KALAMAZOO (WKZO AM/FM) –The Kalamazoo County Commission will shop for an attorney as they will likely join dozens of other Michigan Counties and over 30-states in a lawsuit against big pharma.
The issue is opioid based prescription drugs and just how forthcoming the manufacturers of prescription painkillers were about how addictive they are.
Some commissioners feared it might jeopardize expansion plans by Pfizer in Kalamazoo, but Pfizer has never been heavily involved in the development and marketing of Opioids, and has not been named in any of the pending suits.
Pfizer sent a message through the City of Manager of Portage that the company has not taken a position on the matter.
A minority of Republican commissioners were against the idea for a variety of reasons, argueing that drug firms aren’t the only ones to blame for the opioid crisis, and that it might not be worth the effort, for the money they might make if they win.
But the majority supported moving ahead, saying that the big drug firms did not fully disclose the ramifications, have contributed to the crisis by manufacturing more of the pills than they know are needed for mediical purposes, and used unsavory business practices to reward doctors who prescribed them.
The civil suit is modeled after the successful tobacco litigation that generated billions in compensation primarily for states. Local governments have been left to deal with the fall out from the opioid crisis and they feel this is justice.
The Commission has already received presentations by a couple of lawfirms. They will now go through their regular bidding process too find the best firm for them.
