrback attorneys would be paid only if Clallam County recovers damages in a settlement or at trial.

    Commissioners had previously voted to pursue litigation after discussing the matter with other members of the Clallam County Board of Health.

    “I’ve had feedback that what we are doing is a hasty action, and what I’d like to share is that the action we are taking has no cost to the county other than the compilation of data,” Commissioner Bill Peach said in Tuesday’s board meeting.

    “What’s more important in my mind is that we do share an important message, and that is that we have an opioid crisis and we are being proactive in addressing it.”

    Clallam County had the highest opioid-related death rate in the state at 16.5 per 100,000 from 2012 to 2016, according to state Department of Health statistics.

    More than 300 lawsuits have been filed against drug manufacturers and wholesalers nationwide. The lawsuits are being consolidated under Judge Dan Polster of Cleveland.

    Polster has assembled lawyers for governments across the country, drug makers, distributors and others.

    Because the aim is to broker a settlement, the judge has closed the discussions to the public and media.

    Polster issued a gag order Feb. 6 that bans discussion of the settlement negotiations along with assessments of the talks or commentary on them, The Associated Press reported.

    King County, the city of Tacoma, Skagit County and the cities Mount Vernon, Burlington and Sedro Woolley each have filed a lawsuit against the pharmaceutical industry, saying drug companies bear responsibility for the epidemic and for not doing enough to stop it.

    Two attorneys from Keller Rohrback pitched the litigation to the seven-member Clallam County Board of Health on Jan. 16, after which time the board voted unanimously to recommend a lawsuit to county commissioners.

    The Jefferson County health board has not yet been asked to join the multi-jurisdictional lawsuit, Jefferson County Health Officer Dr. Tom Locke said.

    Jefferson County’s opioid-related death rate was 10.3 per 100,000, ranking 10th among the 39 counties of the state.

    Public health officials in Clallam, Jefferson and Kitsap counties have launched a three-county Coordinated Opioid Response Project, Locke said.

    “I am in the process of learning more about the lawsuit and how it might benefit small rural counties like Jefferson County,” Locke said in an email.

    “I would also like to see our three-county opiate response partnership review this issue.

    “We are committed to pooling our resources to address the opiate epidemic in the most effective way we can,” Locke added.

    “This may be another opportunity to do so.”

    Clallam County officials were asked to fill out a survey outlining the ways in which the opioid crisis was affecting their departments.

    Examples of county departments affected by opioids are Health and Human Services, Sheriff’s Office, Juvenile and Family Services, Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and District and Superior courts.

    The lawsuit will target opioid manufactures, distributors and pill mills — doctors and clinics where highly-addictive opioids are dispensed without a legitimate medical purpose, Keller Rohrback attorney David Ko told the Clallam County Board of Health last month.

    Keller Rohrback would collect 22 percent of any money awarded to Clallam County if the amount is $10 million or less, according to the approved contingency fee agreement.

    The firm would collect 20 percent of amounts exceeding $10 million, 15 percent for sums exceeding $20 million and 10 percent for recoveries of $25 million or more.

    The drug companies have disputed the allegations in the lawsuits.

    John Parker, senior vice president of the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, a national organization that represents opioid distributors such as AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson, issued the following statement after Clallam County commissioners voted to sue:

    “The misuse and abuse of prescription opioids is a complex public health challenge that requires a collaborative and systemic response that engages all stakeholders,” Parker said in an email to the Peninsula Daily News.

    “Given our role, the idea that distributors are responsible for the number of opioid prescriptions written defies common sense and lacks understanding of how the pharmaceutical supply chain actually works and is regulated.

    “Those bringing lawsuits would be better served addressing the root causes, rather than trying to redirect blame through litigation,” Parker added.

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Southwest (TX)

37. Wichita Co. Commissioner: Opioid lawsuit already showing results

    Feb 13, 2018 | RNN Texoma (TX)

    By Jesse Canales

    On Tuesday, one Wichita County Commissioner said the lawsuit against Purdue Pharma, the creator of Oxycontin, has started to show results.

    Representatives of that pharmaceutical company announced they will stop promoting oxycontin at doctor's offices and will cut half of their sales staff.

    The remaining 200 sales staff will focus on other medications. 

    Wichita County, Precinct One Commissioner Mark Beauchamp said it is just 'putting a band-aid over a bleeding wound. It does not solve the problem.'

    "The ultimate goal is for one them to stop the practice so we have healthier people and, two, for them to make restitution to Wichita County and the other counties that are affected," Comm. Beauchamp said.

    Some of those costs of the opioid addiction to the county include medical coverage, court cases and paying for treatment inside the jail.

    Statistics also show that 75 to 80 percent of heroin addicts started with opioids. The county multidistrict lawsuit was filed last year against the pharmaceutical company after a rise in opioid addiction. 

