Johnson & Johnson is responsible for fueling Oklahoma's opioid crisis, judge rules in landmark case
Source: Washington Post
NORMAN, Okla.— A judge Monday found Johnson & Johnson responsible for fueling Oklahoma’s opioid crisis, ordering the health care company to pay $572.1 million to redress the devastating consequences suffered by the state and its residents. Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman’s landmark decision is the first to hold a drugmaker culpable for the fallout of years of liberal opioid dispensing that began in the late 199os, sparking a nationwide epidemic of overdose deaths and addiction. More than 400,000 people have died of overdoses from painkillers, heroin and illegal fentanyl since 1999.Balkman, who read part of his decision aloud in his courtroom Monday afternoon, said “the opioid crisis has ravaged the state of Oklahoma and must be abated immediately.”
With more than 40 states lined up to pursue similar claims against the pharmaceutical industry, the ruling in the first state case to go to trial could influence both side’s strategies in the months and years to come. Its impact on an enormous federal lawsuit brought by nearly 2,000 cities, counties, Native American tribes and others, which is scheduled to begin in October, is less certain.
Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter (R) sued three major drug companies in 2017, accusing them of creating “a public nuisance” by showering the state with opioids, while downplaying the drugs’ addictive potential and persuading physicians to use them even for minor aches and pains. Before the late 1990s, physicians reserved the powerful drugs primarily for cancer and post-surgical pain and end-of-life care. More than 6,000 Oklahomans have died of painkiller overdoses since 2000, the state charged in court papers, as the number of opioid prescriptions dispensed by pharmacies reached 479 every hour in 2017.
Oklahoma settled with Purdue Pharma, manufacturer of OxyContin, in March, accepting $270 million from the company and its owners, the Sackler family. Most of that will go to a treatment and research center at Oklahoma State University, although the federal government is seeking a portion of the money. In May, two days before the trial began, the state settled with Teva Pharmaceuticals, an Israeli-based manufacturer of generic drugs, for $85 million.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/johnson-and-johnson-is-responsible-for-fueling-oklahomas-opioid-crisis-judge-rules-in-landmark-case/2019/08/26/ed7bc6dc-c7fe-11e9-a4f3-c081a126de70_story.html
Original article -
August 26 at 4:04 PM
Judge Thad Balkman ordered the health-care company to help pay for the drastic consequences the state and its residents have suffered. The decision is the first to hold a drug company culpable for the fallout from years of liberal opioid dispensing, sparking a nationwide epidemic of overdose deaths and addiction.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2019/08/26/johnson-johnson-is-responsible-for-fueling-oklahomas-opioid-crisis-judge-rules-in-landmark-case/
= new reply since forum marked as read
perhaps they could provide them in a responsible manner rather than the methods that appear to have put J&J into the courtroom?
But, I'm just guessin' here.....
My understanding is they knew that the drugs were addictive and sorta glossed over those pesky little details in their marketing.
The drugs themselves are fine if perscirbed and used within the confines of full disclosure to both the doctors and the patients of the potential down side. Anything less than seems to be more than sufficient reason for legal action by individuals who are suffering, states, counties and local communities who are bearing the costs of this epidemic.
Seems to me to be another case of Privatized Profits and Socialized Cost Burden.
For example, McNeil is located not far from me. 
Before they re-did Rt. 309 with sound barriers, etc, you could see the McNeil facility from that highway just before you get to the PA Turnpike. With the consent decree, they eventually had to rip it all out and rebuild the entire lab. They also had to re-do the Puerto Rico plant, which is where most of their OTC products are made.
They talk about being the health care people, the people who cared for your babies, etc. and now do even more for you!
Their products all contain cheap ingredients and are sold mostly on fragrance, "that baby smell." The baby powder contained (and may still contain) talc, which has been linked to ovarian cancer in women. How many little girl baby bottoms were dusted freely with that carcinogenic crap? How many parents breathed it in?
Fragrance and brand recognition. The power of advertising.
