Opioid Litigation Daily Media Report - 3/5/18

Trump / DOJ Opioid Litigation

1. Critical Mass: Sessions Prepares to Take on Opioids. Plus, A Bank Shot in Equifax Litigation

   Mar 2, 2018 | Law.com

   By Amanda Bronstad
   
   
   Welcome to Critical Mass, Law.com’s new briefing on class actions and mass torts. I’m Amanda Bronstad in Los Angeles. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ announcement this week about the DOJ getting involved in the opioid litigation comes as the department was ordered to turn over DEA data to plaintiffs lawyers. Find out more about one of the lawyers leading the Equifax lawsuits on behalf of banks. And Yahoo added a law firm to its defense team ahead of a critical hearing in the data breach litigation.
2. Trump backs lawsuit against opioid companies

   Mar 2, 2018 | HealthcareDive

   By David Lim
   
   
   President Donald Trump suggested that a federal lawsuit against opioid manufacturers may be on the horizon at a meeting on the opioid crisis on Thursday.
3. Federal government may join Nashville in opioids lawsuit against drug companies

   Mar 5, 2018 | Tennessean (TN)

   By Elaina Sauber
   
   
   The federal government may join Nashville and several Tennessee counties in a major lawsuit against drug manufacturers and distributors.
4. Sessions Announces Task Force, Throws Support Behind Opioid Lawsuits

   Mar 2, 2018 | TheFix

   By Kelly Burch
   
   
   One of the functions of the task force will be to assist state and local municipalities that have already filed lawsuits against Big Pharma companies.
5. DOJ to support opioid lawsuits

   Mar 4, 2018 | The News Herald (NC)

   By Sharon McBrayer
   
   
   It seems the federal government wants its share of a lawsuit that multiple governments have filed in recent months, including Burke County, against prescription opioid manufacturers and distributors.
6. DOJ supports opioid litigation

   Mar 5, 2018 | Leesville Daily Leader (LA)

   By Micah Pickering
   
   
   The opioid crisis sweeping the nation has caused many states and local governments to sue large manufacturers of drugs such as Oxycontin, Fentanyl, and Hydrocodone. On Tuesday, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Department of Justice would support the national litigation with an official statement of intent. Sessions estimated that 64,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2016.
7. U.S. seeks time to consider joining opioid litigation

   Mar 2, 2018 | Reuters

   By Nate Raymond
   
   
   The U.S. Justice Department has asked a federal judge overseeing hundreds of lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors to give it 30 days to decide whether to participate in the litigation.
8. Sessions Orders DEA to Consider Limiting Number of Opioid Pills Companies Can Manufacture

   Mar 2, 2018 | Daily Beast

   By Betsy Woodruff
   
   
   American pharmaceutical companies may soon produce fewer opioid pills.

MDL

9. Opioid Settlement Talks Heat Up as Drugmakers Reduce Marketing

   Mar 5, 2018 | Bloomberg

   By Jef Feeley & jard S Hopkins
   
   
   Purdue Pharma LP’s decision to stop promoting its opioid drugs to doctors is being hailed as the first result of a judge’s push for concrete solutions to a nationwide epidemic, even though the company says the move has nothing to do with a massive lawsuit against drugmakers.

Commentary and FYIs

10. What progress has the White House made on addressing opioids?

    Mar 5, 2018 | PBS Newshour

    By Hari Sreenivasan
    
    
    On average, 115 people die every day due to opioid overdose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The White House declared the opioid crisis a “public health emergency” last October and last week held a summit where President Trump praised the death penalty for drug dealers, a statement that was shocking to many. The Washington Post’s Katie Zezima joins Hari Sreenivasan. Video Link: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/what-progress-has-the-white-house-made-on-addressing-opioids
11. Justice Dept. urges Congress to rewrite law that handcuffed DEA’s opioid enforcement

    Mar 2, 2018 | Washington Post

    By Scott Higham & Sari Horwitz
    
    
    The Justice Department is urging Congress to rewrite legislation, passed at the pharmaceutical industry’s behest, that has undermined the Drug Enforcement Administration’s efforts against companies suspected of violating the law.
12. Attorney is Hopeful Current Opioid Litigation will Pave the Way for Individual Opioid Lawsuits

    Mar 3, 2018 | Lawyersandsettlements.com

    By Jane Mundy
    
    
    Attorney and physician Shezad Malik says he is monitoring closely the opioid MDL in Cleveland, hopeful money will support neighborhood drug treatment centers.
13. Despite gains, Trump administration response to opioid crisis still faces criticism

    Mar 4, 2018 | ABC News

    By Alexander Mallin
    
    
    More than four months after declaring a public health emergency over the opioid crisis, President Donald Trump made a surprise appearance at a White House summit Thursday where he suggested the U.S. should tackle the epidemic by instituting “the ultimate punishment” for drug dealers.
14. Ten Observations from the White House Opioid Summit (Opinion)

    Mar 2, 2018 | National Review

    By Jim Geraghty
    
    
    First of all, if you ever get a chance to visit the White House, do so.
15. The opioid crisis is a government failure of epic proportions (Opinion)

    Mar 2, 2018 | Washington Post

    By David Von Drehle
    
    
    President Trump deserves credit for ringing the alarm bell on the crisis of opioid abuse. In 2016, more Americans died of opioid overdoses than were killed in the Vietnam War. This appalling statistic is a key factor in the recent, shocking decline in U.S. life expectancy.

Midwest (IL, MO, MN, IN, OH)

16. Opioid-addicted baby at center of class action lawsuit in Southern Illinois

    Mar 5, 2018 | Belleville News Democrat (IL)

    By Kara Berg
    
    
    The family of a baby born addicted to opioids filed a class action lawsuit Wednesday against 20 pharmaceutical companies they accused of being negligent and responsible for the mother's addiction to opioids and heroin.
17. Gibbons welcomes bids for opioid lit: ‘The Lord only creates so many John Simmonses’

    Mar 5, 2018 | Madison - St. ClairRecord (IL)

    By Heather Isringhausen Gvillo
    
    
    Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons addressed a number of concerns surrounding the county’s potential involvement in opioid litigation against pharmaceutical companies at Friday’s Judiciary Committee meeting, stating that all bids are welcome but “we also want to win.”
18. Joplin City Council to consider joining opioid lawsuit

    Mar 5, 2018 | The Joplin Globe (MO)

    By Debby Woodin
    
    
    A resolution that would allow the city of Joplin to join in a class-action lawsuit against opioid manufacturers will be considered Monday by the Joplin City Council.
19. City of Joplin Could Join Class Action Lawsuit

    Mar 4, 2018 | Ozarksfirst.com (MO)

    By Austin Hyslip
    
    
    Joplin city leaders are to decide on entering a class action lawsuit against opioid manufacturers at this week's city council meeting.
20. County joins legal case against opioid manufacturers

    Mar 3, 2018 | Pine Journal (MN)

    By Jana Peterson
    
    
    Carlton County is suing to get compensation for all the additional expenses — for the sheriff's department and county jail, the courts and health and human services — caused by opioid addiction.
21. West Lafayette joins wave of cities and counties to sue opioid companies

    Mar 5, 2018 | The Exponent (IN)

    By Mateo Menchaca
    
    
    Mayor John Dennis has filed suit against 10 opioid manufacturers and three opioid distributors to recover damages from the epidemic the country has been fighting.
22. Allen Co. prosecutor to present opioid lawsuit options

    Mar 2, 2018 | LimaOhio.com (OH)

    By Josh Ellerbrock
    
    
    To combat the opioid crisis in region, Allen County Prosecutor Juergen Waldick has pushed for the county to join a lawsuit created by other municipalities that puts the financial responsibility for the societal problems caused by opioid use onto Big Pharma.

Southeast (FL, AL, GA, NC, SC, AR)

23. These Cities And Counties Are Going After Big Pharma In The Opioid Crisis

    Mar 2, 2018 | Newsweek

    By Melina Delkic
    
    
    Miami-Dade County announced this week that it was planning to take legal action against drug manufacturers and distributors for their role in the opioid crisis there—and it joined a host of counties and cities across the country taking Big Pharma to court in the wake of one of the worst addiction crises in American history.
24. Lawyers urge county to file opioid lawsuit

    Mar 3, 2018 | Jackson County Floridan (FL)

    By Deborah Buckhalter
    
    
    A handful of lawyers visited Jackson County Commissioners this week in a special hour-long meeting before the board’s regular evening session Tuesday, encouraging the government officials to raft toward a ship that’s sailing now toward federal court, and asking the board members to let them steer that craft to the bigger vessel.
25. Escambia County joins lawsuits against 'Big Pharma' over opioid crisis

    Mar 2, 2018 | Pensacola News Journal (FL)

    By Kevin Robinson
    
    
    In 2016, there were more opioid prescriptions in Escambia County than people, according to federal estimates.
26. Fultondale joins lawsuit for opioid manufacturers

    Mar 5, 2018 | The North Jefferson News (AL)

    By Rachel Davis
    
    
    The Fultondale City Council on Monday voted to join into a state lawsuit against manufacturers of opioid that have led to what experts are calling a crisis across the state.
27. Rome files suit against Oxycontin, other opioid makers

    Mar 3, 2018 | Rome News-Tribune (GA)

    By Diane Wagner
    
    
    Rome and Floyd County have filed suit against a dozen or so top opioid manufacturers and distributors in the country, seeking to recoup damages from the painkiller epidemic in their communities.
28. Alamance County to choose lawyer in opioid suit

    Mar 4, 2018 | The Times-News (NC)

    By Isaac Groves
    
    
    The Alamance County Board of Commissioners will go into closed session Monday morning to decide which law firm it wants to represent the county in a potential lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors.
29. County joining opioid lawsuit

    Mar 4, 2018 | The Lancaster News (SC)

    By Greg Summers
    
    
    Lancaster County will join a nationwide legal effort against pharmaceutical companies in hopes of recovering some of the money it has spent combatting the opioid epidemic, which killed 25 people here last year.
30. Delta Hospital Takes Opioids to Court

    Mar 5, 2018 | Arkansas Business (AR)

    By Mark Friedman
    
    
    Hospitals in the Arkansas Delta are fighting the opioid epidemic with every weapon at their command, including a little-noticed lawsuit by a Monticello hospital against the larger opioid manufacturers.

Northeast (NY, MA)

31. Amherst to sue opioid manufacturers, distributors over epidemic

    Mar 4, 2018 | The Buffalo News (NY)

    By Joseph Popiolkowski
    
    
    Petty crime from the opioid epidemic and calls to respond to an increasing number of overdoses have put a strain on resources in the Town of Amherst, including its police and courts, officials say.
32. Tenney calls on private law firms against opioid manufacturers and distributors

    Mar 3, 2018 | Rome Sentinel (NY)

    By Staff
    
    
    Rep. Claudia L. Tenney is calling on private law firms involved in representing state and local lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors to provide representation pro bono and said they should not accept taxpayer funds for legal fees resulting from any settlement efforts to combat addiction.
33. Town joins suit against drug companies

    Mar 2, 2018 | Boston Globe (MA)

    By Johanna Seltz
    
    
    Norwell has joined a lawsuit aimed at making drug companies pay communities for what they’ve spent dealing with the opioid crisis.

Broadcast Media Coverage

34. Good Day Wisconsin

    | Green Bay, WI

    By WLUK (Fox)
    
    
    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33310844?token=613ab726-00de-4e52-9200-d425210fb1fb
35. THV11 This Morning at 6A

    Mar 5, 2018 | Little Rock, AR

    By KTHV (CBS)
    
    
    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33310851?token=613ab726-00de-4e52-9200-d425210fb1fb
36. FOX8 News at 6:00A

    Mar 5, 2018 | Greensboro, NC

    By WGHP (Fox)
    
    
    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33310914?token=613ab726-00de-4e52-9200-d425210fb1fb
37. 7 Eyewitness News at 6am

    Mar 5, 2018 | Buffalo, NY

    By WKBW (ABC)
    
    
    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33310918?token=613ab726-00de-4e52-9200-d425210fb1fb
38. Inside Story

    Mar 4, 2018 | WPVI (ABC)

    By Philadelphia, PA
    
    
    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33311393?token=613ab726-00de-4e52-9200-d425210fb1fb
39. KD/PG Sunday Edition

    Mar 5, 2018 | Pittsburgh, PA

    By KDKA (CBS)
    
    
    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33311405?token=613ab726-00de-4e52-9200-d425210fb1fb
40. FOX23 News This Morning

    Mar 3, 2018 | Tulsa, OK

    By KOKI (Fox)
    
    
    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33311414?token=613ab726-00de-4e52-9200-d425210fb1fb
41. WFMJ Weekend Today

    Mar 3, 2018 | Youngstown, OH

    By WFMJ (NBC)
    
    
    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33311420?token=613ab726-00de-4e52-9200-d425210fb1fb
42. NJTV News With Mary Alice Williams

    Mar 3, 2018 | New York, NY

    By WNJT (PBS)
    
    
    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33311885?token=613ab726-00de-4e52-9200-d425210fb1fb

Trump / DOJ Opioid Litigation

1. Critical Mass: Sessions Prepares to Take on Opioids. Plus, A Bank Shot in Equifax Litigation

   Mar 2, 2018 | Law.com

   By Amanda Bronstad

   Welcome to Critical Mass, Law.com’s new briefing on class actions and mass torts. I’m Amanda Bronstad in Los Angeles. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ announcement this week about the DOJ getting involved in the opioid litigation comes as the department was ordered to turn over DEA data to plaintiffs lawyers. Find out more about one of the lawyers leading the Equifax lawsuits on behalf of banks. And Yahoo added a law firm to its defense team ahead of a critical hearing in the data breach litigation.Sessions Eyeing DOJ Role in Opioid Case

   The U.S. Department of Justice announced this week it’s preparing to jump into the legal fray over the opioid crisis. Law.com’s Max Mitchell wrote this story about the DOJ’s new litigation-oriented task force that U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced would consider pursuing legal action against opioid manufacturers and distributors. Here’s the statement of interest the DOJ filed in the multidistrict litigation in Ohio, where U.S. District Judge Dan Polster has ordered both sides to immediate settlement talks.

   But the DOJ’s already involved in the MDL. On Feb. 22, DOJ Chief of Staff Alex Haas and five other federal government lawyers met in Washington D.C. with defense attorneys and plaintiffs lawyers, who want access to a database maintained by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration – officially called the Automated Records and Consolidated Orders System (ARCOS) database. Polster ordered the talks. On Feb. 26, one day before Sessions announced the department’s opioid initiatives, the DOJ authorized some of the data to be turned over – though with limitations (see this DOJ letter).

   So what’s in this database? Attorney Richard Fields of Washington D.C.’s Fields PLLC, who represents the Attorney General of the Cherokee Nationin its opioid suit, said the database is “at the crux” of the lawsuits.

   “It’s essentially all of the shipment data for the entire country over a decade or more,” he said. “It’s not just important for purposes of legal liability but for stopping the epidemic. While people are still addicted, if you stop the illegal flow of drugs, it becomes much harder to get addicted. So that is really the goal here.”

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2. Trump backs lawsuit against opioid companies

   Mar 2, 2018 | HealthcareDive

   By David Lim

   President Donald Trump suggested that a federal lawsuit against opioid manufacturers may be on the horizon at a meeting on the opioid crisis on Thursday.

   The president said he's spoken with Attorney General Jeff Sessions about bringing a lawsuit against companies, adding that the administration will be rolling out more policies over the next three weeks. States led by both Democrats and Republicans are suing wholesalers and drugmakers for their involvement in the epidemic.

   “Hopefully, we can do some litigation against the opioid companies. I think it's very important because a lot of states are doing it, but I keep saying, if the states are doing it, why isn't the federal government doing it? So that will happen,” Trump said.

   On Feb. 27, DOJ announced it plans to file a statement of interest in a multi-district action for hundreds of opioid-related lawsuits. "The Justice Department will primarily argue that the federal government — through various federal health programs and law enforcement efforts — has borne substantial costs from the opioid epidemic and seeks reimbursement," the press release announcing the plan states.

   And the Justice Department unveiled a memo this week written by Sessions directing the Drug Enforcement Agency to evaluate if it should change regulations around the aggregate production “where appropriate as expeditiously as practicable, including through a potential interim final rule.” 

   DOJ says the memo is in response to studies showing the U.S. has far more opioids prescribed each year than other countries.

   Trump also alluded to bringing death penalty charges against drug dealers pushing opioids at the White House meeting. “Some countries have a very tough penalty, the ultimate penalty and they have much less of a drug problem than we do,” he said.

