• Care of Southeastern Michigan white heart iconDonate
  • EAP Login
  • Programs
    • Close
    • Care of Southeastern Michigan parenting iconParents
      • Home Based Case Management
      • Parenting Classes
      • Parenting Conference
    • Care of Southeastern Michigan student and youth iconStudent & Youth
      • Mental Health
      • Substance Use Prevention
      • Critical Incident Stress Management
      • Youth Counseling & Outpatient Treatment
    • Care of Southeastern Michigan prevention services iconPrevention Services
      • Alcohol, Tobacco, & Drugs
      • Suicide & Depression
      • Advocacy
      • Summer Camps
    • Care of Southeastern Michigan clinical and treatment services iconClinical & Treatment Services
      • Outpatient
      • Counseling
      • EAP Login Portal
    • Care of Southeastern Michigan peer recovery iconPeer Recovery
      • Substance Abuse Recovery
      • Recovery Coaching
      • Peer Recovery Groups
      • Recovery United Community Center
      • Corrections
      • Peer Healthcare Collaborations
      • Project Vox
    • Care of Southeastern Michigan employee assistance program iconEmployee Assistance Programs
      • Counseling Services
      • Critical Incident Stress Management
      • Training & Professional Development
      • HR Consultation
      • DOT Training
      • EAP Login Portal
    • All Programs
  • About
    • Close
    • About CARE
    • News/Media
    • Leadership
    • Board of Directors and Ambassadors
    • History
    • Financials & Accreditation
  • Events & Calendar
    • Close
    • Signature Events
      • Parenting Conference
      • Rally 4 CARE
      • Summer Camps
    • Classes & Groups
    • All Events and Classes
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Programs
    • Close
    • Care of Southeastern Michigan parenting iconParents
      • Home Based Case Management
      • Parenting Classes
      • Parenting Conference
    • Care of Southeastern Michigan student and youth iconStudent & Youth
      • Mental Health
      • Substance Use Prevention
      • Critical Incident Stress Management
      • Youth Counseling & Outpatient Treatment
    • Care of Southeastern Michigan prevention services iconPrevention Services
      • Alcohol, Tobacco, & Drugs
      • Suicide & Depression
      • Advocacy
      • Summer Camps
    • Care of Southeastern Michigan clinical and treatment services iconClinical & Treatment Services
      • Outpatient
      • Counseling
      • EAP Login Portal
    • Care of Southeastern Michigan peer recovery iconPeer Recovery
      • Substance Abuse Recovery
      • Recovery Coaching
      • Peer Recovery Groups
      • Recovery United Community Center
      • Corrections
      • Peer Healthcare Collaborations
      • Project Vox
    • Care of Southeastern Michigan employee assistance program iconEmployee Assistance Programs
      • Counseling Services
      • Critical Incident Stress Management
      • Training & Professional Development
      • HR Consultation
      • DOT Training
      • EAP Login Portal
    • All Programs
  • About
    • Close
    • About CARE
    • News/Media
    • Leadership
    • Board of Directors and Ambassadors
    • History
    • Financials & Accreditation
  • Events & Calendar
    • Close
    • Signature Events
      • Parenting Conference
      • Rally 4 CARE
      • Summer Camps
    • Classes & Groups
    • All Events and Classes
  • Careers
  • Contact
Care of Southeastern Michigan square logo

News, Substance Abuse

Michigan sues Walgreens, other drug companies for causing opioid crisis

https://www.freep.com/story/news/health/2019/12/17/michigan-walgreens-opioid-drug-companies/2674106001/

 

The state of Michigan Tuesday filed a lawsuit against drug companies for damages caused by the opioid epidemic.

The suit, filed in Wayne County Circuit Court, charges McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., Amerisource Bergen Corporation, and Walgreens with creating the opioid epidemic by flooding the market with prescription pain pills and for selling the drugs without oversight, causing them to be easily diverted for illegal use.

