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Vol. 3, No. 40
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City takes legal action against opioid manufacturers By Christopher Roberson
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etween 2013 and 2017, there were 70 opioid-related deaths in Peabody, according to the state Department of Public Health (DPH). Therefore, Mayor Edward Bettencourt recently announced that city officials had filed a“public nuisance lawsuit” against eight companies that produce and distribute these highly addictive drugs. “Our community will do everything in our power to stop this crisis from further destroying people’s lives,” Bettencourt said in a written statement. “We must fight this epidemic in the streets and in the court room. Not until we address the sources that are fueling this problem and we force drug makers and distributors to follow the law, will we be able to end this unconscionable epidemic.” Additional information from the DPH revealed that in 2016 opioids took the lives of 2,069 individuals in Massachusetts, a 15 percent increase over the number of opioid-related deaths in 2015. Therefore, city officials have chosen the consortium of Massachusetts Opioid Litigation Attorneys (MOLA) to be their warriors in the ongoing battle to end the opioid crisis. According to its website, massmola.com, MOLA consists of seven “national powerhouse firms” as well as Sweeney Mer-
rigan Law in BosSandman in Malden. MOLA currently represents approximately 100 other communities across the state that have also taken legal action. Specifically, Peabody is going after “five of the largest manufacturers of prescription opioids and their related companies.” The city is also suing the top three wholesale drug distributors in the nation. The objectives of the lawsuit include ordering the drug companies to take action to “address and end the current opioid crisis as well as compensation for past and ongoing damages.” Legal fees will only be incurred if MOLA is successful. In accordance with the federal Controlled Substances Act, drug companies are required to“monitor, identify and report suspicious activity in the size and frequency of opioid shipments to pharmacies and hospitals.” However, the complaint has accused those companies of pushing “dangerous opioids, falsely representing to doctors that patients would only rarely succumb to drug addiction, while the distributors breached their legal duties to monitor, detect, investigate, refuse and report suspicious orders of prescription opioids.” If the case cannot be settled out of court, trials will begin in the spring of 2019.
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Friday, October 5, 2018
Family 5K Fun Run honors memory of Ella O’Donnell
By Christopher Roberson
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early 500 participants, from as far away as Cincinnati, Ohio, recently laced up their sneakers to be a part of the first annual Ella’s Army 5K Family Fun Run. The Sept. 30 event was held at South Memorial Elementary School in memory of Ella O’Donnell. A 10-year-old fourth grade student at South Memorial, Ella passed away in November 2016 after an
Catholic Community holds 2nd Annual Pet Blessing Rev. Michael Otero-Otero of the St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Community blesses Roxy, a three-yearold Labrador mix, owned by Stephanie Lynch of Peabody during the church’s second annual Pet Blessing on Sept. 29 at Emerson Park. See more photos on page 4. (Advocate Photo by Christopher Roberson)
Shown at the Ella’s Army 5K Family Fun Run Sunday, Sept, 30, from left to right, are Jordyn Collins, 16; Bridget O’Connell, 15; and Aja Alimonti, 15; all of Peabody. O’Connell won the race with a time of 20 minutes, 28 seconds, Collins finished in third place with a time of 21 minutes, 15 seconds, and Alimonti finished in seventh place with a time of 21 minutes, 58 seconds. (Advocate Photos by Christopher Roberson)
11-month battle with brain cancer. During that time, Ella endured 33 rounds of radiation, 10 cycles of chemotherapy with two different drugs, an eight-hour brain surgery and a port surgery. According to the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, four percent of federal
government funding is earmarked for pediatric cancer research. Cancer continues to be the leading cause of death by disease among children, as only three pediatric drugs have been approved during the past 38 years.
FAMILY 5K | SEE PAGE 5
Shown, from left to right, are Theresa Marquise, 7, of Bellows Falls, Vt.; Cian Sullivan, 9, of Melrose; and Benjamin Madden, 10, also of Melrose.