Huntington and Cabell County just went from Ground Zero to first in line.
Monday, two Ohio counties reached a $260 million settlement with four major drug distributors and one drug manufacturer.
That settlement in the ongoing opioid crisis came only hours before it was to become the first trial in some 2,600 cases come before a federal court in Cleveland.
Next up, is Huntington, which is known as Ground Zero in the state’s opioid epidemic, and Cabell County, early next year. And don’t look for any settlement if Huntington’s mayor has his way.
According to MetroNews, Mayor Steve Williams on Tuesday said, “I want our day in court. … I want the opportunity to be in court so those sons of guns have to reveal just what has happened.”
We applaud Williams for taking this position, which may force those “sons of guns” to answer how did this happen.
How did these companies fail to respond after Cabell County led the state in fatal drug overdoses with 157 in 2017, 92 in 2016, and 82 in 2015.
How did these companies fail to monitor, detect and investigate the suspicious orders of prescription opiates shipped to our state?
We realize any trial focused on the effects of opioids in Huntington and Cabell County will have to narrow its focus. However, this case could present a blueprint on how we recover from this out-of-control opioid distribution.
The Huntington and Cabell County lawsuits specifically argue a combination of actions contributed to the drug epidemic in that area. Those actions include intense marketing, national pharmacies failing to report suspicious activity and middlemen controlling pricing between drug companies and pharmacies.
We would go a step further. Rather than just contributed to the drug crisis in that area and elsewhere in our state, argue that it created an epidemic. It’s uncertain if beyond financial penalties for the opioid crisis there should be criminal penalties for participation in this disaster.
Just knowing these companies failed to forward suspicious order reports to our state’s pharmacy board alone for more than 10 years appears criminal.
Whether that comes under the federal Controlled Substances Act or our state code it likely falls under one provision or jurisdiction or another.
Clearly, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration did next to nothing to oversee these massive shipments of opioids.
However, the DEA did count the number of prescription pain pills shipped here — 853.5 million from 2006-2016.
Of those, 65 million — or 96 per person per year — were distributed in Cabell County.
That’s too much pain and suffering. Case closed.