   Meanwhile, a bipartisan bill to boost funding and put limits on prescriptions was unveiled and the Government Accountability Office agreed to probe the Trump administration’s response at the request of Senate Democrats.Congressional action

   The White House opioid summit comes as lawmakers work to hammer out bipartisan legislation to address the emergency.

   Earlier this week, a group of bipartisan lawmakers unveiled what they billed as the CARA 2.0 Act, a follow- up to the Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act, which became law in July 2016.  

   The proposed legislation would increase funding authorization to fight the opioid crisis to align with the recently-passed budget deal, which included $6 billion for fiscal years 2018 and 2019.

   In addition it would:Put in place a three-day limit for initial opioid prescriptions for acute pain.Permanently allow physician assistants and nurse practitioners under a physician to prescribe buprenorphine.Allow states to lift the cap on the number of patients a doctor can treat with buprenorphine.Require pharmacists and physicians to use their state prescription drug monitoring program when prescribing opioids.Increase civil and criminal penalties for opioid manufacturers.Create a national standard for recovery housing for those in long-term recovery.

   The bill would authorize funding for: a $10 million “National Education Campaign” aimed at communicating the dangers of opioids; $300 million to expand first responder training and access to naloxone; $300 million to expand evidence-based medication-assisted treatment; and $200 million for a national framework for recovery support services to transition people from treatment to long-term recovery; and more.GAO investigation

   In response to to a request from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, and Ranking Member of the HELP Committee Patty Murray, D-WA, the GAO agreed to open a probe into the Trump administration’s response to the opioid crisis.

   "GAO accepts your request as work that is within the scope of its authority. At the current time we anticipate that staff with the required skills will be available to initiate an engagement in about six months," Orice Williams Brown, GAO managing director for congressional relations wrote in a Feb. 26 letter to the senators obtained by Healthcare Dive.

   The lawmakers wrote to GAO Jan. 31 requesting a review of actions taken by the Trump administration since it declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency in October.

   "Given the severity of the crisis, we have grown increasingly concerned by reports that the President has done little to make use of his public health emergency declaration, leaving state and local communities without the resources they need to fight the opioid epidemic," the senators wrote.

   Trump’s FY 2019 proposed budget calls for $5 billion over five years in new resources to fight the opioid epidemic, but critics have argued the administration’s response to the crisis has been inadequate, saying that a national emergency designation is needed to release more funding.

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3. Federal government may join Nashville in opioids lawsuit against drug companies

   Mar 5, 2018 | Tennessean (TN)

   By Elaina Sauber

   The federal government may join Nashville and several Tennessee counties in a major lawsuit against drug manufacturers and distributors. 

   The unprecedented move follows announcements by the Department of Justice and President Donald Trump earlier this week about cracking down on those responsible for fueling the nation's opioid crisis.

   This week, Rutherford, Sumner and Scott counties became the latest to join a federal lawsuit against scores of drug manufacturers and distributors, including industry giants known as the "Big 3" — McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen — for breaching their legal obligations under federal and state law to investigate and report suspicious orders of prescription opioids.

   The federal cases, filed by hundreds of cities, counties and Native American tribes across the U.S., have been consolidated into a multi-district action in the Northern District of Ohio, where one judge is overseeing it.

   Nashville and 11 other counties in Tennessee are plaintiffs in the multi-district litigation.

   Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced this week the creation of the Prescription Interdiction & Litigation Task Force, which will target drug manufacturers and distributors for their roles in the opioid epidemic. 

   The Department of Justice also said it would file a statement of interest in a multi-district action "regarding hundreds of lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors."

   "The federal government has expressed interest in potentially becoming involved in the civil lawsuits in federal court," said Nashville attorney Mark Chalos, of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, who is representing Metro Nashville in the case. 

   Chalos called the government's statement "a recognition of how tremendous the impact of the opioids catastrophe has been in the U.S."

   "It also makes clear for governments at all levels, the time for action is now," Chalos said. 

   The statement of interest was filed in the consolidated case on Thursday, outlining costs the federal government has borne in relation to the opioid crisis through Medicaid, Medicare and veterans programs.

   The statement was filed the same day Trump suggested suing drug companies over the opioid crisis during a summit hosted by the White House.

   "Hopefully we can do some litigation against the opioid companies," Trump said during the summit. 

   Hundreds of states, counties and cities have sued drugmakers and distributors, accusing them of using false marketing and unlawful diversion of prescription opioids, which has led to the national epidemic. 

   Roughly 25 percent of the economic burden on federal programs affected the public sector, according to the statement.

   In November, the Council of Economic Advisors "found that previous estimates of economic costs associated with the opioid crisis were 'greatly understated,' " the statement says.

   The council estimated that in 2015, the cost of the opioid crisis was $504 billion, or 2.8 percent of the country's gross domestic product that year.

   The firm representing Metro Nashville and Davidson County is on the plaintiffs' executive committee in the case, which oversees the litigation for all the plaintiffs. By the numbers1,186 Tennesseans died from opioid overdoses in 2016.There were more than 13,000 outpatient visits for nonfatal overdoses in 2015.More than 7.6 million prescriptions for painkillers were written in 2016.Davidson County had 178 opioid overdose deaths in 2016.

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4. Sessions Announces Task Force, Throws Support Behind Opioid Lawsuits

   Mar 2, 2018 | TheFix

   By Kelly Burch

   One of the functions of the task force will be to assist state and local municipalities that have already filed lawsuits against Big Pharma companies.

   Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the formation of a federal task force that will target opioid manufacturers and distributors that have contributed to the opioid epidemic through unscrupulous practices, at the same time that he announced the Department of Justice’s support for lawsuits against opioid manufacturers. 

   Sessions announced the Prescription Interdiction and Litigation task force on Tuesday, and said that authorities will be given full support by the Department of Justice to go after drug companies, according to CNBC.

   "We will use criminal penalties, we will use civil penalties,” Sessions said. "We will use whatever laws and tools we have to hold people accountable if they break our laws.”

   Sessions called the opioid epidemic “the deadliest drug crisis in American history.”

   One of the essential functions of the task force will be to assist state and local municipalities that have already filed lawsuits against big pharmaceutical companies. Sessions said that the federal government will assist in one massive lawsuit in Ohio that combines complaints from more than 400 municipalities across the U.S., the New York Times reported.

   “I am announcing today that the department will file a statement of interest in a lawsuit against a number of opioid manufacturers and distributors for allegedly using false, deceptive, and unfair marketing of opioid drugs,” Sessions said.

   The judge in that Ohio case expressed his desire to reach a verdict that will make a real difference for public health. 

   “My objective is to do something meaningful to abate this crisis and to do it in 2018,” U.S. District Judge Dan Polster said in January. “I’m confident we can do something to dramatically reduce the number of opioids that are being disseminated, manufactured and distributed. Just dramatically reduce the quantity and make sure that the pills that are manufactured and distributed go to the right people and no one else.”

   Many state and local governments have filed lawsuits as a way to recoup some of the costs associated with the opioid epidemic. Sessions said that the federal government has the right to sue using the same principle. 

   "The Justice Department will primarily argue that the federal government—through various federal health programs and law enforcement efforts—has borne substantial costs from the opioid epidemic and seeks reimbursement,” he said. 

   Mary Daly, a federal prosecutor who has experience litigating against transnational drug-trafficking groups, will lead the task force’s legal efforts. 

   Sessions said that the task force and opioid manufacturer lawsuits are just the beginning of the federal government's involvement. 

   "These are not our last steps,” he said. “We will continue to attack the opioid crisis from every angle. And we will continue to work tirelessly to bring down the number of opioid prescriptions, reduce the number of fatal overdoses, and to protect the American people."

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5. DOJ to support opioid lawsuits

   Mar 4, 2018 | The News Herald (NC)

   By Sharon McBrayer

   It seems the federal government wants its share of a lawsuit that multiple governments have filed in recent months, including Burke County, against prescription opioid manufacturers and distributors.

   On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice said it would be filing a Statement of Interest in the multi-district action. Burke County filed a lawsuit on Jan. 31 against manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioid painkillers. The lawsuit was transferred to the Northern District of Ohio, where all such actions across the country have been assigned to federal Judge Dan A. Polster.

   The county filed the lawsuit in hopes of recouping the additional money it has spent due to the opioid crisis. Burke County has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars because of the dramatic increase of opioid abuse, say county officials.

   The Justice Department said in a release that it primarily will argue that the federal government —through various federal health programs and law enforcement efforts — has borne substantial costs from the opioid epidemic and seeks reimbursement.

   “Opioid abuse is driving the deadliest drug crisis in American history. It has cost this nation hundreds of thousands of precious lives,” U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in the release. “It has strained our public health and law enforcement resources and bankrupted countless families across this country. President Trump and this administration have made ending this unprecedented crisis a priority, and the Department of Justice is committed to using every lawful tool at our disposal to turn the tide. We will seek to hold accountable those whose illegality has cost us billions of taxpayer dollars.”

   On Thursday, Sessions went a step further and issued a memo calling for the Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration to direct the DEA to evaluate and consider whether or not to amend its regulations governing the total production quota where appropriate as quickly as possible, including through a potential interim final rule. The action is in response to studies that indicate the United States is outside the norm in the number of opioid prescriptions issued each year, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

   Sessions’ memo says the DEA has ramped up enforcement, regulatory and prevention efforts in recent months. He said on Oct. 27, the DEA announced six new heroin enforcement teams to enhance the DEA's ability to combat trafficking in heroin, fentanyl and fentanyl analogues and the violence associated with drug trafficking.

   On Feb. 6, the DEA took the immediate action of scheduling all fentanyl-related substances on an emergency basis, Sessions said in the memo.

   “Time is of the essence,” Sessions said in the memo. “Given the urgency of this crisis, with an estimated 175 Americans dying per day, we need DEA to act quickly to determine if changes are needed in the quotas.”

   Earlier this week, Sessions announced the creation of the Department of Justice Prescription Interdiction & Litigation Task Force, to fight the prescription opioid crisis. The justice department said the task force will deploy and coordinate all available criminal and civil law enforcement tools to reverse the tide of opioid overdoses, with a particular focus on opioid manufacturers and distributors.

   But an alliance of distributors doesn’t appear to be taking any of the blame for the opioid prescription crisis.

   Healthcare Distribution Alliance, which represents drug distributors, told The News Herald in mid-February that 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,” John Parker, senior vice president of the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, said in an email to The News Herald at the time.

   The lawsuit Burke County filed recently says the sheer volume of prescription opioids distributed to pharmacies in Burke County, and/or to pharmacies from which the distributors knew the opioids were likely to be diverted into the county, “is excessive for the medical need of the community and facially suspicious. Some red flags are so obvious that no one who engages in the legitimate distribution of controlled substances can reasonably claim ignorance of them.”

   In Burke County, there are more opioid prescriptions distributed than people.

   But this week , the Healthcare Distribution Alliance said it shares the common goal of ending the crisis.

   “HDA believes that there are tangible and immediate steps that our industry can take in collaboration with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that would enhance the security of the supply chain and reduce the potential for diversion,” President and CEO John M. Gray said in a release. “In a recent letter to the DEA, HDA called for the development of a ‘universal’ suspicious orders monitoring database that is run by DEA and is accessible to state and law enforcement and state regulators. Expanding access to DEA’s controlled substance data, as well as the agency’s advanced analytical tools, would be a critical step to improve information sharing and coordination.”

   Gray continued, saying, “We are committed to doing our part to reverse the opioid epidemic, but healthcare supply chain partners and providers must come together to determine how to raise awareness about the potential risks of opioid use and abuse; how we can work with law enforcement and others to identify bad actors working against the public health; how practitioners can better manage the treatment of pain in legitimate patients and how to ensure an effective and accessible system of addiction treatment.”

   Also this week, the Healthcare Distribution Alliance announced an effort to combat opioid painkiller misuse before it happens. It said distributors, pharmacies, health care providers and patient organizations were creating the Allied Against Opioid Abuse initiative to address the need for broader awareness and education.

   A release about the initiative said it will help aid doctors and pharmacists with conversations and educate patients with options about how the drug is dispensed, and how to dispose of unused medication. It said patients and doctors can request a pharmacist only partially fill an opioid prescription — often enough for a three-day supply. If the full prescription is needed, then the patient can pick up the remaining dose.

   “Requesting a partial fill can reduce the prevalence of unused opioids in the home, which can in turn, help reduce the abuse of these unused medicines,” according to a release from the alliance.

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6. DOJ supports opioid litigation

   Mar 5, 2018 | Leesville Daily Leader (LA)

   By Micah Pickering

   The opioid crisis sweeping the nation has caused many states and local governments to sue large manufacturers of drugs such as Oxycontin, Fentanyl, and Hydrocodone. On Tuesday, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Department of Justice would support the national litigation with an official statement of intent. Sessions estimated that 64,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2016.

   On Tuesday, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Department of Justice would support the national litigation with an official statement of intent. Sessions estimated that 64,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2016.

   The lawsuit is comprised of hundreds of complaints by cities, counties, and Native American Tribes. The suit alleges that the manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioid painkillers use deceptive marketing practices that have contributed to the epidemic.

   Vernon Parish has joined the fight against the opioid crisis. Back in September, VPSO Sheriff Sam Craft stated that he and his department see the negative ramifications that opioid abuse has caused. The VPSO is one of many organizations in the state to join the national litigation.

   The litigation is intended to award damages to provide relief to the area by suing for the cost to treat those afflicted by opioid addiction, costs for law enforcement, and costs for public safety. Sessions alleges citizens addicted to opioids have cost the government $115 billion in 2017, and have cost a staggering $1 trillion since 2001.

   Sessions also announced that the DOJ will soon have a task force to ensure opioid distributors and manufacturers are in compliance with the law, and punish those who are in violation. “We will use criminal penalties,” Sessions said. “We will use civil penalties. We will use whatever tools we have to hold people accountable for breaking our laws.”

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7. U.S. seeks time to consider joining opioid litigation

   Mar 2, 2018 | Reuters

   By Nate Raymond

   The U.S. Justice Department has asked a federal judge overseeing hundreds of lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors to give it 30 days to decide whether to participate in the litigation.

   The department made the request in papers filed in federal court in Cleveland late on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump earlier in the day called for a federal lawsuit against companies over their roles in the opioid epidemic.

    

   It cited estimates made by the White House Council of Economic Advisers in November that opioid abuse cost the U.S. economy as much as $504 billion in 2015.

    

   "The economic burden from the opioid epidemic includes considerable costs associated with the medical treatment of opioid users," the Justice Department said.

    As just one example of the costs federal agencies have incurred for treatment, the U.S. Defense Department's costs for care related to opioid use and dependence were $82 million in 2017, the Justice Department said.

    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 42,000 people died from opioid overdoses in 2016, the last year with publicly available data.

    Thursday's filing came after U.S. Attorney Jeff Sessions on Tuesday announced the department would file a statement of interest in cases consolidated before Polster, saying the federal government would seek reimbursement for the cost of the epidemic.

    The judge is overseeing at least 355 lawsuits filed by cities, counties and others against opioid manufacturers and distributors generally seeking to recover the costs they had incurred grappling with the public health crisis.

    Polster has been pushing for a quick, global settlement in the litigation, and has invited state attorneys general who have cases in state courts or who are conducting a multistate probe of the companies to participate in those talks.

    The lawsuits have generally accused the drugmakers of deceptively marketing opioids and allege distributors ignored red flags indicating the painkillers were being diverted for improper uses.

    The defendants include opioid manufacturers Purdue Pharma LP, Johnson & Johnson, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Endo International PLC and Allergan PLC and drug distributors AmerisourceBergen Corp, Cardinal Health Inc and McKesson Corp.

    The first settlement hearing was held in January. A second one is expected on Tuesday.

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8. Sessions Orders DEA to Consider Limiting Number of Opioid Pills Companies Can Manufacture

   Mar 2, 2018 | Daily Beast

   By Betsy Woodruff

   American pharmaceutical companies may soon produce fewer opioid pills.

   On Thursday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions directed the Drug Enforcement Administration to consider changing the number of opioid dosages that companies are allowed to manufacture every year.

    The move came after the West Virginia attorney general sued the DEA to  change how it determines quotas for drug manufacturers.

    “DEA’s quota program relies almost entirely on just a single piece of dangerously deceptive information: the estimated amount of the drugs the industry can sell each year,” reads a court filing from the state attorney general.

