A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Beshear wins fight to keep four opioid lawsuits in Kentucky courts; updates available online


In an effort to halt the drug epidemic in Kentucky, Attorney General Andy Beshear is suing seven opioid manufacturers and distributors that have fueled and profited from the state’s opioid crisis – and now he is asking Kentuckians to follow each case by visiting ag.ky.gov.

Beshear

Beshear’s office announced its ongoing commitment to transparency with the website at a South Louisville Opioid Task Force meeting this week.

The opioid litigation website includes a copy of the legal complaint and current litigation status against AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Johnson and Johnson, McKesson Corporation, Walgreens and Mallinckrodt.

“No amount of money will ever bring back the loved ones lost, or fully remove the damage many of our communities have suffered, but we are working hard every day to make those who created the mess clean it up,” Beshear said. “This website will allow Kentuckians to stay engaged every step of the way in our fight to hold big pharma accountable for those who have suffered at their hands.”

Beshear’s office has successfully returned three cases, McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen, from federal court to the respective local circuit court in Floyd, Franklin and Jefferson counties.

Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate ruled this summer that he would not dismiss Beshear’s 2016 lawsuit against manufacturer Endo Pharmaceuticals regarding its drug Opana ER. The suit alleges Endo, who asked for the dismissal, violated state law and directly contributed to opioid addiction, and related deaths and overdoses in Kentucky.

Beshear said similar to Endo, each company he is suing unlawfully built a market for the chronic use of opioids in the name of increasing corporate profits, knowing all along the dangers.

Since taking office, Beshear has been working to hold opioid manufacturers and distributors, rogue doctors and drug traffickers accountable, and implement workable solutions to help slow the rate of addiction.

Investigators from Beshear’s office are assigned to the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA), which consists of counties in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, which focuses on disrupting and dismantling drug trafficking.

Beshear’s Drug Diversion Unit investigators have been instrumental in numerous drug related arrests, including working with federal authorities to arrest a fentanyl dealer whose drugs killed several Kentuckians.

Preventing opioids from getting to the hands of those that may abuse them drove Beshear to launch the Kentucky Opioid Disposal Program. The program is the state’s first initiative to allow Kentuckians to safely dispose of opioid medications at home.

Beshear said it has the potential to dispose of more than 2.2 million unused opioids and can help to reduce the nearly 80 percent of heroin users who begin their addiction with prescription drugs.

Most recently, Beshear joined a bipartisan effort to call on federal law makers to close a loophole that allows those who traffic deadly fentanyl analogues to stay one-step ahead of law enforcement.

Beshear also supported legislation at home that amended the state’s drug laws to create penalties for dealers of fentanyl, carfentanil and other designer drugs, and created a new class definition for fentanyl derivatives.

Office of the Attorney General


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