‘The Wheels Of Justice Will Continue To Grind’ Forward: Okla. Judge Declines Request To Postpone Major Opioid Trial
Oklahoma is seeking payments that could exceed $1 billion from drugmakers to cover the costs of coping with the drug crisis. While much of the nation's attention has been focused on the massive, consolidated Ohio trial, the Oklahoma case will actually be the first one to see its day in court. Meanwhile, Purdue Pharma defends the timing on its possible decision to file for bankruptcy.
The Washington Post:
Oklahoma Judge Refuses To Delay First Trial Of Responsibility For Opioid Crisis
An Oklahoma judge declined Friday to postpone the first major trial of whether drug companies bear responsibility for the opioid crisis, leaving the state and the firms on track to meet in court May 28. Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman refused a request from the defendants — three major drug manufacturers and 10 of their subsidiaries — to put off the jury trial for 100 days. (Bernstein, 3/8)
Bloomberg:
Purdue Pharma Says Trial Timing Won't Sway Bankruptcy Call
Purdue Pharma LLP says its decision on whether to file for bankruptcy to avoid being swamped by opioid lawsuits doesn’t depend on the timing of the first trial over its role in the public-health crisis. A judge in Oklahoma Friday refused Purdue’s, Johnson & Johnson’s and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.’s requests to push back a May trial of Oklahoma officials’ suit seeking to recover as much as $25 billion in current and future costs of dealing with the opioid epidemic. (Ronalds-Hannon, Church and Feeley, 3/8)
In other news on the crisis —
Boston Globe:
How Addiction Treatment Falls Short, And What Is Being Done About It
Massachusetts regulations prohibit facilities from rejecting patients because they’re on medication, but reportedly some programs then urge these patients to get off their meds. But the evidence is clear that methadone, buprenorphine, and Vivitrol work. (Freyer, 3/9)
Boston Globe:
Road To Recovery: Drugs Took Their Children, But Not Their Hope That Others Might Be Saved
Make no mistake: Many people addicted to opioids survive and recover. But thousands also die, leaving behind loved ones who ponder what went wrong. These parents told their stories in the belief that their cries of “if only” contain wisdom — potential answers, though complex and difficult ones, that might help deescalate the opioid crisis that has claimed some 2,000 lives in Massachusetts in each of the last three years. (Freyer, 3/9)
Cronkite News:
Nogales, Other Border Cities See Effects Of Drug Smuggling At Ports Of Entry
From 2015 to 2017, fentanyl-related overdose deaths in the U.S. tripled, to 28,466 from 9,580, according to a National Institute on Drug Abuse analysis of data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Arizona, the number of such deaths rose from 1,274 in 2015 to 1,532 in 2017, according to the CDC. (Hernandez, 3/9)
