Across the US, hundreds of attorneys representing cities, counties, states and small towns, have filed lawsuits against opioid makers (such as Perdue Pharma) and distributors (including such everyday names as Walgreens. All of these lawsuits point blame at the various players for helping escalate the opioid addiction epidemic and seek monetary compensation. Now, attorneys have
A Kentucky lawsuit against Walgreens claims the chain played a significant role in the local opioid epidemic. Thursday’s complaint, filed by Attorney General Andy Beshear, says that the retailer used "unlawful business practices" to fuel the epidemic in Kentucky. The AG says that for more than ten years, Walgreens willingly filled large amounts of
The Trump administration’s opioid commission has come under heavy fire by at least one member, who told CNN on Monday that the commission’s work leaves much to be desired. “Everyone is willing to tolerate the intolerable -- and not do anything about it," former Democratic Rep. Patrick Kennedy, one of six members appointed to the
Proove Biosciences and the Genetic Addiction Predictor Recently, a business promising genetic testing to predict opiate addiction came under scrutiny for selling what they call “genetic tests” to help predict a person’s capacity for addiction. Experts, however, say the test is not scientifically sound and could lead to discrimination for patients that really need the
Carfentanil, an elephant tranquilizer that experts say is 10,000 times stronger than morphine and 100 times stronger than fentanyl, is wreaking havoc in the US. The dangerous drug, sometimes sold as fentanyl, has left first responders scrambling to save lives. And while its use had previously been confined to the Midwest (particularly Ohio, where the
Pain pill addiction, and specifically addiction to opioids, has become an epidemic that even the pharmaceutical industry cannot ignore. The numbers of deaths noted in a report from the Centers for Disease Control are staggering; deaths from prescription opioids have quadrupled since 1999, killing more than 28,000 people in 2014. In states disproportionately affected by
