LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — State officials have issued a lawsuit against several companies over distribution of prescription opioid drugs, Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday.
The lawsuit is filed against Cardinal Health Inc., McKesson Corporation, AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation and Walgreens. The suit was filed Tuesday morning in Wayne County Circuit Court.
“These companies knowingly and deliberately used their licenses to distribute drugs in our state without controls,” Nessel said. “This was not only negligent; it was unlawful, a public nuisance and, as a result, their actions subject these companies to liability under Michigan’s Drug Dealer Liability Act.”
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has also issued a statement about the lawsuit.
“The opioid crisis is hurting families from Downtown Detroit all the way to the Upper Peninsula, which is why last month, I announced a statewide goal for the State of Michigan to reduce the number of opioid deaths by 50 percent in 5 years,” Whitmer said. “The work Attorney General Nessel’s office is doing will be crucial in us reaching that goal. I applaud the Attorney General for her leadership and will continue to work closely with her and everyone else who wants to help Michiganders struggling with opioid use disorder and their families.”
The Washington Post reports that nearly three billion opioid pills came into the state, with more than 1.1 million pills came across the border every day for seven years (2006-2012).
In 2018, of the 2,599 drug overdose deaths in Michigan, 2,036 of those overdoses were opioid-related.
State officials allege that Cardinal Health, McKesson Corporation, AmerisourceBergen and Walgreens:
- Distributed and sold opioids in ways that facilitated and encouraged their flow into the illegal, secondary market;
- Distributed and sold opioids without maintaining effective controls against the diversion of opioids;
- Chose not to effectively monitor suspicious orders;
- Chose not to investigate suspicious orders;
- Chose not to report suspicious orders;
- Chose not to stop or suspend shipments of suspicious orders; and,
- Distributed and sold opioids prescribed by “pill mills” when these companies knew or should have known the opioids were being prescribed by said “pill mills.”
State officials say these companies can be charged under the Drug Dealer Liability Act for damages caused by opioids acquired from their distribution channels.
Those damages include, but are not limited to the following:
- Increased law enforcement costs;
- Health care costs;
- Costs to care for, house, rehabilitate and/or foster opioid addicts and opioid-dependent infants and children;
- Costs associated with early childhood intervention;
- Special needs education costs with respect to infants born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome because of opioid abuse, who require special education when they attend local schools;
- Prosecution-related costs, including hiring additional prosecutors, investigators and/or staff as well as additional courtroom-related expenses;
- Costs for additional jail space and other costs associated with incarceration;
- Drug treatment program costs; and
- Any other financial loss proximately caused by illegal drug use.
“When the Governor and I took office,” Nessel continued, “we promised that the State of Michigan would no longer sit on the sidelines while companies profited from an addiction they helped create – an addiction that has claimed loved ones from our families and has devastated our communities. That is why today will not simply be known as the day Michigan decided to file a lawsuit; instead, today will known as the day that Michigan started to fight back.”
More information about the case will be reported as it becomes available.
