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The State of Michigan is suing four pharmaceutical distributors for the role they allegedly played in the opioid epidemic.
We become the 49th state to take such action – only Nebraska has not. Attorney General Dana Nessell blamed her predecessor, Bill Schuette, for the delay.
Michigan is using a state law passed in 1994 that allows lawsuits to be brought against drug dealers for damages. Nessell says AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, McKesson and Walgreens fall under that description.
The state has already entered into an agreement with OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma for damages related to the cost of the opioid problem.
Michigan suffered almost 2,600 overdose deaths last year. More than three-quarters were opioid-related.