    Beauchamp said he expects the lawsuit to be a slow process taking up to five years.

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Broadcast Media Coverage

38. Nightly Business Report

    Feb 14, 2018 | WNET (PBS)

    By New York, NY

    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32678199?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84

    Rough Transcript: five of the largest opioid manufacturers paid patient advocacy groups mps millions of dollars to promote the use of the painkillers. the senate investigation examined the financial ties two ten companies and financial 6:47 PMgroups between 2012 and 2017. according to the report, purdue pharma, and depo med downplayed the risk of addiction and lobbied against restrictions on overprescription. >>> >> the growing opioid crisis has cost the united states $1 trillion since 2001. that's according to new analysis from the research firm al terra. the company expects it to keep growing fiscaling an additional $500 billion to be spent on the issue through 2020. here to discuss the report's finding is their codirector of sustainable health spending strategies. anni, welcome. nice to have you here. >> thank you. thank you. >> it is a very toby sobering report to say the least. one of the questions i have, among many s who bears the cost of all of these costs? >> yes. these costs are borne by individuals and their families, 6:48 PMand by employers, and by t taxpayers through what we are paying for services such as police and emergency response. and the loss in tax revenues. so, really, across the board. but what we find, interestingly, is the majority of the costs we estimate are borne by individuals in the private sector in the form of the lost productivity and the lost wages from both people dying prematurely of opioid overdoses and the lost productivity of those who are living with addiction. >> so how fast is the cost curve steepening? >> how fast is it steepening? >> what we saw between 2016 and 2017, we are estimate being a 20% increase. back in 20001, we estimate the cost to the u.s. of the epidemic was about $30 billion. by 207 is n the same year's 6:49 PMdollars, 2016 dollars, we estimate $115 billion. and it's been accelerating. so every year it seems to be growing faster and faster. and unfortunately the deaths from opioids are growing faster and faster. >> you know, ty and i were talking before we started the show. what about the cost of treatment? because it can be extremely costly. >> yeah. >> is that factored into these cost estimates? or is that a completely separate cost? >> for the most part it is a separate cost because what we are trying to do is show that if you are looking at the value of investments in preventing opioid addiction, and in helping those who are suffering from addiction, you want to know what the value of that investment would be. so you want to know what we are already paying, what it's costing us today. we do include in those costs some health care costs, though. so costs of people in the emergency room suffering from an overdose, and the associated hospitals costs. as well as costs of increases in conditions like hiv and hepatitis that are a rul of this epidemic. but these burdens then should be weighed against the costs of treatment, as you said.

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39. KVUE News Daybreak

    Feb 14, 2018 | KVUE (ABC)

    By Austin, TX

    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32676334?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84

    Rough Transcript: travis county is slapping a huge lawsuit on makers, distributors and marketers of pharmaceutica l opioids... in attempt to end drug abuse in our community. in 2015, more than one- thousand of the 33- thousand nationwide opioid-related deaths were in texas. "purdue pharma incorporated" a "johnson johnson" are two of the companies named in the 100-million-dollar lawsuit. travis county judge sarah eckhardt says aggressive marketing for the overuse and addiction to pharmaceutical opioids has caused real harm. we have a civil court system in the unites states that makes it possible for us to push back. if travis county recoups any money from the lawsuit, eckhardt says it would go toward criminal justice and social service programs.

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40. FOX 29 Morning News

    Feb 14, 2018 | KVHP (Fox)

    By Lake Charles, LA

    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32676844?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84

    Rough Transcript: the jeff davis police jury is expected to vote to continue the parish's efforts to fight the nation's opioid epidemic... back in december, the police jury voted to hire outside legal counsel to represent jeff davis in a fight against drug manufacturers and distributors... this evening, the police jury will vote on a resolution that would approve the contract... it would also formally request that louisiana attorney general jeff landry approve the hiring of a special counsel to take on the ligitation... that meeting starts at five this evening in the police jury meeting room on state street in jennings...

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41. Noon Report

    Feb 14, 2018 | KFYR (NBC)

    By Minot-Bsmrck-Dcknsn(Wlstn), ND

    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32676336?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84

    Rough Transcript: the standing rock sioux tribe has filed a lawsuit against 24 pharmaceutical companies. in the suit filed monday...the tribe says because of prescription opioids ... child welfare and addiction therapy costs have skyrocketed. the tribe is seeking damages and also compensation for past and futures costs related to the effects of the opioid crisis. the pharmaceutical companies include johnson and johnson, purdue pharma...and teva pharmaceutical u- s-a, inc.

