A worried mother places a frantic 911 call to the Cabell County (W.Va.) EMS.
She just found her son unconscious in their home. He’s turning blue and barely breathing.
He is minutes from death.
A used needle lies on the floor next to his bed.
Too Many Bodies
Unfortunately, this scenario is playing out all the time across this country. In fact, opioid and heroin abuse is so rampant in states like West Virginia and Ohio, the coroners’ offices are running out of room to store bodies. In 2016, roughly 20% of Ohio’s entire population was prescribed an opioid. The state leads the nation in opioid deaths.
In response to this crisis, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine joined the list of other officials who believe the pharmaceutical firms should be held responsible. Last June, he filed a lawsuit against a handful of drug companies.
That suit accuses the companies of spending millions of dollars on marketing campaigns that “trivialize the risks of opioids while overstating the benefits of using them for chronic pain.” It also alleges that these companies lobbied doctors to influence their opinions about the safety of opioids.
The Ohio lawsuit seeks restitution for consumers and compensation for the state’s Department of Medicaid, which paid for “excessive” opioid prescriptions.
Not Alone
Similar suits have been filed across the country. In fact, at least 75 cities and states are currently suing pharmaceutical companies and distributors. Cities such as Everett, Washington, which filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma, the makers of OxyContin. The suit alleged that the company knew the drug was being funneled into the black market but did nothing to stop it.
Even the Cherokee Nation has filed a lawsuit against distributors and pharmacies in tribal court. So far, lawsuits against drug companies have met with mixed results.
Image Courtesy of CDC
West Virginia
For instance, in 2001, West Virginia’s attorney general sued Purdue Pharma for creating a “public nuisance” with its marketing and distribution of OxyContin. The case settled for $10 million in 2004. According to legal experts, this relatively small sum indicates that the state thought it was not likely to prevail in a trial.
Kentucky
The state of Kentucky sued Purdue in 2015. The case was settled out of court shortly after company board member and past president Richard Sackler presented sworn testimony. Purdue paid $24 million, with no admission of wrongdoing.
Justice Department
But Purdue’s marketing tactics have also resulted in federal prosecution. In 2007, the company pleaded guilty to a felony related to false marketing of the pills, and paid out $635 million in fines. Three top executives also accepted guilt and paid $34.5 million in fines.
These settlement figures may seem enormous to us, but consider this: Purdue has made more than $35 billion from Oxycontin alone, since it was first marketed in 1995.
The need for federal intervention was underscored during a Fox News segment on Big Pharma’s role in the opioid epidemic. Take a look:
Cleaning Up Its Act?
Today, Purdue’s corporate website claims that it’s “learning from the past while focusing on the future.” The company’s promotional video announces that the company is an “industry leader in abuse-deterrent technologies.”
In 2010, Purdue reformulated OxyContin. It is now much more difficult for those seeking a high to convert the pills into inhalable or injectable forms.
This change is one reason that future lawsuits against the company may not prevail, according to Lars Noah, a University of Florida law professor.
Another reason has to do with the consumers. Specifically, the pills are not being used as directed. Blaming the pharmaceutical companies for the effects of that misuse would prove very difficult, Noah believes.
Also, the aggressive marketing campaigns targeted doctors — not consumers. In court, pharmaceutical companies are often able to shift the blame to doctors who prescribed the pills, absolving themselves of responsibility.
So, Who’s to Blame?
There are a lot of different parties that can be blamed for the opioid epidemic, Noah argues.
Clearly, doctors were too loose in prescribing addictive substances. The scientific community published papers that downplayed the risk of addiction. Pharmacies and distributors may have failed to report suspicious orders for controlled substances from patients or doctors.
And then there are those consumers who willfully chose to abuse the drugs.
Anyway you look at it, there’s plenty of blame to go around.
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