opioid epidemic News

Okla. at Trial’s End Says Opioid ‘Kingpen” J&J Fueled Epidemic

NORMAN, Okla. — Lawyers for the state of Oklahoma on Monday compared Johnson & Johnson to a drug cartel leader as they sought to hold the drugmaker responsible for fueling the U.S. opioid epidemic in the first trial to result …

Fate of Opioid Litigation Hinges on Government ‘Police Power’

The fate of thousands of lawsuits seeking to hold drugmakers responsible for fueling the U.S. opioid epidemic hinges in part on a thorny legal question: Can a company use a bankruptcy to stop lawsuits from cities and states? U.S. Bankruptcy …

Special Report: How Judges Added to the Grim Toll of Opioids

WELCH, West Virginia — The opioid epidemic that has so far killed half a million Americans is routinely blamed on greedy drug makers, feckless doctors and lax regulators. But there’s another group that has contributed to the depth and duration …

Purdue’s Sackler Family Must Face Opioid Suits in New York

The billionaire owners of Purdue Pharma LP must face a New York lawsuit claiming they triggered the U.S. opioid epidemic, a judge ruled, handing an early victory to states and local governments seeking to recoup billions of dollars in social …

US Appeals Court Says Judge Went Too Far on Drug Data Order

CINCINNATI — A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that a judge went too far in blocking release of federal data about how prescription opioids were distributed. A 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals three-judge panel on Thursday vacated an order …

Teva to Pay $85 Million Settlement in Oklahoma Opioid Case

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. agreed to pay $85 million to settle an Oklahoma lawsuit claiming that illegal marketing of its opioid painkillers contributed to a public health crisis in the state. The deal, announced Sunday, was reached just as the …

McKesson Opioid Deal in West Virginia May Spur More Accords

McKesson Corp.’s settlement of an opioid lawsuit with West Virginia — the state with the highest U.S. rate of drug-overdose deaths — may encourage other states to seek quick cash to cope with the rising societal costs of addiction. West …

Opioid Evangelist Switches Sides in Case Alleging Pharma Abuse

A doctor who was an early evangelist for increased use of highly addictive opioids like OxyContin to treat chronic pain — and who was paid to promote the idea — has switched sides and now says drug makers helped to …

Oklahoma Lawmakers Grumble Openly about Opioid Settlement

OKLAHOMA CITY — A $270 million settlement between the state of Oklahoma and the maker of OxyContin praised last week as an innovative way to help combat opioid addiction is facing bipartisan criticism from Oklahoma lawmakers who say the state’s …

Opioid Crisis ‘Kingpin’ Is Oklahoma’s New Target in Lawsuit

About the photo: Opium poppy plants in a field in Tasmania, Australia. Oklahoma is claiming that as the prior owner of poppy fields in Tasmania, Johnson & Johnson “acted as a ringleader” in a scheme to flood the state with …