    According to the suit, the DEA decides how many drug dosages to let drug companies manufacture based on how many dosages they can sell.

    “DEA’s process conflates what industry wants with what Americans need,” the filing charges.

    The opioid epidemic has taken a devastating toll on West Virginia, where a single town received more than 20.8 million prescription painkillers from 2008 to 2015, according to a House Energy and Commerce Committee investigation. The state had the highest rate of drug overdose deaths in 2016 at 52 per 100,000 residents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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MDL

9. Opioid Settlement Talks Heat Up as Drugmakers Reduce Marketing

   Mar 5, 2018 | Bloomberg

   By Jef Feeley & jard S Hopkins

   Purdue Pharma LP’s decision to stop promoting its opioid drugs to doctors is being hailed as the first result of a judge’s push for concrete solutions to a nationwide epidemic, even though the company says the move has nothing to do with a massive lawsuit against drugmakers.

   On Feb. 9 Purdue announced it would lay off 200 salespeople and halt marketing of its much-abused OxyContin painkiller in doctors’ offices, a week after U.S. District Judge Dan Polster in Cleveland met with drugmakers fighting hundreds of opioid lawsuits filed by cities and counties.

   Purdue’s timing might build goodwill with the judge, said Jean Eggen, a mass-tort law professor at Widener University in Delaware. That could create some leverage if there’s an eventual settlement and may help the company as it argues for a lower payment, she said.

   “Purdue’s decision to stop marketing OxyContin to doctors is just the kind of thing the judge is looking for in this case,’’ Eggen said. “It will mean doctors will write fewer prescriptions, which translates into less abuse.’’

   Purdue may get some initial feedback Tuesday, when lawyers involved in the lawsuits gather in Cleveland for another negotiating session with Polster. Attorneys for the two sides assemble in separate courtrooms while officials shuttle proposals back and forth. The meeting is closed to the public and a gag order has been imposed on the parties.

   Drugmakers and drug distributors face more than 300 suits by governments accusing them of downplaying opioids’ risks and over-selling their benefits. Polster has said he hopes a settlement can be hammered out this year.

   Officials at Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue said the move wasn’t in response to Polster’s demands. “We made this decision independent of any settlement discussion or litigation,’’ Robert Josephson, a Purdue spokesman, said in an emailed statement. “We are not receiving relief by voluntarily moving in this direction.’’

   But experts have their doubts about Purdue’s claim.

   “They have been criticized over their marketing of OxyContin for years and now they decide to stop doing it?’’ asked Richard Ausness, a University of Kentucky law professor. “I guess better late than never, but I definitely think the judge’s settlement efforts played a role in this.’’

   Purdue is credited with helping develop many modern tactics of aggressive pharmaceutical promotion. Its ads pushing OxyContin included music, fishing hats and stuffed toys. Purdue spent $200 million marketing OxyContin in 2001, according to court filings. The next year, sales of the painkiller topped $1.5 billion.

   OxyContin, which debuted in 1996, is Purdue’s biggest-selling drug, though competition from generics have cut sales to $1.8 billion in 2017 from $2.8 billion five years earlier, according to data compiled by Symphony Health Solutions. Purdue also sells the painkiller Hysingla.

   Other opioid makers have also slowed promotion efforts, though often as part of cost cutting. Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd., struggling since buying Allergan’s generics business in 2016, stopped marketing the Fentora lozenge earlier this year, said Kaelan Hollon, a company spokeswoman. The product used fentanyl, a painkiller said to be 100 stronger than morphine. Israel-based Teva’s “only other branded opioid product, Actiq, has not been marketed for over a decade,’’ Hollon said.

   Dublin-based Endo International Plc hasn’t promoted any pain products since December 2016 when the company cut its 375-person sales force as part of a restructuring, spokeswoman Heather Zoumas Lubeski said in an email. Endo withdrew Opana ER from the U.S. in July 2017 after the FDA took the rare step of asking the company to do so. The company still makes an immediate-release Opana but said it’s not promoted.Janssen Response

   J&J’s Janssen unit stopped promoting opioid products in 2015, said Jessica Castle Smith, a company spokeswoman, adding its drugs represented “less than one percent of the total prescriptions written per year for opioid medications, including generics,’’ she said.

   Almost 45,000 people died in the U.S. from opioid-related overdoses in the 12 months ending in July, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That was up from 91 daily opioid overdose deaths the previous year, CDC officials said.

   The epidemic cost the American economy $504 billion in 2015 -- the equivalent of 2.8 percent of gross domestic product that year, according to a report last year by the Council of Economic Advisers.

   The case is In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation, 17-cv-2804, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio (Cleveland).

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Commentary and FYIs

10. What progress has the White House made on addressing opioids?

    Mar 5, 2018 | PBS Newshour

    By Hari Sreenivasan

    On average, 115 people die every day due to opioid overdose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The White House declared the opioid crisis a “public health emergency” last October and last week held a summit where President Trump praised the death penalty for drug dealers, a statement that was shocking to many. The Washington Post’s Katie Zezima joins Hari Sreenivasan.

    Video Link: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/what-progress-has-the-white-house-made-on-addressing-opioids
    

    HARI SREENIVASAN:

    The opioid crisis continues to rage in this country. according to the CDC overdoses kill an estimated 115 people every day. After declaring last October that the crisis is a “public health emergency,” the White House held a summit on the topic last week. It was attended by families advocates and administration officials. So what is the administration done to address this emergency to help answer that? I’m joined by Katie Zezima of The Washington Post. What kind of progress has been made? I mean it’s been a few months since the White House said that this was a public health emergency?

    KATIE ZEZIMA:

    Well depends on who you ask. the White House said that they have taken steps to try to combat this epidemic, which as you said is killing tens of thousands of people a year. You know the White House has said that they have loosened rules to make it easier for people to get into treatment. They are going to come out with basically an ad campaign to let people know about how you know how much this epidemic is affecting the United States for people and allow people to you know really tell their stories. Advocates on the other hand say that they really have not done that much. Cities and states still have not gotten money to help fight the crisis. Advocates said a number of the things the White House want to do, you know get more people into treatment are all good things but they haven’t actually seen any measurable progress yet.

    HARI SREENIVASAN:

    Now the White House also says they’re going to have more policies on this. Are any of these critiques are going to be addressed by that or what else are they proposing?

    KATIE ZEZIMA:

    President Trump said that there’s going to be more policies in the next couple of weeks but he did not specify exactly what they are. So I think that still remains to be seen. You know one of the things that they that they want to do and they have made some progress toward is lifting the cap on the number of people in residential treatment beds. Congress actually had to change the law but the administration is asking states to apply for waivers to lift those caps so more people can can get treatment.

    HARI SREENIVASAN:

    Earlier last week Attorney General Jeff Sessions also said that the Department of Justice wants to take part in going after some of the pharmaceutical companies. The president expressed support for that idea. Does it make a difference?

    KATIE ZEZIMA:

    Well, so what Attorney General Sessions wants to do is they filed a memorandum of interest in a very very large lawsuit that is happening out of Cleveland. And what that lawsuit is, is hundreds and hundreds of cities and towns and counties and states and municipalities around the country have sued pharmaceutical companies. They all have very different claims but all of these suits have been enjoined in this one mammoth lawsuit in Cleveland. So the Department of Justice filed a motion of interest in this case. It remains to be seen as to whether they will actually join in. And another thing that Attorney General Sessions did this past week, is he ordered the DEA to look at production quotas for opioids. So that’s actually quite a big deal you know seeing how many opioids are manufactured in the United States and whether it is too high.

    HARI SREENIVASAN:

    The president also made a remark at this particular event. He said, “some countries have a very very tough penalty, the ultimate penalty. And by the way they have much less of a drug problem than we do. So we’re going to have to be very strong on the penalties.” Some people interpret that to be the death penalty for drug dealers?

    KATIE ZEZIMA:

    Well the president said that there are certain countries where people pay the ultimate penalty and he also said that you know, people can get the death penalty here for killing one person and people who have certain drug dealers. It seems as though he was talking about people who deal fentanyl and can have the potential to kill thousands of people at once. You know I was told by someone in the White House that this has been reported by other people as well that he saw what happened in Singapore, which has the death penalty for drug dealers and he was interested in that and that the White House is looking at this idea of possibly making trafficking large amounts of fentanyl drugs, which can be very very deadly and kill people instantly a capital crime.

    HARI SREENIVASAN:

    In the meeting and after that meeting what are the communities, the people who are advocating for reform, what have been pushing for that perhaps the White House is listening to or not listening to on how this crisis can be wrangled? I mean I them wouldn’t want to say it’s going to be fixed or it’s going to be solved anytime soon.

    KATIE ZEZIMA:

    So the thing about this crisis that’s so that makes it so difficult is that every city and every town and really every person needs some something different in terms of whether he or she you know wants treatment at this time and how to help that person. So that’s part of the reason why this epidemic has been so difficult to solve.

    HARI SREENIVASAN:

    Right. Katie’s Zezima of The Washington Post joining us from Washington. Thanks a bunch.

    KATIE ZEZIMA:

    Thank you.

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11. Justice Dept. urges Congress to rewrite law that handcuffed DEA’s opioid enforcement

    Mar 2, 2018 | Washington Post

    By Scott Higham & Sari Horwitz

    The Justice Department is urging Congress to rewrite legislation, passed at the pharmaceutical industry’s behest, that has undermined the Drug Enforcement Administration’s efforts against companies suspected of violating the law.

    Assistant Attorney General Stephen E. Boyd wrote in a letter Wednesday that the Justice Department seeks to bring the law “more in line with the original intent of Congress,” according to a copy obtained by The Washington Post.

    Boyd was responding to ­Rep. Greg Walden, (R-Ore.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is investigating the opioid industry.

    “We believe the changes will make it easier to fight the opioid epidemic consistent with President Trump’s priorities to end this crisis,” said Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores. The bill was approved by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama.

    Walden, who asked for the agency’s input last year, said Friday that he would consider amending the legislation.

    “After four months of repeated requests, DOJ finally offered specific feedback to this committee’s questions, stating they believe the law does impede the DEA’s ability to do its job,” the chairman said. “We appreciate their guidance and are actively working with DOJ and stakeholders to address their concerns.”

    Walden has sponsored several measures to address the opioid epidemic, and he plans to hold a hearing this month about the DEA’s enforcement efforts against the industry.

    The Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act was pushed through Congress in 2016 by a small band of lawmakers backed by a powerful array of drug companies. The legislation was the subject of a joint investigation by The Post and “60 Minutes” in October.

    [The Drug Industry’s Triumph over the DEA ]

    The initial version was written by a drug industry attorney who once worked for the DEA. It was sponsored by Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.). Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) negotiated a final version of the bill in the Senate, and it was signed by Obama in April 2016.

    “While it would have been easier if the department had made these suggestions when I was working with them on the bill, before it sailed through Congress without objection and was signed into law by President Obama, I plan to study the department’s proposal closely,” Hatch said Friday. “It’s important for policy in this area to properly balance law enforcement and patient needs.”

    In a statement Friday night, Marino said: “DOJ and DEA have finally articulated what changes they would like to see in regards to the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act. While I still stand by my legislation that was supported by every senator, congressman, the DEA, the DOJ, and signed into law by President Obama, I look forward to working with DOJ and my colleagues to improve the law to ensure the DEA has every tool at their disposal to put an end to the opioid epidemic.”

    After the October report, Marino withdrew his nomination to become drug czar, which would have put him in charge of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he was “dubious” about the law when he was a senator and had concluded that it should be changed. Forty-four state attorneys general, as well as congressional Democrats, have called for its repeal.

    Boyd, the assistant attorney general, sent his letter to Congress the day after Sessions announced that a new task force would target drug manufacturers and distributors for their roles in the opioid epidemic, raising the possibility of filing criminal charges against them.

    The Justice Department has filed a statement of interest in hundreds of lawsuits against drug companies brought by cities, counties and medical institutions seeking reimbursement for the cost of the drug crisis. Sessions said the Justice Department would seek repayment as well, saying that the federal government has borne substantial costs.

    Since the passage of the law, DEA agents and investigators have said it neutered their most potent weapons against drug companies that fail to report suspicious orders of prescription painkillers from pharmacies. The DEA’s chief administrative law judge, John J. Mulrooney II, also wrote in a law review article that the law crippled the agency’s enforcement efforts.

    By amending the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, the law made it almost impossible for the DEA to use immediate suspension orders against drug distributors, according to the judge’s law review article. Those orders allowed the DEA to instantly stop shipments of controlled substances to drugstores suspected of diverting prescription narcotics to the black market.

    Rather than show that those shipments posed an imminent danger to a community, the new law required proof that the shipments posed a “substantial likelihood” of an “immediate threat” of death or bodily harm. The judge and others said it would be impossible to prove that standard against large drug manufacturers and distributors.

    Boyd called for changing that standard to “probable cause”— a threshold that is “relatively immune from varying court interpretations.”

    Industry officials defended the law as an effort to ensure that legitimate pain patients receive their medication without disruption. The industry had long complained that federal prescription drug laws were too vague about the responsibility of companies to report suspicious orders. The industry also complained that the DEA communicated poorly with companies and was too punitive when narcotics were diverted from the legal distribution chain to users and dealers.

    Another provision allows companies to submit “corrective action plans” that the DEA must consider before bringing sanctions. The DEA judge equated this to allowing bank robbers to return stolen cash after being caught.

    Boyd said the corrective action plans should be stricken, saying the DEA has a process that permits companies to present their cases as part of administrative proceedings.

    Since 2000, more than 200,000 people have died of prescription drug overdoses — more than three times the number of American lives lost during the Vietnam War.

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12. Attorney is Hopeful Current Opioid Litigation will Pave the Way for Individual Opioid Lawsuits

    Mar 3, 2018 | Lawyersandsettlements.com

    By Jane Mundy

    Attorney and physician Shezad Malik says he is monitoring closely the opioid MDL in Cleveland, hopeful money will support neighborhood drug treatment centers.

    "With all these opioid lawsuits filed against big Pharma, manufacturers, distributors and pharmacy chains, we are hopeful that a treasure trove of discovery will be uncovered to help individuals," says attorney Shezad Malik. "This teacher, this fireman, so many people wouldn't have fallen into the opioid trap if these drugs weren't pushed on them by their doctor or hospital."The Tobacco Analogy

    Malik likens the opioid problem to tobacco, whereby states and attorneys general opened the lid for individuals to litigate. The largest civil-litigation settlement in U.S. history, the "master settlement agreement" in 1998 involved the tobacco industry, 46 states and six other jurisdictions. State attorneys general argued that tobacco companies should take up the burden of paying for the costs of treating smoking-related diseases. The tobacco companies agreed to fund public-health programs and anti-smoking campaigns by making an annual payment to the states. Malik is hopeful that litigation history will repeat itself and pharma companies will make payments to drug treatment centers, and help support individuals with opioid addiction.
    
    Opioids and Pain Management

    "I'm hopeful that a lot of discovery material generated in this Cleveland opioid MDL will expose pharmaceutical marketing practiced by Purdue, J&J and Teva," says Malik. "It all started back in the 1990s with the push by pain management doctors to recast pain as something else. Pain was no longer a sign or symptom; instead it was dealt with aggressively with medication, rather than looking at the source of the pain. So, this paved the way for pain management doctors and clinics who just numbed the pain, whether you were suffering from broken bones or depression. And that started the whole shebang. We have always had pain in our lives and dealt with it but here was a different view of things and it had to do with narcotics."
    
    Compound that problem with how easy it is to obtain opioids and them being so dirt cheap. "You can get fentanyl by mail order from China or Canada; they can be sent to you via the internet. They come as multiple dots on a piece of paper or wrap, so easy to disguise," adds Malik.
    
    Elissa, aged 48 from New York underwent a surgical procedure last year to help correct nerve damage in her back and was prescribed oxycodone 20mg, cyclobenzaprine 10mg & gabapentin 900mg to help manage the pain during her recovery. In an email to LawyersandSettlements she describes her opioid dependency. "Dealing with daily and constant pain throughout my body has made me totally dependent on these drugs ... the side effects of taking the drugs has changed my life forever; and not for the better. I've been suffering from mood swings, aggressive behavior, insomnia, night sweats, nausea, stomach cramps and skin irritation just to name a few. The worst side effect of them all is depression."
    
    And Jordan from Arkansas writes that he has been on prescription opioids for years and became addicted to them. "Getting help is where the problem lies… more attention needs to be brought into focus on the particular problem in order to provide help for those who are asking for help," he says in an email. "The meds have ruined my life and I wish I never started taking them. The medical industry needs to be held accountable, so I would appreciate being included in any actions that will be taken against them."
    