Michigan is the first state in the nation to sue drug companies as drug dealers, according to the office of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Tuesday’s suit was filed under the Drug Dealer Liability Act  which allows for civil damages against people who participate in the illegal marketing of controlled substances — and may be a way around an existing Michigan law that makes it difficult to sue drug companies over drugs that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The suit seeks damages for the increased costs of law enforcement and prosecution associated with the epidemic. It also seeks damages for health care costs, costs associated with early childhood education and special education for children born addicted to the drugs, drug treatment costs and other losses created by illegal drug use.

Linda Davis, a retired Clinton Township district court judge who oversaw its drug court and now serves as executive director of Families Against Narcotics, hailed the suit as a good move. “Pharmaceutical companies knew that these drugs were addictive,” she said. They miseducated and misadvertised to doctors. They truly went beyond just prescribing FDA-approved drugs. They misinformed the public.”

Monique Stanton, who is president of CARE of Southeastern Michigan — a social services agency that among other things  works to support and educate people impacted by drugs — said communities are being devastated financially fighting the opioid epidemic. “We are spending huge amounts of resources, whether it’s in the schools .. law enforcement. … Our local communities are significantly  burdened with crating new strategies to address the epidemic.”

She hoped that in addition to potentially bringing financial resources back to the state, the lawsuit would also force a change in policy.  “When you look at things that happened with the tobacco industry, after a lot of those lawsuits, that’s when you began to see some significant changes” such as smoking bans and changes in the way tobacco was marketed. “I would expect to see some similar things related to the opioid epidemic,” she said, suggesting that when doctors prescribe an opioid, they require the user to also carry naloxone, which reverses opioid overdoses.

Citing a report from the Washington Post, the attorney general’s office said nearly 3 billion opioid pills made it to Michigan between 2006 and 2012. When prescriptions ran out — many doctors have grown reluctant to prescribe them  — or the cost of obtaining the pills on the street grew too expensive, addicts switched to heroin, which is less expensive than pills. Except now, most of the heroin supply is tainted with the ultra-powerful — and extremely inexpensive — synthetic opioid fentanyl. Fentanyl and its analogs are responsible for the majority of opioid overdose deaths in Michigan and throughout the country.

In Michigan, 7 people a day die from drugs as overdose deaths decline slightly

Opioid overdoses account for about 5 1/2 deaths a day in Michigan. In 2018, 2,036 people died from opioid overdoses, down a minuscule .8% from 2,053 in 2017.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has said she wants to reduce the number of opioid overdose deaths by 50% over the next five years.

While many municipalities across the state have sued drug makers for the crisis, Tuesday’s action represents the first suit filed by the state of Michigan

News

How to survive the holidays and stay sober, or help loved ones do the same

In his first years of sobriety from heroin addiction, Andrew Brown recalls feeling uncomfortable at holiday gatherings. The way family members looked at him, studying his eyes to determine whether…
Read

News

Drug overdose deaths continue to climb in Michigan, across nation

The number of people who died of drug overdoses in a single year has reached an all-time high, yet another grim milestone in the nation’s ongoing opioid crisis. More than…
Read
All Articles

Donate

Help us make an impact

By supporting CARE of Southeastern Michigan, you’re helping people directly address substance abuse and other issues in their lives and communities—effectively and through proven strategies.

Give

get our latest news

Sign up for the latest news and updates from CARE.

Contact Us

  • Email
  • 586.541.2273
  • Address

Hours

  • Monday: 8:30am-8:30pm
  • Tuesday: 8:30am-8:30pm
  • Wednesday: 8:30am-5pm
  • Thursday: 8:30am-8:30pm
  • Friday: 8:30am-1pm

Follow Us

  • Parents
  • Student & Youth
  • Prevention Services
  • Clinical & Treatment Services
  • Peer Recovery
  • Employee Assistance Programs
  • About
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • EAP Login

© Copyright 2023 Care of Southeastern Michigan. All rights reserved.

Sitemap Terms Website Design by FWD