Idaho Files Lawsuit Against Makers Of Oxycontin
The office of the Idaho General has filed a lawsuit against the maker of Oxycontin. The state's lawsuit targets Purdue Pharma which is a private company owned by the Sackler Family. The lawsuit name eight members of the family individually reports ABC News. The lawsuit alleges several disturbing allegations against Purdue Pharma. The most notable is this excerpt.
"Between 1999 and 2017, Idaho’s opioid-related death rate nearly tripled. In 2015 alone, approximately 1.3 million opioid prescriptions were written in Idaho—nearly one prescription for every man, woman, and child in the State," the lawsuit said. "This crisis and its consequences could and should have been avoided."
Purdue Pharma has responded that the company will clear itself from the allegations which they describe as false. The Idaho Attorney General's Office says that the marketing of opioids misled the public into buying more of them. Doctors were also described as being misled about the addictiveness of prescribing opioids.
The Opioid Epidemic has garnered the attention of several states that have filed similar lawsuits, although the Sackler family have only been named in a few. President Donald Trump, along with Congress, has stressed that this epidemic must be stopped.
The topic was a major issue in both the 2016 and 2018 presidential and midterm elections. Most political experts believe the opioid addiction issue will be a topic of every campaign during the 2020 election cycle.