    Opioid Multi-District Litigation in Cleveland

    Malik is optimistic that the current opioid litigation will lead to an early settlement with these big pharma companies and distributors, "because they don't want to expose the can of worms behind this marketing deal and pharma doesn't want to air their dirty laundry," he says.
    
    The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation recently created an MDL for opioid litigation known as the National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL #2804. Judge Daniel Polster is overseeing hundreds of lawsuits in this Cleveland MDL. According to the transfer order, the MDL litigation might also include "additional categories of plaintiffs and defendants, as well as different types of claims", which could include lawsuits filed by individuals affected by addiction.

    Judge Dan Polster asked the DEA at the beginning of March to provide plaintiffs lawyers with the identities of drug manufacturers that sold 95 percent of opioids in every state for 2012 and 2013. Polster wants the DEA to release data from the Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System, or ARCOS, which is key for plaintiffs' attorneys. ARCOS contains information about sales of prescription painkillers - as Malik says, discovery can provide a "treasure trove of information". The case is In re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation, case number 1:17-md-02804, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
    
    Individual Opioid Lawsuits

    "Once plaintiff attorneys have this information, we can start targeting single event cases where people have died in the event of taking opioids as prescribed," says Malik. "We will have the ability to sue pharma and doctors - in other words, follow the prescription paper trail. Everyone knows these drugs are dangerous but it is difficult to litigate, unless proven that pharma downplayed the dangers and committed fraud on the FDA and doctors. We are looking at millions of people and a multi-faceted problem and nobody has the answer-yet."
    

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13. Despite gains, Trump administration response to opioid crisis still faces criticism

    Mar 4, 2018 | ABC News

    By Alexander Mallin

    More than four months after declaring a public health emergency over the opioid crisis, President Donald Trump made a surprise appearance at a White House summit Thursday where he suggested the U.S. should tackle the epidemic by instituting “the ultimate punishment” for drug dealers.

    “You know, if you shoot one person, they give you life, they give you the death penalty," Trump said. "These people can kill 2,000, 3,000 people and nothing happens to them. Some countries have a very, very tough penalty -- the ultimate penalty. And, by the way, they have much less of a drug problem than we do.”

    The president’s comments were a significant departure from the discussions at the summit prior to his arrival, which had focused largely on expanding access treatment and eliminating the “stigma” around opioid addiction.

    But the moment illustrated a broader criticism of President Trump’s approach to a drug crisis that is estimated to have killed 64,000 Americans in 2016, as Congress and activists have looked to intensify pressure on the administration to take more significant action to tackle what they see as a multi-front war.

    In conversations with nearly a dozen lawmakers, former members of the president’s opioid commission and others who have interacted directly with the White House’s efforts, there remains a wide consensus that, despite recent significant gains, there are continued concerns that the administration is still not yet addressing the epidemic with the urgency it demands.A DELAYED RESPONSE

    While the president appointed an opioid commission early in his administration and accepted its list of 56 recommendations aimed at ramping up the response to the opioid crisis, former members of the commission framed the administration’s response essentially as a ship functioning without its most essential crewmembers.

    “I would like it to go faster, I really would, but I think we know why it hasn’t,” former Gov. Chris Christie, an ABC News contributor and former chair of the president’s opioid commission, said in an interview this week. “I think it’s been a problem with the fact that they have not had the personnel in place to be able to execute on the plan.”

    The administration went more than 14 months without a permanent ‘drug czar’ tasked with leading the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), which in previous administrations was described as essentially a command center for coordinating agencies’ responses to drug control efforts.

    The first nominee put forward by President Trump, Rep. Tom Marino, withdrew his nomination in October following a damning joint report from the CBS program "60 Minutes" and the Washington Post regarding legislation he spearheaded that allegedly set up roadblocks for the Drug Enforcement Administration in taking on drug companies.

    Former commission members also pointed to the sudden departure of former Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary Tom Price, who resigned in September following scrutiny of his use of expensive charter flights for official travel. Christie, in particular, described the replacement of Price by new HHS Secretary Alex Azar as a welcome move, saying Price was known for taking an “obstructionist” approach regarding the commission’s work.

    Also contributing to the delay was President Trump’s own seemingly waffling response until he officially declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency. In impromptu remarks at his Bedminster club in August 2017, Trump said he considered the crisis a “national emergency,” but that verbal declaration didn’t carry any of the weight a formal declaration would have provided in terms of financial resources.

    When Trump, in a national address in October, formally declared the crisis as a ‘public health emergency,’ he faced criticism because it stopped short of allocating the significant additional funds and resources that a broader national emergency would entail.

    “When we get a message like the president gave and his actions speak louder than words when he doesn’t appropriate the resources, it makes a farce out of his speech,” said former Democratic congressman Patrick Kennedy, a former member of the president’s opioid commission.‘GUTTING’ THE COMMAND CENTER IN THE DRUG FIGHT

    Another overarching criticism of the administration’s approach to the crisis is what lawmakers have described as the “gutting” of the ONDCP.

    In addition to its lacking a permanent leader for the first year of the administration, the president's budget proposal has called for shifting two key programs out of the office, including the the ‘High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas’ (HIDTA) program to the Department of Justice, and the ‘Drug Free Communities Act’ to the Department of Health and Human Services, which would effectively slash the ONDCP’s budget by over 90%.

    The administration has reasoned that such a move would help to reduce overlap and concentrate efforts in the departments that directly handle such issues, but the proposal has faced strong opposition on Capitol Hill.

    “The president has been basically trying - his budget - they’re trying to remove that office and put the programs either over at DOJ or HHS and I vehemently oppose that initiative,” said Sen. Shelly Moore Capito, R-W.Va. in an interview.

    Christie, whose commission recommendations to the president instead called for the shoring up of the ONDCP, said he’s more encouraged now that t Trump has appointed Jim Carroll as ‘drug czar’ to lead the office.

    “I have spoken to [Carroll] we’re going to be meeting in the next few weeks,” Christie said. “I think it needs to be streamlined, I think it needs to be focused much more than it is, and I think Jim has the capacity to do that. The real question is is he going to have the support throughout the administration to do what needs to be done?”

    NEW MOVEMENT DRAWS OPTIMISM

    The administration has earned some high marks in recent weeks however, with several newly-announced steps that those close to the issue have described as matching words with action.

    The president’s budget, for instance, proposed $13 billion to HHS over the next two years dedicated to combating the drug crisis, just a week after Trump signed the bipartisan budget deal passed by Congress that allocated $6 billion over two years toward the opioid epidemic.

    HHS secretary Azar also has sought to speed up the process for states to apply for waivers exempting them from what is known as the ‘Institutes for Mental Diseases’ (IMD) exclusion, which previously prohibited inpatient treatment facilities from accepting Medicaid reimbursements for patients receiving addiction treatment.

    At the opioid summit Thursday, Azar said he has personally appealed to governors to continue to apply for such waivers based on the expanded access that has been granted to states thus far.

    Christie described the move as one of the more significant steps taken by the administration thus far.

    “Thousands of treatment beds are going to be opened up because of the changes they’ve made in Medicaid,” Christie said. “ These different centers can open up treatment beds and know that they’re going to get paid the full Medicaid rate to be able to treat people and that population you’re dealing with the neediest folks.”

    Earlier this week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions also announced the creation of a task force within the Justice Department known as the Prescription Interdiction and Litigation Task Force, or PILS, aimed at bringing criminal and civil penalties against opioid manufacturers who have pending lawsuits against them in several states.

    The announcement was described as a potential “game-changer” by several state attorneys general, and one the president said Thursday he personally requested of Sessions, despite the recent public feud between the two that played out through the week.

    “I've also spoken with Jeff about bringing a lawsuit against some of these opioid companies,” Trump said. “I mean, what they're doing and the way -- the distribution.”

    ACTING ON ‘A CRISIS’

    However, such recent movement has instilled what is being described as “cautious optimism” among those still calling for the administration to double down on tangible action to address the crisis.

    “The problem’s not getting any better,” Capito said. “And in some cases, the experts in and around the problem predict that it’s gonna get worse so we can’t let our foot get up off the pedal here.”

    Some note a disconnect in the president’s own public remarks surrounding the crisis, which has largely focused on a crackdown in ‘law and order’ and less on the need to expand treatment of opioid addiction.

    When Trump evoked the opioid crisis in his January State of the Union address, he did so by tying it to his demands on immigration reform and the need for a wall along the U.S. southern border.

    “These reforms will also support our response to the terrible crisis of opioid and drug addiction,” Trump said. “We must get much tougher on drug dealers and pushers if we are going to succeed in stopping this scourge.”

    Sen. Maggie Hassan, a New Hampshire Democrat, said she was discouraged that Trump only visited the topic briefly and after more than an hour into his address to Congress.

    “What does concern me is that the president seems just focused on the law enforcement side of things and that ignores the fact that we have a demand issue here too often fueled by the overprescribing of prescription opioids,” Trump said. “So until we address that along with the law enforcement challenges we are not going to get better.”

    Trump has also publicly downplayed the role that ‘blue-ribbon commissions’ have played in addressing the problems of the epidemic, while the former chair of his own opioid commission has stressed the need for a public relations campaign that reduces the stigma associated with drug addiction and treats opioid dependency, similar to the AIDS crisis or heart disease.

    “We need one of those moments where we mainstream this disease, stop thinking that it’s a moral failing but instead that it’s a disease that needs to be treated and can be treated,” Christie said. “We’ve gotta remove that social stigma, the moral failing judgment.”

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14. Ten Observations from the White House Opioid Summit (Opinion)

    Mar 2, 2018 | National Review

    By Jim Geraghty

    First of all, if you ever get a chance to visit the White House, do so.

    One: The White House Opioid Summit began with a short video of Fox News personality Eric Bolling describing getting the call that his son had died of an overdose. You can see it here, and it is simply heartbreaking. He warned that “‘Not My Kid Syndrome’ is a killer.” The coroner’s report determined that Eric Chase Bolling had “cocaine, marijuana, alprazolam (commonly known as Xanax), and the opioid drugs fentanyl and cyclopropyl fentanyl in his system.” Despite a rumor at the time, there was no sign of self-harm; this was an accidental overdose, ending the life of a 19-year-old University of Colorado sophomore with his whole life ahead of him.

    College students can begin by seeking out Ritalin and stimulants to handle all-night study sessions and handle an exhausting schedule, and then turn to Xanax and other opioids to calm down and relax on the weekends. We need to tell our kids not merely, “don’t do drugs.” We need to tell them, “don’t ingest any pill that didn’t come from a pharmacist, because there is a greater-than-zero risk that it could kill you.”

    Two: A second video featured Daniel Goonan, the fire chief of Manchester, N.H., whose department now responds to more overdoses than fires. The city instituted a “Safe Station” program, where anyone struggling with addiction can show up, get assessed, and steered to a treatment program. “As most city hospital emergency rooms may be overwhelmed with patients, this program assists all by weeding out those individuals seeking assistance that may not need immediate medical attention but need immediate help.”

    Three: Health and Human Services secretary Alex Azar was the first of five cabinet secretaries to speak, and pointed out that his department was eager to provide states with waivers from federal regulations if they felt those regulations were impeding efforts to provide addiction recovery and treatment. One good example:

    One way they can be used is to allow more healthcare facilities to be reimbursed for providing treatment. By law, medical facilities are not allowed to have more than 16 beds to receive Medicaid funds. The rule, which dates to 1965 and was intended to promote the expansion of smaller community-based substance abuse treatment centers, has contributed to long wait lists for treatment. More beds are allowed for states that ask to make changes through a waiver.

    Azar has urged more governors to apply for waivers so more people can have access to treatment for addiction.

    “I actually berated the governors saying, ‘Why have I only gotten five of these so far?’ We are eager to work with them, we have a streamlined process for approving them, and I want more,” he said.

    Four: Azar said the philosophy at HHS was to see opioid addiction as a “medical challenge, not a moral failure.” One of the parents of a young man who died of an overdose discussed the need to fight the stigma of addiction that makes people want to hide their addiction problem, and avoid getting help and treatment. That left me wondering if we can de-stigmatize addicts while keeping the stigma on the addictive substances. Perhaps we as a society are managing to do that with tobacco products. It’s much less accepted and some might even argue demonized, but no one thinks badly of a person trying to quit, and in fact almost everyone applauds it.

    I notice I’ve heard about people seeing a doctor for back trouble, twisted knees, and things like that and explicitly wanting non-opioid pain relief, because of all of the discussion of the possibility of addiction.

    Five: Wariness about addiction is stirring a completely different approach to prescribing opioids for pain management. Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin said that since 2012, VA hospitals have reduced the use of opioids by 40 percent and reduced the number of new prescriptions of opioids by 90 percent.

    Six: It is worth noting that addiction psychiatrist Sally Satel stirred the pot recently by contending in a Politico op-ed that the current discussion overstates the role of prescription-medication abuse in the opioid crisis:

    Only a minority of people who are prescribed opioids for pain become addicted to them, and those who do become addicted and who die from painkiller overdoses tend to obtain these medications from sources other than their own physicians. Within the past several years, overdose deaths are overwhelmingly attributable not to prescription opioids but to illicit fentanyl and heroin. These “street opioids” have become the engine of the opioid crisis in its current, most lethal form.

    Seven: Jim Carroll, the newly appointed acting director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, made his first major remarks at the summit and revealed that someone in his family is currently struggling with addiction.

    Eight: Bruce Carroll — no relation — was in attendance and showed me a fascinating device from his company, Proteus Digital Health. It is a monitor/sensor roughly the size of a grain of sand that can be attached to a pill and ingested. The monitor sends out a signal communicating if the pill was consumed, when it was consumed, and helps a doctor know if a patient is taking the right amount of medication at the right time. For example, if a doctor is worried about a patient passing along or selling painkiller pills, the electronic record would show if the patient was given twelve pills and only ingested two.

    Nine: Bolling was in attendance, and toward the end of the summit, he described a phone call from President Trump on Thanksgiving Day, the first major holiday for his family without his son. Bolling said he knew that sitting down for the dinner, and seeing the empty chair, would be a devastating moment for everyone gathered. That moment that afternoon was interrupted by the phone ringing — the president of the United States was calling, checking in, offering his sympathies, and asking if there was anything he could do.

    Ten: At the conclusion of the event, President Trump joined us.

    “I’ve also spoken with Jeff [Sessions] about bringing a lawsuit against some of these opioid companies,” Trump said. “I mean, what they’re doing and the way — the distribution. And you have people that go to the hospital with a broken arm, and they come out and they’re addicted. They’re addicted to painkillers, and they don’t even know what happened. They go in for something minor, and they come out and they’re in serious shape.”

    After the remarks, Trump stepped off the stage to applause and started shaking hands with the people on the aisle, and then did something of a double-take when he saw Bolling, sort of a “I didn’t know you would be here!” response. He pulled him in to a half-embrace, heads close, and they exchanged a few words. Trump’s older brother Freddy died in 1981 as a result of alcoholism, and that influenced Trump greatly; Trump doesn’t drink. There are many times Trump has lashed out and seemed to be lack empathy, but the consequences of addiction may bring out the president’s softer side. Several times in his remarks, standing before assembled families of those struggling with addiction and those who lost their battles, Trump said, “I know what you’re going through.”

    If you read yesterday’s Jolt, you know what I think of the man. But seeing him in the flesh, I felt some sympathy. The president looks exhausted. The presidency comes with far-reaching responsibilities that are hard to imagine. Men who step into the job start to age as quickly as the guy who drinks from the wrong cup in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

    Oh, Hey, We’re Starting a Trade War. Happy Friday, Everybody!

    That was the good Trump at the White House yesterday; bad Trump appeared a short time earlier at a separate event, where he apparently shocked his advisors by announcing a plan for tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.

    Q: How long, do you think, on the tariffs?

    THE PRESIDENT: Unlimited period. Unlimited.

    Q: Twenty-five on steel?

    THE PRESIDENT: Twenty-five percent for steel. It will be 10 percent for aluminum. And it will be for a long period of time.

    Our Ramesh: “The new tariffs on aluminum and steel products that may or may not be coming — but seem, as I write, to be walloping stocks either way — are a bad idea. They will hurt the industries that use steel and aluminum, which employ many more people and add more to our economy than the steel and aluminum industries themselves. And they will invite retaliation.”0

    Molson-Coors warned in a statement, “Like most brewers, we are selling an increasing amount of our beers in aluminum cans and this action will cause aluminum prices to rise and is likely to lead to job losses across the beer industry.” The company contends that domestically, “there simply isn’t enough supply to satisfy the demands of American beverage makers.”

