News Groups Request Opioid Data

News organizations are pushing for the public release of data detailing the distribution of prescription opioids throughout the U.S., and the information could show how drug manufacturers and distributors contributed to the nation’s addiction and overdose crisis. Attorneys for The Washington Post and HD Media, which owns The Charleston Gazette-Mail, filed requests this week in federal court in Cleveland. They are advocating for release of records that the federal Drug Enforcement Agency has turned over as part of lawsuits between hundreds of local governments and the drug industry. Other news organizations, including The Associated Press, also have requested information from the federal opioid distribution database.