More Counties Sue Drug Makers

Two West Virginia counties have joined numerous others in suing pharmaceutical companies, drugstores and the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy over the state’s opioid crisis. The Exponent Telegram reports that Barbour and Taylor counties have hired lawyers to seek temporary and permanent restraining orders to curb practices they say are fueling the crisis, restitution, punitive damages and an insurance award from the Board of Pharmacy. The lawsuits say the defendants, including McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal, knew opioids were addictive, yet still flooded the state with the drugs through unscrupulous practices. The pharmaceutical companies have denied similar claims.