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15. The opioid crisis is a government failure of epic proportions (Opinion)

    Mar 2, 2018 | Washington Post

    By David Von Drehle

    President Trump deserves credit for ringing the alarm bell on the crisis of opioid abuse. In 2016, more Americans died of opioid overdoses than were killed in the Vietnam War. This appalling statistic is a key factor in the recent, shocking decline in U.S. life expectancy.

    I would quibble, however, with Trump’s decision to launch a global trade war on the same day he convened a White House summit to highlight the opioid emergency. That’s not what folks normally mean by “highlight.” Where is the laser focus and message discipline that allowed a younger Trump to leverage his 1990 garden-variety divorce into a New York tabloid sensation? These days, we’re lucky if he can stay on topic for an hour.

    And I feel it’s my duty (since his lawyers are otherwise occupied) to break the news to the president that mandatory death sentences for drug dealers — Trump’s latest solution to the crisis — would violate the Constitution, according to multiple Supreme Court rulings joined by conservative and liberal justices over the past 42 years. Can such long-standing precedents be overturned? Highly unlikely — and certainly not on Trump’s timetable.

    Trump should go back to the track he was on before visions of Singapore’s draconian justice system began dancing in his head. Last year, when the president declared opioid abuse a “public health emergency,” he directed compassionate attention to the heart of the problem: the suffering addict in need of help, as well as the potential addict in need of prevention.

    “I learned myself,” the president said during a speech at the White House. “I had a brother, Fred. Great guy, best-looking guy, best personality — much better than mine. But he had a problem. He had a problem with alcohol. And he would tell me: ‘Don’t drink. Don’t drink.’ ”

    The human essence of the opioid crisis is laid bare in photographer James Nachtwey’s astonishing essay in the March 5 issue of Time. Never before in Time’s 95-year history has an entire magazine issue been devoted to a single photo essay; the result is a masterwork by one of the world’s greatest photojournalists.

    Along with editor Paul Moakley, Nachtwey — a veteran of wars and famines the world over — spent a year traveling the United States, from the streets of Boston and San Francisco to the hot zones of Ohio, Appalachia and New Hampshire. In prisons and back alleys, in hospitals and graveyards, he trained his fearless eye on pain that is difficult to look at but impossible to ignore.

    “It’s not just the guy who’s never worked a day in his life,” a deputy sheriff on the front lines of the epidemic told Nachtwey and Moakley in one of some 200 interviews they conducted. “It’s airline pilots. It’s teachers. I’m sure there’s law enforcement, firemen out there hooked on it. It’s Joe Citizen that’s dying.”

    That quote doesn’t immediately square with the debased condition in which Nachtwey found many of his subjects: huddled in a snowbank trying to find a vein, catatonic and skeletal on a makeshift stretcher, dead in a roadside field. But by turning abstract statistics into human beings, the photographer points us to the person who preceded the addiction — and who, given enough chances and support, might survive it.

    Any family that has struggled with an addiction, as the president’s family has, can tell you that it’s easy to fall into one but very hard to climb out. That’s what baffles me about the opioid crisis: With the possible exception of alcohol, no substance on earth has a longer track record of disastrous addiction than opium and its derivatives — laudanum, morphine, heroin, codeine — and synthetic relatives such as fentanyl and carfentanil.

    Yet despite centuries of hard-won knowledge, pharmaceutical companies and prescribing physicians were allowed to make such opioids as Percocet and OxyContin widely available as treatments not just for acute pain, but for chronic discomfort. Their fantasy of benign long-term opioid use is the root of the epidemic. Nearly 80 percent of heroin users report that prescription pain relievers were their gateway drugs, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

    Such a failure of epic proportions by a generation of public-health officials merits a major congressional investigation to reduce the chance that anything like it ever happens again.

    In the meantime, this is not a problem we can kill our way out of. Time, citing a recommendation from the president’s own opioid task force, urges the immediate lifting of Medicaid limits on reimbursements for drug treatment. Another pressing need: ramped-up research on safe alternatives for managing chronic pain.

    And although many deride the “just say no” approach, Freddy Trump was onto something with his counsel to his younger brother. “Don’t do it” is lifesaving advice for anyone flirting with opiates, and Nachtwey’s photographs provide all the proof anyone should need.

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Midwest (IL, MO, MN, IN, OH)

16. Opioid-addicted baby at center of class action lawsuit in Southern Illinois

    Mar 5, 2018 | Belleville News Democrat (IL)

    By Kara Berg

    The family of a baby born addicted to opioids filed a class action lawsuit Wednesday against 20 pharmaceutical companies they accused of being negligent and responsible for the mother's addiction to opioids and heroin.

    The lawsuit tells the story of a baby, only identified by his initials T.W.B. He was born March 21, 2017, and spent the first days of his life in "excruciating pain" as he was weaned from his opioid addiction, inherited from his mother.

    "Baby T.W.B. will require years of treatment and counseling to deal with the effects of prenatal exposure," the lawsuit says. "Baby T.W.B. and his mother are victims of the opioid crisis that has ravaged Illinois, causing immense suffering to those born addicted to opioids and great expense to those forced to deal with the aftermath."

    Alton residents Deric and Ceonda Rees, the baby's grandparents, filed the lawsuit Wednesday in the U.S. District Court of Southern Illinois. Ceonda Rees declined to comment, saying she had been advised not to discuss the lawsuit.

    The baby was diagnosed with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, which can cause breathing and feeding problems, and require a longer hospital stay while they are experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

    Taking opioids during pregnancy can also cause babies to be born with birth defects, according to Stanford Children's Health. The number of babies born with this disease has increased fivefold since 2000, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

    At birth, Baby T.W.B. shook, refused to feed and cried excessively as he arched his back from the pain, according to the lawsuit. It was difficult to soothe him, and his development was delayed.

    The baby's mother became addicted to opioids when she was prescribed them for a broken ankle and broken hand as a young teenager. Her addiction to prescription opiates functioned as a gateway to heroin addiction, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges the mother consumed drugs made and distributed by each of the 20 defendants, including Dilaudid, Percocet, Oxycodone and Hydrocodone.

    The lawsuit accuses the pharmaceutical companies of creating an environment where opioids freely flow due to "false, negligent and unfair marketing/unlawful diversion of prescription opioids." 
    
    

    The Reeses asked for equitable relief and medical monitoring to identify developmental issues that will "almost inevitably appear as they age," and fund services and treatment.

    "Baby T.W.B.'s experience is part of an opioid epidemic sweeping through the United States, including Illinois, that has caused thousands of infants great suffering and continuing developmental issues," the lawsuit says." This epidemic is the largest health care crisis in U.S. history."
    
    

    A similar lawsuit was filed in Louisiana on Tuesday.

    The pharmaceutical companies included in the lawsuit released the following statements:

    Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: "We recognize opioid abuse and addiction are serious public health issues, and are committed to being part of the ongoing dialogue and to doing our part to find ways to address this crisis. Our actions in the marketing and promotion of these medicines were appropriate and responsible. The labels for our prescription opioid pain medicines provide information about their risks and benefits, and the allegations made against our company are baseless and unsubstantiated. In fact, our medications have some of the lowest rates of abuse among this class of medications."

    Purdue Pharma: "We are deeply troubled by the prescription and illicit opioid abuse crisis, and we are dedicated to being part of the solution. As a company grounded in science, we must balance patient access to FDA-approved medicines, while working collaboratively to solve this public health challenge. Although our products account for less than 2 percent of the total opioid prescriptions, as a company, we've distributed the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, developed three of the first four FDA-approved opioid medications with abuse-deterrent properties and partner with law enforcement to ensure access to naloxone. We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense."

    Allergan: "It is important to put into perspective Allergan’s role regarding opioids. Allergan’s three legacy opioid products – Norco, Kadian and Fiorinal with Codeine — account for less than 0.04 percent of all opioid products prescribed in 2017 in the U.S. These products came to Allergan through legacy acquisitions and have not been promoted since 2013, in the case of Kadian and Fiorinal, and since 2003, in the case of Norco. Allergan has a history of supporting — and continues to support — the safe, responsible use of prescription medications. This includes opioid medications, which when prescribed and used responsibly, play an appropriate role in pain relief for millions of Americans."

    Teva Pharmaceuticals: "Teva is committed to the appropriate use of opioid medicines, and we recognize the critical public health issues impacting communities across the U.S. as a result of illegal drug use as well as the misuse and abuse of opioids that are available legally by prescription. To that end, we take a multi-faceted approach to this complex issue; we work to educate communities and healthcare providers on appropriate medicine use and prescribing, we comply closely with all relevant federal and state regulations regarding these medicines, and, through our R&D pipeline, we are developing non-opioid treatments that have the potential to bring relief to patients in chronic pain. Teva also collaborates closely with other stakeholders, including providers and prescribers, regulators, public health officials and patient advocates, to understand how to prevent prescription drug abuse without sacrificing patients’ needed access to pain medicine."

    Endo Pharmaceuticals and Endo Health Solutions declined to comment.

    Amerisource, Cardinal Health and Johnson & Johnson did not respond for comment.

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17. Gibbons welcomes bids for opioid lit: ‘The Lord only creates so many John Simmonses’

    Mar 5, 2018 | Madison - St. ClairRecord (IL)

    By Heather Isringhausen Gvillo

    Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons addressed a number of concerns surrounding the county’s potential involvement in opioid litigation against pharmaceutical companies at Friday’s Judiciary Committee meeting, stating that all bids are welcome but “we also want to win.”

    The Madison County Judiciary Committee presented Gibbons with a list of questions and concerns regarding the potential opioid litigation at February’s meeting. 

    Without his notes, Gibbons addressed the questions he could remember and said he would provide a list of written answers and explanations at next month’s meeting. 

    Gibbons said he has sole authority to determine whether or not the county will file an opioid lawsuit and which firm will represent the county if he chooses to do so. 

    However, he said he wants the process to be a transparent, cooperative effort. 

    Gibbons said he would seek public bids for firms to represent the county in a potential opioid lawsuit. He added that he would likely request bids from teams of law firms to represent the county together due to the large up-front costs and millions of documents involved. 

    Gibbons explained that Madison County will not pay costs upfront, so the firms seeking to represent it must have enough capital to front costs that could easily reach $1 million. This prevents the tax payers from being on the hook, he said. 

    Firms wishing to represent the county must also have a proven track record of working with large scale litigation. 

    Gibbons said firms certainly may submit hourly bids, but he has yet to see a firm take on an opioid lawsuit on an hourly basis. 

    “That doesn’t exist,” he said. 

    Gibbons said he would be surprised to see a single law firm make a bid due to the enormity of the litigation.

    “Is there somebody out there who says they can do this thing on an hourly basis and do we think they can actually accomplish it?” he said.

    While the county may receive a bid from a solo practitioner willing to take on an opioid case for $100 per hour, experience and ability are required. 

    “Well that’s really nice, but we also want to win,” Gibbons said. 

    He added that he can’t send a novice or an attorney fresh out of law school up to fight leading defense counsel Peter Fitzgerald, a former U.S. Attorney who has put two governors behind bars. 

    He said the request for bids would be laid out to recognize and predetermine as many of the variables as possible, allowing a contract to reflect every aspect of the potential litigation.

    Committee chair Mike Walters joked that national asbestos attorney John Simmons of Alton was almost fresh out of law school when he began winning cases. 

    “The Lord only creates so many John Simmonses,” Gibbons responded. 

    Committee member Phil Chapman applauded Gibbons’ discussion of the bidding process. 

    “To some of the unenlightened and also some of the bar groups, that issue of hourly recompense had been raised,” Chapman said. “So I’m glad, in an effort of transparency, that you are making every effort to answer that question because those of us, if we were to decide to support this, that’s a question that needs to be answered.”

    Chapman added that he does not support “people playing petty politics” with the bidding process. 

    “You get into this tit for tat thing,” Chapman said. “I personally don’t want to be part of a system that acts that way. That is so dysfunctional. So I thank you for that.”

    “Well we work for the people,” Gibbons responded. “I am elected by the general public, so I work for 267,000 people. That’s how many bosses I have.”

    “We all have that larger responsibility,” he added. 

    Gibbons said that documents would be made available to the public for review and any decisions he makes would be made “in a pretty public way.”

    He added that the public is very much aware for the opioid epidemic, and keeping them engaged is for everyone’s good. 

    In regards to any money recovered from a potential opioid lawsuit, Gibbons said he would first get treatment providers and the public to sit down and talk about how the county should deal with the opioid epidemic, such as treatment and prevention.

    He suggested investigating, developing and approving a “best practices model.” Then any money spent on treatment, prevention and education would follow the approved model. 

    Establishing a universal model ahead of time prevents the county from getting a lump sum of money from the litigation and then using that money to buy toilets and sod for the lawn, Gibbons said. 

    Chapman applauded his efforts to create a plan before any money is received.

    “To get this money and then waste it on political chicanery is not acceptable to me,” he said. 

    Gibbons said it would be “morally offensive” to receive money from an opioid lawsuit and not use it to address the epidemic problem. 

    Addressing the amount of time potential opioid litigation would take, Gibbons said it would be a lengthy process, possibly lasting five to seven years. 

    He said the progress of the case would be dictated by the people facilitating these cases as a large group through a unified court.

    Litigation could be resolved sooner because some opioid manufacturers have already taken steps to alter their behavior, which he said is one of the goals of litigation and threatening litigation. 

    For example, one pharmaceutical company has agreed to stop marketing to doctors as expansively as they have in the past, “indicating a willingness to be bent to the will” of the public, he said.

    Gibbons said the public is becoming a more powerful, unified force. 

    “They’re recognizing that each state, each county that joins litigation adds leverage,” he said.

    The county judiciary has been contemplating for months whether to join a growing number of local governments pursuing civil litigation against pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors of opioids. 

    On the federal level, close to 200 local government lawsuits from around the country were consolidated into multidistrict litigation (MDL)that will be heard in the Northern District of Ohio. 

    Simmons Hanly Conroy attorney Paul Hanly was selected as a lead counsel member on the MDL. 

    The committee’s list of questions for Gibbons to address also included concerns that a potential opioid litigation could pose problems for Madison County, adding to its reputation as a litigious epicenter and driving business away. 

    Gibbons was asked at the February meeting to address public concerns that joining the opioid litigation would draw pharmaceutical suits to Madison County, mimicking the county’s asbestos docket. 

    The next meeting is set for April 6 at 8:30 a.m. 

    The committee includes Walters, Chapman, Mike Parkinson, Gussie Glasper, Chrissy Dutton, Jamie Goggin and Liz Dalton.

    Walters (R) is the committee chair with members Parkinson(D), Chapman (R), Gussie Glasper (D), Chrissy Dutton (R), Jamie Goggin (R) and Elizabeth Dalton (D). 

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18. Joplin City Council to consider joining opioid lawsuit

    Mar 5, 2018 | The Joplin Globe (MO)

    By Debby Woodin

    A resolution that would allow the city of Joplin to join in a class-action lawsuit against opioid manufacturers will be considered Monday by the Joplin City Council.

    Council approval would mean retaining an attorney, John F. Garvey with the law firm of Carey, Danis & Loew in St. Louis, and the Strong Law Firm in Springfield to represent the city. There would be no fee for the legal representation or litigation expenses unless a settlement or verdict is obtained, according to the agreement attached to the resolution.

    According to the agreement, the purpose of the lawsuit is to hold wholesale distributors of opiate medications responsible for alleged violations of state and federal laws. Similar lawsuits have alleged that doctors, regulators and patients were misled about the addictive potential of opiates such as OxyContin. Garvey has previously said that cities and counties are bearing many of the costs of what has been declared a public health crisis.

    Garvey also is representing Jasper County. The county commission agreed in January to join the lawsuit. Garvey said it would be filed in Jasper County Circuit Court, although court records on Friday did not show it filed as yet.

    The resolution states that the council "has the authority to abate, or cause to be abated, any public nuisance including those acts that significantly interfere with the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Joplin."

    Companies to be named in the lawsuit are Perdue Pharma, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, McKesson Pharmaceutical, Cardinal Health Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., AmerisourceBergen and Janssen. Many companies have denied the allegations.

    Hundreds of county and state governments have filed similar lawsuits in state and federal courts, including Missouri, which health authorities have said has been hit harder than many other states by the opioid epidemic.

