County Commissions May Sue Drug Manufacturers

The Cabell County Commission is considering whether to seek damages from opioid manufacturers, wholesalers, pharmacies, pharmacists and prescribing doctors for the prescription painkillers that fueled the state’s drug epidemic. The Huntington Herald-Dispatch reports that a law firm urged the commission to declare that distribution of pain medications a public nuisance and hire it to pursue the case and take 30 percent of any recoveries. Commissioner Nancy Cartmill, president of the state’s county commissioners association, says all the state’s 55 counties are getting similar proposals. The commission has tabled the issue until Jan. 26, giving other firms a chance to make offers.