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West Virginia says J&J, drugmakers created 'tsunami' of opioid addiction
Dietrich KnauthReuters
4 Apr 2022
Excerpt:
West Virginia's attorney general on Monday urged a judge to hold Johnson & Johnson, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd, and AbbVie Inc's Allergan liable for causing a "tsunami" of opioid addiction in the state.
The addiction crisis has affected the state's police forces, hospitals, foster care system and jails, with effects that will linger for more than a generation, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said during opening statements in Kanawha County Circuit Court.
"This epidemic has impacted virtually all of West Virginia," Morrisey said. "Our lawsuit speaks for all West Virginians who have suffered due to the defendants' unlawful, callous and destructive conduct."
West Virginia has accused the drug manufacturers of creating a "public nuisance" by deceiving prescribers about the risks of opioid painkillers and said their marketing efforts caused opioids to become a common treatment for chronic pain in West Virginia, leading to an increase in substance abuse and overdose deaths.
Full article here.
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