    In other business, the council:

    • Will be asked to approve an agreement to accept federal funding to pay part of the cost of building the St. John's Boulevard walking and biking trail. The grant would be provided for 45 percent of the cost of the project up to $202,857. The city will be responsible for the remainder, $243,428, from the parks and stormwater sales tax revenue. The trail would extend from 28th Street and St. John's Boulevard around Cunningham Park to 26th and Main streets.

    • Hold a public hearing on the request for a special-use permit to expand a parking lot for Express Employment Professionals at 1901 New Hampshire Ave.

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19. City of Joplin Could Join Class Action Lawsuit

    Mar 4, 2018 | Ozarksfirst.com (MO)

    By Austin Hyslip

    Joplin city leaders are to decide on entering a class action lawsuit against opioid manufacturers at this week's city council meeting. 

    The lawsuit will "pursue all civil remedies against those in the chain of distribution of prescription opiates responsible for the epidemic plaguing Joplin."

    The law firm of Carry, Danis and Lowe will file claim failure to warn, nuisance, "negligence per se" as well as the claim the defendants worked in concert with each other.

    The legal documents do not specify the amount their seeking. 

    Another resolution on the agenda grants money for the Joplin Police Department that would fund DWI enforcement in town.

    In total, more than $95,000 would come from the Missouri Department of Transportation to pay for training as well as equipment.

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20. County joins legal case against opioid manufacturers

    Mar 3, 2018 | Pine Journal (MN)

    By Jana Peterson

    Carlton County is suing to get compensation for all the additional expenses — for the sheriff's department and county jail, the courts and health and human services — caused by opioid addiction.

    On Monday, Feb. 26, Carlton County commissioners voted unanimously to pursue litigation against opioid manufacturers, joining a number of counties from around the state and other cities and counties units across the country. There is no fee to the county for joining the lawsuit; if the lawsuit is successful, the attorney fee would be 25 percent of the award.

    County Attorney Thom Pertler described it as a "plus-plus."

    "I think there are no drawbacks legally (to filing a lawsuit)," he said. "There's no risk to the county but there are potential benefits."

    Pertler will serve as a liaison between Carlton County and the two partner law firms (Lockridge, Grindal & Naven and Gustafson, Gluck) that are filing lawsuits on behalf of at least 12 counties in Minnesota. The lawsuit will look at local impacts of opioid addiction, Pertler said, from overdoses to criminal activity to treatment costs.

    "All things connected to the opioid epidemic," he added.

    Attorneys from the law firms told the county board in January that the lawsuit alleges national pharmaceutical companies misrepresented the appropriate use of their highly addictive opioid pain medications.

    Attorney David Asp said the drugs were approved for end of life pain management, but companies aggressively marketed them for chronic pain use, asserting that they were safe when they were, in fact, highly addictive.

    Carlton County had some of the highest opioid prescription rates statewide from at least 2009 to 2014, hitting a peak in 2012, when the prescribing rate hit 113.3 per 100 people, more than one per person.

    Prescription numbers are down now, but now "the consequences have increased," Asp said, noting the increase in numbers of people being treated for addiction, people dying from opioid abuse, child protection cases resulting from parent addiction and crimes related to people needing money to feed their addictions. The county is bearing the brunt of a lot of those costs.

    Should the case succeed, the goal would be to use any money gained from the lawsuit to help the county pay its increased costs and set up a fund to help increase treatment availability and affordability, Asp told the board.

    Although the attorneys were asking to represent Carlton County individually, cases filed by more than 220 cities and counties nationwide have been consolidated into a class action lawsuit currently being considered in Ohio. Carlton County would become part of that larger lawsuit, attorney Dave Goodwin told the commissioners.

    Pertler said he expects the case to take a long time, possibly years. For now, the county is waiting to sign the contract to retain the two law firms.

    In related news, Gov. Mark Dayton released opioid abuse proposals in February that, if passed by the Legislature, would annually invest about $12 million in high-impact strategies to treat and prevent opioid abuse, especially in communities that are disproportionately impacted by opioid addiction.

    Dayton is also pushing for creation of an Opioid Stewardship Program, which would require that opioid manufacturers pay "a penny a pill" fee to fund a comprehensive prevention, treatment and recovery effort.

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21. West Lafayette joins wave of cities and counties to sue opioid companies

    Mar 5, 2018 | The Exponent (IN)

    By Mateo Menchaca

    Mayor John Dennis has filed suit against 10 opioid manufacturers and three opioid distributors to recover damages from the epidemic the country has been fighting.

    This makes West Lafayette the latest of five counties, 10 cities and two towns in the state to file suit against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

    “Pharmaceutical companies have profited greatly over the manufacturing of drugs that they have knowledge of being addictive, and not just addictive, but horribly so,” Dennis said.

    The complaint alleges that the manufacturers and distributors are equally responsible for the dramatic increase in the use of prescription opioid pain medications that fueled the growing crisis.

    It says the manufacturers are at fault for deceptively marketing their products, and the distributors are at fault for failing to identify, report and stop suspicious orders of medications that flooded communities across the nation.

    “There is information that would lead one to believe that Big Pharma was aware of those (addictive) properties,” Dennis said. “They did nothing to try and curb that and to some degrees encouraged overprescribing, and to us that’s not just wrong. That’s very wrong.”

    The manufacturer defendants will be Cephalon Inc., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Noramco Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals, Mallinckrodt PLC, Allergan PLC, Watson Pharmaceuticals and Purdue Pharma — which has no relation to Purdue University.

    The opioid distributor defendants will be AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp., Cardinal Health Inc., and McKesson Corp.

    Healthcare Distribution Alliance, which represents the three distribution companies, told The Indianapolis Star that distributors are not to blame.

    “We don’t make medicines, market medicines, prescribe medicines or dispense them to consumers,” Senior Vice President John Parker told the Indianapolis Star. “Given our role, the idea that distributors are solely responsible for the number of opioid prescriptions written defies common sense and lacks understanding of how the pharmaceutical supply chain actually works and how it is regulated.”

    West Lafayette will be represented by Cohen & Malad, a law firm based in Indianapolis.

    “These folks have done it before,” Dennis said. “We know when we’re investing our folks’ taxpayer dollars in any litigation, you always want to get the biggest bang for your buck, and these folks have a great deal of experience in it.”

    Cohen & Malad is also representing Indianapolis, Bloomington, Lafayette and Hammond, as well as Monroe and Lake counties. All are filing suit against the same manufacturers and distributors.

    Another law firm representing many similar cases across Indiana is Taft Stettinius & Hollister.

    The firm is representing the cities of Fort Wayne, New Albany, Jeffersonville, Kokomo, Columbus, Muncie, Terre Haute, Noblesville, Greenwood and Westfield; the counties of Vigo, Jennings and Jackson; and the towns of Atlanta and Chandler. All are filing against the same companies.

    “A lot of these cases have to be based on something, more than some sort of principal argument of how this opioid crisis has affected the community, the state of Indiana and the country,” Dennis said.

    The city is seeking to recover from the increased cost of ambulance runs, police runs, fire runs, medical runs, the cost of equipment and the lifesaving policies the city incurred from the opioid epidemic.

    “Here in West Lafayette, we’re not immune, but obviously the numbers that we have might not be comparable to some of the larger communities that might have had a greater negative impact,” Dennis said.

    He said West Lafayette has its issues, including the ongoing dialogue about a city needle exchange program.

    “The only reason we’re having this conversation is because there are numbers — very small numbers, mind you — of folks who are having issues involving intravenous drugs,” he said. “Opioids are a part of that, heroin obviously being the main factor.”

    Dennis said the issues being discussed are general, and the lawsuit addresses Big Pharma’s “manufacturing and distribution of what they know to be heavily addictive.”

    “Both cities are doing this together,” he said. “Like other cities across the country, we feel a unified front is critical to get the attention that is needed to help bring it to a safe resolution.”

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22. Allen Co. prosecutor to present opioid lawsuit options

    Mar 2, 2018 | LimaOhio.com (OH)

    By Josh Ellerbrock

    To combat the opioid crisis in region, Allen County Prosecutor Juergen Waldick has pushed for the county to join a lawsuit created by other municipalities that puts the financial responsibility for the societal problems caused by opioid use onto Big Pharma.

    This past week, Waldick has decided to put a proposal by Cory, Meredith, Witter & Smith LPA in front of the Allen County Commissioners in order for them to decide whether to use the law firm to represent the county in the national lawsuit.

    The local law firm would provide evidence of opioid’s effects on the county to the national firms leading the case. If commissioners were to vote yes on the proposal, their resolution would go in front of a common pleas judge for final approval.

    “If (pharmaceutical companies) are at fault, they should pay the price,” Waldick said.

    Hiring the local firm would not cost the county any funds. Instead, Cory, Meredith, Witter & Smith LPA would receive a portion of the case’s payout.

    Allen County’s case would join more than 250 others being consolidated under a federal judge in Cleveland, Judge Dan Polster, who has opened up discussions between municipalities and pharmaceutical companies. Waldick said the case will most likely last years before it is resolved, and it will need to go into the discovery phase before pharmaceutical companies begin to consider a payout.

    “The people with the money aren’t going to pay out until they absolutely have to and as little as possible — that’s the whole idea,” Waldick said. “I think the judge is a little optimistic when he thinks this is going to get settled shortly.”

    A total of 36 people died due to fentanyl use in Allen County in 2016, which jumped from 15 deaths in 2015. That number has most likely risen for 2017, to the point that Allen County is seeing roughly one opioid overdose a week, Waldick said.

    Waldick anticipates any funds gained from the case will be put into some sort of superfund, which will then be doled out according to need.

    Until then, Waldick is looking at preventing individuals from getting addicted in the first place as well as increasing the punishments for opioid drug dealers, especially for repeat offenders.

    “I think there’s this naive perception that drug dealing is a victimless-crime sort of thing. Well, baloney. As it’s being given to people that are becoming addicted, we’re creating this problem. On one hand we need prevention. On the other hand, treatment, but we cannot forgot about punishment and dealing with it on the court side,” Waldick said.

    Unlike past drug problems, Waldick has started pushing for prosecution of those administering the drugs — individuals giving others drugs at the addicted persons request — when that use leads to an overdose in order to prevent more from using the drug.

    “The opiate-addicted defendant doesn’t care whether they get caught. They will say to us, ‘I don’t care I got caught as long as I get my fix,’” Waldick said.

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Southeast (FL, AL, GA, NC, SC, AR)

23. These Cities And Counties Are Going After Big Pharma In The Opioid Crisis

    Mar 2, 2018 | Newsweek

    By Melina Delkic

    Miami-Dade County announced this week that it was planning to take legal action against drug manufacturers and distributors for their role in the opioid crisis there—and it joined a host of counties and cities across the country taking Big Pharma to court in the wake of one of the worst addiction crises in American history.

    The county retained a law firm to investigate claims that drug manufacturers and distributors contributed to the opioid crisis and increased health care and policing costs for the community. The law firm, Podhurst Orseck, pointed to the nearly $1 billion in yearly costs to Florida hospitals for treatment of the crisis and Miami's 228 overdose deaths in the year 2016 alone in a release.

     “Drug manufacturers and distributors are obligated by federal and state laws to properly monitor and control the supply and distribution of opioids,” Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos A. Giménez said in a statement about the investigation. “Their collective failure to do so has flooded our communities with these highly addictive drugs and crippled the resources of our municipalities, which have had to bear the heavy costs.”

     The state of Florida has long struggled with the opioid crisis, and Governor Rick Scott in May declared a public health emergency in response. Miami-Dade, like many counties and cities, is alleging that drug companies used deceptive marketing that downplayed the dangers of opioids, and is pointing to the costs its community has incurred because of those drugs.

     The local momentum builds upon recent federal action taken against the pharmaceutical industry. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Tuesday that he would be filing a statement of interest in a lawsuit against some manufacturers, and he announced a new task force that would investigate those companies and the claims against them.

     Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, has spearheaded a far-reaching Senate investigation into the industry's role in the opioid crisis. Her own state's attorney general sued three major drug companies last June for their role.

     "I think that the more investigations the better," McCaskill said of the legal actions to Newsweek.  "The more facts that come to light about the addictive nature of these drugs and their efficacy, the better off we’re going to be.”

     McCaskill's investigation, which has produced two reports, is ongoing. "We expect to make public additional findings in the coming months," Laura Epstein, a McCaskill spokesperson, said.

     Here are a few of the cities and counties that have recently announced their intentions to engage in a legal battle with some of the country's biggest forces in pharmaceuticals:

     New York City

     Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in late January that New York City would be suing several large pharmaceutical companies, saying that it was "time for Big Pharma to pay for what they've done."

     The New York lawsuit names Purdue Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson, among others. 

     Philadelphia

     Philadelphia in January announced that the city would be suing major manufacturers and distributors for their marketing practices when it came to opioids. “This public health crisis harms public safety, order, and economic productivity,” City Solicitor Sozi Pedro Tulante said in a statement. "City agencies have incurred large, burdensome, unnecessary and avoidable costs to address the crisis."

     Baltimore

     In January, Baltimore filed its lawsuit, also focusing largely on allegedly deceptive marketing practices. It joined several counties in Maryland also filing suits. City Solicitor Andre Davis alleged that some of these pharmaceutical companies marketed pills they knew would be "destructive of lives," according to the Baltimore Sun. Maryland's Prince George's County also announced a suit in late January.

     Sumner County, Tennessee

     Sumner County announced its lawsuit this week, joining other parts of the state, including Rutherford County, Williamson County, Smith County and White County. The suit alleges that Sumner County saw more opioid prescriptions in 2016 than its total number of residents.

     Camden County, New Jersey

     On Wednesday, Camden County announced a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma and other companies. Louis Cappelli, freeholder director in the county, said at a news conference that damages would cover expenses "from emergency services to the courts to care facilities, clinics, prisons and the police department."

     Onondaga County, New York

     Onondaga County filed a lawsuit against several pharmaceutical companies in late January. The county has seen its opioid-related deaths triple in the past five years, according to local radio station WRVO.

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24. Lawyers urge county to file opioid lawsuit

    Mar 3, 2018 | Jackson County Floridan (FL)

    By Deborah Buckhalter

    A handful of lawyers visited Jackson County Commissioners this week in a special hour-long meeting before the board’s regular evening session Tuesday, encouraging the government officials to raft toward a ship that’s sailing now toward federal court, and asking the board members to let them steer that craft to the bigger vessel.

    There’s a ship-load of lawsuits aimed at distributors and manufacturers of drugs now blamed for a widespread American opioid-dependency crisis. The lawyers who appeared Tuesday want a crack at filing and handling a lawsuit for Jackson County to go along with the rest to a federal judge who’ll be hearing all of them.

    One presenter referred to a map of Florida that shows statistics gleaned from the records of the Centers for Disease Control. That federal agency keeps track of how many patients are prescribed opioids.

    According to some presenters, Jackson County has one of the highest opioid prescription rates in the entire state of Florida.

    The lawsuits aim for monetary awards, which could help the prevailing jurisdictions assist their affected citizens in recovery.

    Jackson County Commissioners took no immediate action, but indicated another session may be held to consider the matter further.

    Jill Courtney of the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, a national trade association representing distributors, reached out this week to offer a quote from the association’s Senior Vice President John Parker regarding the organization’s position.

    “The misuse and abuse of prescription opioids is a complex public health challenge that requires a collaborative and systemic response that engages all stakeholders. 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 email from Courtney also included the following general statements:

    “Distributors are logistics experts, tasked with the primary responsibility of delivering all medicines to licensed pharmacies and healthcare providers. Distributors do not manufacture, prescribe, dispense or in any way, drive demand. Further, distributors cannot make medical determinations about patient care or provider prescribing.

    The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is responsible for setting the annual production of controlled substances in the market, approving and regulating the entities allowed to prescribe and handle opioids, and sharing data with entities in the supply chain regarding potential cases of diversion. Distributors report every single opioid order to the DEA – whether it is suspicious or not. Greater communication and coordination with the DEA will help support real-time response against abuse and diversion where it occurs.”

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25. Escambia County joins lawsuits against 'Big Pharma' over opioid crisis

    Mar 2, 2018 | Pensacola News Journal (FL)

    By Kevin Robinson

    In 2016, there were more opioid prescriptions in Escambia County than people, according to federal estimates.

    As abuse of opioids has skyrocketed, local governments, first responders and hospitals have spent millions responding to overdoses, treating addiction, forming task forces and prosecuting drug offenders.

