Litigation Lessons

AAC LITIGATION LESSONS

Opioid justice for a united Arkansas

In a unique and unprecedented display of unity and collective action, nearly every Arkansas county has joined with a collection of Arkansas cities and the state as co-plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against 65 opioid manufacturers, distributors, and criminally-convicted Arkansas pharmacies and healthcare professionals to seek a comprehensive remedy to the Arkansas Opioid Epidemic.

We’d like to again thank the 72 county judges who selected the legal team assembled by the Association of Arkansas Counties (AAC), including the AAC and several private law firms to represent the counties in this historic case. We are honored and humbled, and we are working as hard as we can toward the goal of securing a comprehensive solution to the Arkansas Opioid Epidemic. In the unified effort that we have named Opioid Justice for a United Arkansas, we seek a remedy for all of Arkansas, including all Arkansas counties and most importantly, Arkansas communities, Arkansas families, and Arkansas addicts.

The original complaint was filed on March 15 in Crittenden County Circuit Court. The complaint alleges that since the late 1990s, opioid manufacturers have engaged in a multimillion dollar marketing scheme designed to mislead doctors and patients about the benefits and risks of prescription opioids, and to persuade doctors and patients that opioids should be prescribed long term to treat chronic pain. According to the complaint, the drug companies’ marketing campaign was wildly successful and reversed the widespread medical understanding that opioids are addictive drugs, unsafe in most circumstances for long-term use. And according to the complaint, the deceptive marketing efforts of the drug companies created and fueled the opioid epidemic so that opioids are now the most prescribed class of drugs and generate billions of dollars in revenue for drug companies every year.

The complaint contends that prescription opioids have dev-

astated public health and welfare in Arkansas. Drug-poisoning deaths are now the leading cause of injury and death in the United States — outnumbering those caused by firearms, car crashes, suicide, and homicide — and Arkansas has been Colin Jorgensenat the forefront of the national epi- Risk Management demic. Arkansas’ near tripling in Litigation Counsel overdose deaths since 2000 coincides with a span in which opioid sales have quadrupled in Arkansas. In 2016, Arkansas saw the number of drug overdose deaths rise to 401 — at least 335 of which were opioid-related. There are now more opioid prescriptions in Arkansas than people. Arkansas has the second highest The complaint contends that prescription opioids have devastated public health and welfare in Aropioid prescription rate in the country: 114.6 opioid prescriptions for every 100 persons. Drug kansas. Drug-poisoning deaths are now the leading cause companies sold over of death in the United States — outnumbering those 235 million opioid pills across Arkansas in 2016, caused by firearms, car crashes, suicide, and homicide making opioids the topselling class of prescrip— and Arkansas has been at the forefront of the nation- tion drug in Arkansas and more than twice al epidemic. Arkansas’ near tripling in overdose deaths as prevalent as the next highest selling prescripsince 2000 coincides with a span in which opioid sales tion drug class. Accordhave quadrupled in Arkansas. ing to the complaint, Arkansas is now awash in opioids and engulfed in a public health crisis, the likes of which has not been seen before. In addition to the direct problems of adult addiction, abuse, and overdose, the opioid epidemic has created a ripple effect, touching lives across all demographic groups and straining public resources. The Arkansas Opioid Epidemic strains law enforcement, courts, hospitals, and jails and prisons. It contributes to community blight, lost productivity, and lost tax revenue for state and local government. Arkansas’ prosecutors and other state officials, county judges, mayors, sheriffs, police chiefs, coroners, and other local officials desperately want to do what they can to remediate this epidemic. We need to increase public

awareness about the dangers of opioids. We need to educate children from elementary school through high school and into college, including specialized training for medically assisted treatment, long-term treatment, and addiction counseling. We need to implement prevention programs in communities throughout the state. We need to develop and expand treatment options in our courts, jails, and communities. We need a comprehensive approach to prevent addiction on the front end, and to help addicted citizens recover — before they overdose and die. All of these initiatives are expensive, and an effective strategy to solve this problem in communities throughout Arkansas is very expensive. Arkansas public officials are ready to work together to implement such a comprehensive strategy. We cannot wait for others to solve this problem. But our governments have very limited funds — especially given the extreme strain on budgets from the ongoing costs of the opioid epidemic.

The unified litigation approach being taken by the governments of Arkansas, including all 75 counties (72 represented by the AAC-led legal team), is a unique strategy nationwide. To our knowledge, counties and cities have not united in this way in any other state. Our hope is that through cooperative litigation by Arkansas governments against the drug companies that manufacture and distribute opioids, we will expose and prove the drug companies’ alleged responsibility for the opioid epidemic in Arkansas. The complaint seeks a court declaration that the drug companies have violated Arkansas law, and an injunction prohibiting the drug companies from continuing to misrepresent the risks and benefits of opioids. And the complaint seeks to require the drug companies to provide the funding necessary to implement a comprehensive strategy to remediate the opioid epidemic that they allegedly created in the communities of Arkansas.

Specifically, the complaint seeks a remedy that would provide the resources necessary to comprehensively intervene in the Arkansas Opioid Epidemic to prevent opioid use, injury, and death; to treat, cure, and prevent opioid misuse and addiction; to reduce the supply of dangerous opioids; and to reduce crime and involuntary commitments associated with opioid addiction. If successful, this case would provide necessary resources to, among others, Arkansas law enforcement, first responders, jails, schools, hospitals, clinics, and treatment centers, and it would equip those on the front lines to end this epidemic. The remedy that we seek for all of Arkansas in this historic case is outlined in a section at the end of the complaint entitled the “Prayer for Relief.”

If Arkansas is to recover from this opioid epidemic, the united litigation we are pursuing on your behalves must be successful. We pray for a comprehensive and effective solution to the Arkansas Opioid Epidemic on behalf of the counties, cities, communities, families, and addicts of Arkansas. And again, we thank you for the opportunity to pursue Opioid Justice for a United Arkansas.

For the latest news about the Arkansas Opioid litigation, go to www.arcounties.org/opioid-crisis-in-arkansas