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42. Good Morning KOTA Territory

    Feb 14, 2018 | KOTA (ABC)

    By Rapid City, SD

    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32677346?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84

    Rough Transcript: the standing rock sioux tribe is suing major opioids manufacturers and distributors, joing tribes nationwide that have filed similar lawsuits. the tribe filed the lawsuit monday in u.s. district court in north dakota against 24 defendants in the opioid industry. it alleges companies used false and misleading advertising and failed to prevent drug diversion. the lawsuit also alleges that opioid use has taken an enormous toll on the standing rock sioux tribe while the defendants have seen "blockbuster profits."

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43. KSFY Morning News

    Feb 14, 2018 | KSFY (ABC)

    By Sioux Falls, SD

    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32677688?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84

    Rough Transcript: the standing rock sioux tribe is suing majr opioid manufacturers and distributors -- joing several tris nationwide that have filed similar lawsuits. the ibe filed the lawsuit against 2 defendants in the opioid industr -- alleging companies used false and misleading advertising. the tribe's attorneys also filed a similar lawsuit n behalf of the rosebud sioux tribe -- flandreasantee sioux tribe -- and the sisseton wahpeton oyate in january.

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44. FOX 24 News at 7

    Feb 14, 2018 | KFTA (Fox)

    By Ft. Smith, AR

    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32677682?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84

    Rough Transcript: benton county has joined the lawsuit started by the association of arkansas counties against opioid manufacturers and distributors. at least 70 other counties in arkansas have signed onto the lawsuit. benton county ranks higher than the national average when it comes to opioid prescription rates. arkansas ranks first in the nation for misuse of prescription opioids by kids and teenagers.

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45. WYFF News 4 at 6am

    Feb 14, 2018 | WYFF (NBC)

    By Greenville, SC

    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32677690?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84

    Rough Transcript: spartanburg plans to be the 7th county in the state to file a lawsuit against the makers of opioid drugs. they are suing drugmakers for the cost of addiction. beaufort county filed a similar lawsuit last week, claiming opioid addiction has caused increased expenditures and has resulted in lost tax revenue. county councilman david britt says, council will receive a briefing on the lawsuit next week. geoff: and in north carolina, a $1 million grant will be spent to help prevent opioid overdoses. the aetna foundation made the announcement yesterday. the money will be given to the north carolina harm reduction coalition. it will go towards its rural opioid prevention project.

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46. CBS 21 Morning News

    Feb 14, 2018 | WHP (CBS)

    By Harrisburg, PA

    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32678195?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84

    Rough Transcript: the opioid epidemic continues state and nationwide. and now we are learning another local county has joint and ensuing opioid drug manufacturersand distributors. >> cbs 21 sara small talks with the cumberland county commissioners about what they are seeking to this lawsuit. good morning sara . >> good morning al and sherry. this is not just about the commissioners here. it is for every family and parent in this county who have lost a loved one as a result of the growing opioid problem in. and now due to this problem commissioners say the burden on the taxpayers is pretty heavy and they want some of that money back as a result. cumberland county commissioners tell me it's the biggest fight of our time. the city epidemic has cost the county enormously from law enforcement to the corners office and even children and youth services are currently 250 page lawsuit 20 drugmakers and delivers our names commissioners say those companies need to be a part of the solution because commissioners add they knew of the dangers of these drugs prior to the epidemic growing as large as it has. cumberland county also joined the york and often counties who filed suit against pharmaceutical companiesas well.

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47. FOX 45 News in the Morning on ABC

    Feb 14, 2018 | WKEF (ABC)

    By Dayton, OH

    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32678194?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84

    Rough Transcript: the drugs were heading to springfield. montgomery county commissioners are preparing a lawsuit against opioid distributors, manufacturers and maybe even doctors. the prosecutors office is determing who will win the suit. from 2006 to 2015, county officials say more opioid prescriptions were written in the county than the people living in it. they say national costs are skyrocketing and they want drug companies to be held accountable. >> the economic fallout from heroin and prescription painkiller use is expected to cost an additional $500 billion between 2018 and 2020. >> elyse: the lawsuit is expected to be filed in 2018 and will not cost taxpayers. the city of dayton and the ohio attorney general's office have also filed a similar lawsuit.

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48. News Center 7

    Feb 14, 2018 | WHIO (CBS)

    By Dayton, OH

    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32678204?token=f8c48b83-a2a7-4407-83db-3e837076ce84

    Rough Transcript: montgomery county is going after the groups that it says are responsible for the opioid drug crisis. new is center 7 file a lawsuit in the coming months. so far they haven't decided who to name as defendants in the lawsuit. more than 560 people died of an overdose in montgomery county last year. > everyone of these overdose deaths is tragic and is prevent i believe. > it's about basic fairness for montgomery county tax payers. > for a decade leaders say more opioid prescriptions were written in montgomery county than there are residents. last year the city of dayton announced a plan to file a similar lawsuit.

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