     Now local officials are planning to sue to recoup some of their losses.

     On Thursday night, Escambia County commissioners voted unanimously to engage the law firm of Levin, Papantonio, Thomas, Mitchell, Rafferty and Proctor to pursue civil legal action against "those in the chain of distribution of prescription opiates responsible for the opioid epidemic which is plaguing Escambia County."

     Peter Mougey, a partner at Levin Papantonio, will serve as lead counsel in the case. He said the county will join the city of Pensacola and approximately 450 other municipalities across the nation who are filing suits against 23 major opioid manufacturers and distributors.

     Mougey said the basis of the lawsuits is that federal legislators realized early on that opioids — a powerful class of painkillers that includes oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine and heroin — were highly addictive. The drugs were classified as a controlled substance, and pharmaceutical companies were tasked with reporting "suspicious" or excessive orders to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

     However, instead of reporting abuses, "Big Pharma" companies instead encouraged them by downplaying the addictive nature of the drugs, ignoring excessive orders and prioritizing profit over human health, Mougey alleged.

     "They knew every report they filed meant pills they couldn't sell," Mougey said. "Instead of investigating, they've dumped millions of pills into our neighborhoods."

     The Centers for Disease Control Control and Prevention reported that in 2015, the amount of opioids prescribed in American was enough for everyone in the country to be medicated around the clock for three weeks.

     In Escambia County, there were 113 opioid prescriptions per 100 people, according to the CDC, and our numbers are far from the worst.

     The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported drug firms had shipped 780 million painkillers into West Virginia over a six-year period, including sending 9 million hydrocodone pills to a town of 400 over a two-year span.

     A city in Washington sued drug companies after its population was devastated by OxyContin, and more cities, county and states soon followed suit.

     Levin Papantonio — a Pensacola-based law firm with a reputation for taking on big businesses — currently represents about 250 municipalities including Miami, Cincinnati and Mobile, according to Mougey.

     Escambia County and Levin Papantonio have agreed the law firm will only collect a fee if it wins a judgement or settlement. The firm's fee will be a flat 25 percent of whatever the county recovers, plus up to 10 percent more for fees and expenses. 

     The deal is not quite finalized, as about a dozen other Levin Papantonio clients with pending cases against the county must agree there is no conflict of interest. Some of the individuals include Christopher Hankinson, a former county corrections officer who was paralyzed in the 2014 jail explosion, and the family of Samuel Averhart, a 21-year-old who died in the jail infirmary.

     All of the nation's opioid cases are being consolidated before U.S. District Judge Dan Polster in Ohio, and Mougey said the judge has put the impetus on attorneys, drug manufacturers and governments to work together on solving the opioid crisis while the case proceeds.

     "He recognized this is an epidemic, and while lawyers were standing in front of him, 150 people were going to die of an overdose," Mougey said.

     He said the judge had made the case priority, but noted the case could still take years to resolve.

     Still, Mougey added Escambia County is doing the right thing by bring an end to the opioid crisis and suffering it's causing.

     "This lawsuit demands treatment models, facilities and staffing so people can see the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of treatment," Mougey said.

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26. Fultondale joins lawsuit for opioid manufacturers

    Mar 5, 2018 | The North Jefferson News (AL)

    By Rachel Davis

    The Fultondale City Council on Monday voted to join into a state lawsuit against manufacturers of opioid that have led to what experts are calling a crisis across the state.

    The lawsuit aims to help cities and other governmental entities recoup their increased expenses related to this crisis, such as first responders, medications required and other supplies that have increased in demand with the extreme increase in opioid use and abuse.

    In other business, the council also:

    •approved a business license application for C&W Trucking & Son, Inc. at 1351 Highway 31, Suite 111. The application approval is only for an office only, not truck parking.

    •approved a resolution to authorize Mayor Jim Lowery to enter into a contract with Dunn Construction for the surfacing of Towne Square subdivision, which is partially paid for by the subdivision’s developer.

    •approved a resolution to surplus two Chevrolet pickup trucks (1989 and 1998) from the parks and public works departments and an old trailer that had been used by the police department.

    •approved changing the regular council meeting set for March 12 at 6 p.m. to Monday, March 5 at 6 p.m. at Fultondale Public Library.

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27. Rome files suit against Oxycontin, other opioid makers

    Mar 3, 2018 | Rome News-Tribune (GA)

    By Diane Wagner

    Rome and Floyd County have filed suit against a dozen or so top opioid manufacturers and distributors in the country, seeking to recoup damages from the painkiller epidemic in their communities.

    Chattooga and Whitfield counties and the city of Cartersville also are plaintiffs in the suit filed late Friday in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Georgia, in Rome.

    "This is really a manufactured crisis, driven by greed," attorney Bob Finnell said in talks with local officials last week.

    Finnell and Andy Davis of Brinson, Askew, Berry et al — also in Rome — are taking the lead on the 243-page class-action complaint filed by a team of five law firms, including two in Atlanta and one in Dalton. Davis said it would first be sent to a federal district court in Ohio, where claims from across the nation are being consolidated.

    "The idea is to let one judge decide all common issues of law and fact," Davis said. "Then the cases could be sent back to complete the litigation or they could be settled there."

    Floyd County Commissioners spent several weeks getting input from local hospitals and physicians before signing on to the action against the big pharmaceutical companies. Finnell said the suit is narrowly directed.

    "The manufacturers aggressively promoted and pushed highly addictive, dangerous opioids, falsely representing to doctors that patients would rarely succumb to drug addiction. ... turning patients into drug addicts for their own corporate profit," the suit reads.

    It also contends that the major distributors knew the number of prescriptions was skyrocketing — in some cases, including Floyd, to more than one for every single resident in the county.

    "The distributors and manufacturers intentionally and/or unlawfully breached their legal duties under federal and state law to monitor, detect, investigate, refuse, and report suspicious orders of prescription opioids," it states.

    The lawsuit contends, and local officials agree, that the cities and counties have incurred direct damages from the costs of providing medical care for residents who are addicted, overdose or die.

    It also cites costs for rehabilitation and counseling, treatment of babies born addicted, law enforcement and public safety activities, and care for children whose parents "suffer from opioid-related disability or incapacitation."

    Purdue Pharma, makers of OxyContin, is the first-named defendant in the suit. It notes that national annual sales of the painkiller rose from $800 million in 2006 to more than $2 billion from 2009 onward.

    Other named manufacturers and distributors are cited as seeing similar, medically unwarranted, increases in sales, with some settling other complaints accusing them of illegal marketing tactics under the law.

     "Europe's use of opioid pain medication is flat, while use in the United States shows a steep increase," Finnell told Floyd County Commissioners. "This is a very recent phenomenon here."

    The suit is asking the court to halt the companies' "unfair or deceptive practices" and order them to abate the public health crisis.

    It's seeking compensation for the plaintiffs' actual costs of dealing with the epidemic locally, including interest; the establishment of an "abatement trust fund" similar to that in the tobacco company settlement; punitive damages; attorneys' fees; and "all other relief as provided by law and/or as the Court deems appropriate and just."

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28. Alamance County to choose lawyer in opioid suit

    Mar 4, 2018 | The Times-News (NC)

    By Isaac Groves

    The Alamance County Board of Commissioners will go into closed session Monday morning to decide which law firm it wants to represent the county in a potential lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

    WHAT? County commissioners’ regular meeting, 9 a.m. Monday, March 5, in the board’s meeting room, Alamance County Offices, 124 W. Elm St., Graham.

    ISSUE: Like many counties around the country, Alamance contends too many opioid painkillers were dispensed locally to be legitimately used — 65.4 pills per person in 2016, according to the county — contributing to addiction and its fallout, like the 17 overdose deaths last year or 61 kids taken into Department of Social Services custody over 20 months with at least one addicted parent, or 38 newborns affected by substance abuse from August to February.

    Courts haven’t been receptive to class-action suits over the opioid crisis, but individual counties are getting some attention from a federal judge in Ohio.

    OPTIONS: Three firms presented to the commissioners last month — Whitefish Bay, Wis., law firm Crueger Dickinson; Caswell County lawyer George Daniel; and the Paynter Law Firm in Hillsborough. The first two claimed to work with firms in other states heavily involved in these suits, and Daniel said 24 North Carolina counties were working with his group, including most of the counties neighboring Alamance.

    Daniel has been talking to the commissioners about joining an opioid lawsuit for a couple of months.

    EXPECTATIONS: The commissioners committed to making a public announcement about which firm they choose after their closed session.

    Other business

    The county Board of Elections wants to spend $23,647 for a Dodge Caravan van to be paid for out of performance management funds — money set aside for departments based on meeting goals and department budget savings.

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29. County joining opioid lawsuit

    Mar 4, 2018 | The Lancaster News (SC)

    By Greg Summers

    Lancaster County will join a nationwide legal effort against pharmaceutical companies in hopes of recovering some of the money it has spent combatting the opioid epidemic, which killed 25 people here last year.

    “We’re at the place where we have to do something,” said Lancaster County Council member Brian Carnes. “Unfortunately, this is one of those things that just isn’t going away.”

    After meeting behind closed doors Monday night, county council voted 5-2 to retain Columbia-area attorneys Whetstone Perkins and Fulda to pursue the case.

    The council was approached by local attorneys Mitch Norrell and S.C. Rep. Mandy Powers Norrell in January about joining a national litigation effort they are tied to that is led by Marc J. Bern & Partners, a New York-based law firm.
    Council members instead voted to go with the Whetstone law group, which is part of a national effort led by  Birmingham, Ala.-based DeGaris and Rogers.

    “We’re going with the one our attorney, John Weaver, recommended to us,” said council member Charlene McGriff. “John is our legal person and knows more about the legal ins and outs than we do.” 

    DeGaris and Rogers is working on a mass litigation –involving hundreds of individual lawsuits – against several major pharmaceutical companies that will be consolidated to one federal court case in Cleveland. The lawyers hope for a settlement within two years.

    At a Jan. 9 hearing in Cleveland, U.S. District Judge Daniel Polster said he intends to change the way opioids are prescribed and distributed before addressing any of the litigation’s compensation issues.

    “My objective is to do something meaningful to abate this crisis and do it in 2018,” Polster said. “What I’m interested in doing is not just moving money around, because this is an ongoing crisis.

    “What we’ve got to do is dramatically reduce the number of the pills that are out there and make sure that the pills that are out there are being used properly. Because we all know that a whole lot of them have gone walking, and with devastating results.” 

    More than 400 county, city and state governments have joined the effort. Whetstone, Perkins and Fulda is already representing Dillion, Horry and Marion counties in South Carolina.

    Lancaster County won’t have to pay any legal fees to file its lawsuit. If there is a national settlement, all the lawyers involved would split a percentage of any money the local governments win.

    “I think we have to pay a filing fee, but that’s it,” said County Administrator Steve Willis.

    County council Chairman Steve Harper and Jack Estridge cast the dissenting votes.

    Harper said he was not opposed to the county joining the case, but was concerned about the timing.
    “I just think we’re rushing into it,” Harper said, noting that lawsuits are “being filed everywhere.”

    “There are federal lawsuits and state lawsuits to the point you really can’t keep up with it,” he said.

    McGriff said elected leaders must not lose sight of how the epidemic is affecting communities on a daily basis.
    “Whether it’s now or later, something has to be done,” she said. “Being that opioids are so prevalent, causing so much pain and destruction, I felt like it was time to move forward.” 

    Opioid manufacturers that could be sued on behalf of the county could include Purdue Pharma, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Insys Therapeutics, Janssen Pharmaceutical and Teva Pharmaceutical, though none have been mentioned at this time.

    What troubles Estridge is what he calls “an inability to pinpoint the blame.”

    “It’s a complex situation and there is no way to address street drugs,” he said, noting that opioid addiction has led to an explosion in street-level heroin use. 
    

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30. Delta Hospital Takes Opioids to Court

    Mar 5, 2018 | Arkansas Business (AR)

    By Mark Friedman

    Hospitals in the Arkansas Delta are fighting the opioid epidemic with every weapon at their command, including a little-noticed lawsuit by a Monticello hospital against the larger opioid manufacturers.

    It’s a battle not envisioned just four years ago, when, in 2013, drug abuse didn’t even make a list of top community concerns by Delta hospitals.

    Three years later, prescription drug abuse was the No. 1 worry, said Mellie Boagni Bridewell, executive director of the Arkansas Rural Health Partnership of Lake Village. “It was a real big shocker because we had heard occasionally … about we’re having a drug problem here,” Bridewell said. “But it was never really brought out to the forefront until that.”

    Arkansas had the second-highest rate of opioids prescribed in the country every year between 2014 and 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention of Atlanta. In 2015, 392 Arkansas deaths were caused by opioids, a 9.5 percent increase from the previous year, Bridewell said.

    The ARHP, which is made up of 10 Delta hospitals, received a $750,000 grant in October from the Health Resources & Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, to help it wage war.

    Some health care providers in the Delta have reported success in curbing addiction to the prescription painkillers by reducing the amount of opioids prescribed. And in December, Drew Memorial Hospital Inc. in Monticello filed a lawsuit alleging that larger manufacturers of drugs with names like OxyContin and Percocet had misled the public about the addictive nature of opioids.

    Drew Memorial is seeking class-action status for about 90 hospitals all over Arkansas to recoup losses for uncompensated care for the treatment of patients addicted to opioids, said one of its attorneys, C.C. “Cliff” Gibson III of the law firm Gibson & Keith of Monticello. Hospitals owned by the state or federal government won’t be included in the class.

    Gibson said last week that he didn’t have an estimate of how much money hospitals have lost. For the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2016, the latest figures available to Arkansas Business, Drew Memorial reported $33.5 million in net patient revenue and $3.2 million in net income.

    Drew Memorial also named in its suit former Little Rock physician Richard Johns, 52, who was sentenced in August to nine years in federal prison for selling fraudulent painkiller prescriptions. The 49-bed nonprofit hospital accused him of running a “pill mill” that sold thousands of prescriptions.

    More doctors could be named in the suit, which is one of more than 200 naming opioid manufacturers, Gibson said.

    Gibson said the opioid problem isn’t confined to the Delta. “It’s statewide.”

    Kicking the Habit
    It wasn’t until August 2016 that then-U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared that opioids were an “urgent health crisis” and suggested that many doctors had been incorrectly taught that opioids were not addictive, according to the Drew Memorial lawsuit.

    Since then, scrutiny has fallen on the opiod prescribers, and doctors aren’t writing as many prescriptions. But that’s causing other problems, according to Bridewell of the Arkansas Rural Health Partnership.

    “They’re supposed to get patients off of these medications, but then there’s no way to help them,” she said.

    Some of the patients addicted to opioids end up in hospital emergency rooms. “We’ve had issues where ER doctors have been threatened, and there’s been violence in our emergency rooms because of these doctors not giving out the medications that these people need.”

    The grant the ARHP received will expand screening, education and counseling for those who are addicted to opioids.

    Bridewell said the ARHP is training providers to assess patients. The problem is that small rural hospitals don’t have the room or the capability to hold the patients until a mental or behavioral health provider does an assessment, Bridewell said.

    “The nurses don’t know how to handle those kinds of patients,” she said. “It’s just a mess.”

    Dr. Brad Walsh, a family practice physician at the Family Clinic of Ashley County, said the city of Crossett has “a lot of opioid abuse.”

    To curb the abuse, he said, the family clinic, which is owned by Ashley County Medical Center, doesn’t prescribe “a lot of opioids.” Clinic physicians also check with the Arkansas Prescription Monitoring Program, a database that lists what controlled substances the patient has filled. That program is overseen by the Arkansas Department of Health.

    If doctors consult the database, that should reduce the number of patients who go from one doctor to another for opioid prescriptions, he said.

    Still, some patients do find doctors who will write opioid prescriptions. “You hear the term ‘pill mill’; those are real things,” Walsh said. In a pill mill, a physician prescribes opioids to a large number of patients without trying to get to the cause of their pain, he said.

    “Despite all the news, the prescriptions are still going out the door every day,” Walsh said. “We have high hopes that the [Drug Enforcement Administration] and the local authorities will take care of those over time.”

    David Mantz, the CEO of Chicot Memorial Medical Center in Lake Village, said physicians at his hospital have turned to prescribing other pain treatments, including physical therapy, rather than opioids.

    “At the same time, pain control is extremely important to us as a hospital,” he said. “Your community looks to the hospital for help in controlling their pain.”

    Mantz said the doctors at the 25-bed hospital also check with the prescription database to see if patients have visited other doctors to get opioids.

    “We’re starting to see some success with the decreased number of prescriptions written,” he said.

    Hospital Sues Makers
    Drew Memorial’s lawsuit joined several others filed across the country in alleging that drug manufacturers misled the public about the addictiveness of their medications.

    “A reasonably prudent manufacturer, distributor, and prescribing physician would have, or should have, anticipated the scourge of opioid addiction and that it would wreak havoc on communities and leave health care providers holding the bill for providing life-saving and expensive care for those who became addicted to defendants’ drugs,” the lawsuit said.

    The drug companies generated $11 billion in sales in 2014. “Arkansas is now awash in opioids and engulfed in a public health crisis,” the lawsuit said.

    In 2016, the total number of opioid doses prescribed to Arkansas patients reached 236 million, enough to supply every person in the state with about 80 pills each, Drew Memorial said in the suit.

    One of the named defendants is Purdue Pharma of New York, which vigorously denied such allegations in a statement to Arkansas Business in July regarding a similar lawsuit filed by a Sebastian County man who became addicted to opioids. “We share the concern about the opioid crisis and are committed to working collaboratively to find solutions,” the statement said. “We are an industry leader in the development of abuse-deterrent technology, advocating for the use of prescription drug monitoring programs and supporting access to Naloxone — all important components for combating the opioid crisis.”

    Drew Memorial’s suit was filed in Drew County Circuit Court and then transferred to U.S. District Court in Pine Bluff before becoming one of the more than 200 lawsuits now part of the multidistrict litigation in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Ohio. Gibson said the multidistrict litigation will streamline discovery that would be common for all the suits. After the common discovery, the cases are sent back to the court they came from for discovery specific to that jurisdiction.

    Drew Memorial also alleged that manufacturers ignored “suspicious orders” that came from Arkansas, including those from Johns, the former doctor.

    Drew Memorial alleged the defendants “unlawfully filled suspicious orders of unusual size, orders deviating substantially from the normal pattern and/or orders of unusual frequency, including those prescriptions issued by” Johns.

    Johns is serving his sentence in the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas. He is scheduled to be released Dec. 30, 2024.

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Northeast (NY, MA)

31. Amherst to sue opioid manufacturers, distributors over epidemic

    Mar 4, 2018 | The Buffalo News (NY)

    By Joseph Popiolkowski

    Petty crime from the opioid epidemic and calls to respond to an increasing number of overdoses have put a strain on resources in the Town of Amherst, including its police and courts, officials say.

    Now, the Town of Amherst is set to file a lawsuit in State Supreme Court against major manufacturers and distributors of opioid pain medication. The town's suit, to be filed Tuesday, accuses the companies of public nuisance, fraud, negligence and unfair business practices, said Deputy Town Attorney Jeffrey E. Marion, who prepared the case.

    "It is a bipartisan issue," Marion said. "Everybody agrees this has gotten completely out of control, that we just can't keep putting profits over people in these situations. We have plenty of momentum."

    Cities and counties across the state and nationally have filed similar suits alleging that the drug companies misled doctors and patients into believing that the new prescription painkillers were safe even though they knew the drugs were highly addictive. Erie County filed a suit in February 2017. Last week, the federal government offered its support to a lawsuit filed in federal court in Cleveland that consolidates 400 complaints against opioid companies.

    But, in New York at least, Amherst is believed to be a rare example of a town seeking unspecified damages for the toll of the opioid epidemic.

    Amherst's ranking as one of the largest towns in the state, with a population of about 125,000, gives it standing to join the plaintiffs, said Supervisor Brian J. Kulpa.

    "I know we're not the first municipality to do this, but we should be trying to right this injustice done to the town and the town taxpayers," Kulpa said.

    Marion said he expects Amherst's suit to be consolidated with others in Suffolk County on Long Island. The lawsuit names 11 major drug manufacturers and related companies, as well as "key opinion leaders," he said.

    The Town Board on Monday will consider hiring the New York City-based law firm Napoli Shkolnik to represent the town in the case. There would be no cost to the town because the firm would be paid on a contingency basis, receiving between 7.5 percent and 25 percent of any settlement agreement or awarded damages that may result from the lawsuit, depending on the stage at which the suit is resolved.

    In a related matter, the board will consider creating a "chemical dependency task force" composed of town officials, representatives from school districts and others. It will look at preparing any local laws necessary to address the opioid addiction epidemic, including changes to the town's Zoning Code, and report its findings to the board by September.

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32. Tenney calls on private law firms against opioid manufacturers and distributors

    Mar 3, 2018 | Rome Sentinel (NY)

    By Staff

    Rep. Claudia L. Tenney is calling on private law firms involved in representing state and local lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors to provide representation pro bono and said they should not accept taxpayer funds for legal fees resulting from any settlement efforts to combat addiction.

    Rep. Tenney, R-22, made this call in response to the U.S. Department of Justice’s statement of interest in state lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors that engaged in false or deceptive marketing.

    “Law firms engaged in representing taxpayer interests against opioid manufacturers and distributors should not be able to profit off the backs of vulnerable individuals in recovery. That’s why I’m calling on law firms to provide representation pro bono and defer all legal fees from any settlement to efforts combating the opioid epidemic,” Tenney said.

    “Although taxpayer investment in prevention and treatment is at a record high, the mortality rate from opioid abuse has only continued to increase. Our communities are strapped for funding and are in constant search for resources to invest in treatment and prevention. Providing these services pro bono would go a long way to equip our communities and families with these necessary resources,” said Tenney. 

    Since 2001, the opioid epidemic has cost the U.S. nearly $1 trillion, $116 billion of which was spent in 2017, Tenney noted. Attorney General Jeff Sessions predicted the opioid epidemic could cost the U.S. nearly $500 billion over the next three years.

    “As a member of the Bipartisan Heroin Task Force, Rep. Tenney has worked across the aisle to provide greater resources to combat substance abuse and increase training and resources for our first responders,” the statement noted.

    Tenney has already called on Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney to retain all funding for the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). President Trump proposed to cut ONDCP funding by 95 percent in his 2019 budget proposal.

    Rep. Tenney also voted in favor of the Bipartisan Budget Act which provided an additional $6 billion in funds to combat the opioid crisis. And in January, she called on the House Appropriations Committee to fully fund the President’s Opioid Public Health Emergency Declaration.

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33. Town joins suit against drug companies

    Mar 2, 2018 | Boston Globe (MA)

    By Johanna Seltz

    Norwell has joined a lawsuit aimed at making drug companies pay communities for what they’ve spent dealing with the opioid crisis.

    Selectmen voted earlier this year to add Norwell to the list of communities seeking compensation from the companies, according to Town Administrator Peter Morin.

    Morin said Norwell hasn’t quantified yet how much it spends or has spent in the past dealing with the drug crisis. Costs typically would include such things as extra police time and resources, he said.

    The lawsuit is one of a growing number of suits filed by local and state governments, who blame pharmaceutical companies for the opioid overdose epidemic.

    In Massachusetts, 30 cities or towns are working with attorneys coordinating the suits, and another 30 have indicated they will as well, according to attorney Peter Merrigan of Sweeney Merrigan Law in Boston.

    He said Rockland recently signed on. Quincy officials have said they will take legal action, as has Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.

     

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Broadcast Media Coverage

34. Good Day Wisconsin

    | Green Bay, WI

    By WLUK (Fox)

    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33310844?token=613ab726-00de-4e52-9200-d425210fb1fb

    Rough Transcript: opioid prescriptions have gone down in wisconsin... according to new numbers from the state. fox 11's gabrielle mays breaks down the numbers, and takes a look at what some wisconsin counties are doing to hold drug-makers accountable. by now you've likely heard america is dealing with an opioidepidemic. multiple wisconsin counties have filed a federal lawsuit against prescription drug- makers. krista baisch is the member of a team of attorneys representing the counties. baisch says 64 of wisconsin's 72 counties are included in the suit. "the counties are bearing the brunt of of the cost of that epidemic in the services they provide and they don't have the ability to increase funds to pay for the additional services that are needed to provide for this opioid epidemic." because of the opioid crisi critics have blamed doctors, opioid users and pharmecutical 8:36 AMcompanies. purdue pharma, one of the pharmecutical companies named in the lawsuit released a statement last month that said, "w have restructured and significantly reduced our commercial operation and our sales representatives will no longer promote opioids to prescribers." baisch points toward the lawsuit as at least one reason for the company's change. "it is very clear that this litigation is taking major steps in the decrease of prescriptions on a national level and that has never been done before." despite the opioid epidemic, numbers from the state show a downward trend. the department of safety and professional services says when looking at opioids specifically, there was a 20 percent decrease in the number of prescriptions dispensed, from 5,105,729 in 2015 to 4,066,083 in 2017. a statement from governor says in part, "a 20 percent decrease in opioid prescriptions shows how seriously our prescribers and law enforcement take the opioid epidemic, and i remain committed to ensuring they have the tools and resoces necessary to continue their good work." according to the state department of health services 827 people died of opioid-related deaths last year. in 20-16, opioids contributed to at least 600 deaths. in 20-16, opioids contributed to at least 600 deaths. in 20-16, opioids contributed to at least 600 deaths. gabrielle mays, fox 11 news. if you'd like to read the entire lawsuit, you'll find the link within gabrielle's story on fox 11 online dot com.
    

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35. THV11 This Morning at 6A

    Mar 5, 2018 | Little Rock, AR

    By KTHV (CBS)

    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33310851?token=613ab726-00de-4e52-9200-d425210fb1fb

    Rough Transcript: hospitals in the arkansas delta have opened a new front on fighting the opioid epidemic in december drew memorial hospital incorporated monticello filed a lawsuit alleging that large manufacturers of drugs like oxycontin and percocet misled the about the addictive nature of opioids. drew memorial is seeking classaction status for about ninety arkansas hospitals to recoup losses for uncompensated care for treatment of patients addicted to those opioids also named in the lawsuit former little rock physician richard johns who was sentenced in august to nine years in federal prison for selling fraudulent painkiller prescriptions. the lawsuit accused johns of running a pill mill that sold thousands of prescriptions. attorney c cliff gibson the third says more doctors could be named in that lawsuit so your reason special on on that would epidemic fascinating portrait heartbreaking portrait but also another front in that war is the legal front have seen a lot of lawsuits around the country targeting these drug manufacturers and how the all crime launching a lawsuit as well said think its its very interesting to see this happening other states a says this is all about the fight right fan and that was a big part of the special that we talked about on friday night and i'm so glad for everyone that tune into that it's a topic that i very passionate i know thv eleven is very passionate aboutfighting the opioid crisis

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36. FOX8 News at 6:00A

    Mar 5, 2018 | Greensboro, NC

    By WGHP (Fox)

    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33310914?token=613ab726-00de-4e52-9200-d425210fb1fb

    Rough Transcript: today the alamance county board of commissioners will choose a law firm to represent them in a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers. the commissioners will make the decision during a closed session at nine this morning, according to the times news. alamance county is just one of several piedmont areas to announce a lawsuit against opioid companies recently.

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37. 7 Eyewitness News at 6am

    Mar 5, 2018 | Buffalo, NY

    By WKBW (ABC)

    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33310918?token=613ab726-00de-4e52-9200-d425210fb1fb

    Rough Transcript: the district attorney's office to fight the opioid epidemic. the new program launches it at 10 this morning. the town of amherst is also ramping up its response to the opioid crisis this morning... deputy town attorney jeffrey marion is filing a lawsuit to sue several opioid manufacturers and distributors. the buffalo news is reporting the town is accusing opioid companies of fraud, public nuisance and unfair business practices. tomorrow is black balloon day. its a day to increase awareness of how taxing the opioid crisis is on families nationwide.

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38. Inside Story

    Mar 4, 2018 | WPVI (ABC)

    By Philadelphia, PA

    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33311393?token=613ab726-00de-4e52-9200-d425210fb1fb

    Rough Transcript: the opioid crisis, of course, is onerous throughout the country. camden county has filed a lawsuit against big pharma. we have time for one comment. what do you make of it? is this the beginning of something big? >> i think so. look, i think we all know somebody, either a family member or a neighbor or somebody you know who is suffering from opioid addiction. it is no longer just a side drug issue. grandmothers, too. all races, everybody has it. somebody's responsible. we are the most drugged country in the world. pharma companies, doctors, we're all responsible for this, and i think now, finally, we're waking up to probably the largest drug epidemic in our history.

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39. KD/PG Sunday Edition

    Mar 5, 2018 | Pittsburgh, PA

    By KDKA (CBS)

    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33311405?token=613ab726-00de-4e52-9200-d425210fb1fb

    Rough Transcript: we also have a crisis happening to children whether it be in our educational -- in the schools or through child protection agencies because a lot of the children of parents that are addicted are falling through the cracks of society right now and that has to be addressed as well. >> are you able to get into the source of some of these opioids? to audit -- they come in, they are distributed, doctors and prescribing -- the front end of it. >> we are not able to get in on the front in peerk it is certainly outrageous that some of the companies that knew how addictive this product was and 11:47 AMi supported the state and their lawsuits on taking on some of these pharmaceutical companies that knew exactly what they were doing. in some ways, not much different from big tobacco that knew how lethal their product was and were still trying to market it to people all over the country. >> can you follow the money in one slice? can it be pulled in as part of a larger investigation? >> the part we can analyze is when the state spends money on the prescriptions. that is somewhere we can go after. >> you have said that legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes could ease the opioid crisis. >> the states that have regulated and taxed marijuana have sing about a 25% reduction in the opioid addiction because the reality is there are people in pain and for some of them, again, i know it is a controversial topic but the states that have gone down this path of seeing a reduction in opioidaddiction because this is a less addictive and less harmful way to people to do with pain.

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40. FOX23 News This Morning

    Mar 3, 2018 | Tulsa, OK

    By KOKI (Fox)

    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33311414?token=613ab726-00de-4e52-9200-d425210fb1fb

    Rough Transcript: attorney general jeff session says tackling the opioid crisis is a priority. there is a pill task force called prescription addiction unit. it will monitor drug activity and recommend changes to existing laws. many states filed a lawsuit against the drug manufacturers including oklahoma. >>we will use civil penalties. we will use whatever laws and tools that we have to hold people accountable. >>the administration will also go after companies using deceptive advertisg market opioids.

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41. WFMJ Weekend Today

    Mar 3, 2018 | Youngstown, OH

    By WFMJ (NBC)

    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33311420?token=613ab726-00de-4e52-9200-d425210fb1fb

    Rough Transcript: the department of justice is now getting involved with states like ohio, that are suing opioid manufacturers. attorney general mike dewine... :14-29"this opioid epidemic i having a great toll on the state of ohio we are losing about 15 people every single day.

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42. NJTV News With Mary Alice Williams

    Mar 3, 2018 | New York, NY

    By WNJT (PBS)

    Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/33311885?token=613ab726-00de-4e52-9200-d425210fb1fb

    Rough Transcript: it has been almost 9 years since she stopped using drugs. permission now working at prevention links is to help put an end to a growing opioidcrisis. according to provisional data from the cdc, new jersey saw over 2000 drug overdose deaths from july 2016 to july 2017. almost 35% increase. only four other states saw greater increases than that. >> why do you think it is here? >> i think in part it's because we have the purest heroin in the nation. especially here in the elizabeth and north port area. there's a lot of drug trafficking that comes through this area. from new york to new jersey. so it is readily available. it is inexpensive, and it is very strong. >> in october the president 6:46 AMdeclared the opioid crisis a public emergency. and the department of health and human services extended the declaration last month. the president addressed the issue at the opioid summit. >> we need to be very strong on penalties. hopefully we can do litigation against the opioid companies. i think it is very important. >> earlier this week jeff sessions announced the justice department would be supporting one of the states filing a lawsuit against and opioid manufacturer. >> a lot of damage has already been done. there is a need for investment and recovery. >> the ceo says they've been able to launch programs out of their center because the funding from the comprehensive addiction and recovery act. which was signed into law in 2016 by former president obama. is a way to authorize federal funds to be given to states for prevention education and treatment against the opioid epidemic. >> we launched a program here were people in our community can walk into certain police stations and ask for assistance as opposed to getting arrested. >> earlier this month, congress allocated $6 billion over two years. and that is to fund this fight. >> you better believe i'm going to fight as hard as i can to bring much of that funding to new jersey so that organizations like provincial x can to save as many lives as they can. >> morgan thompson told the crowd to let her story serve as an example of what is possible. in elizabeth, njtv news.

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