RENACCI AGAINST SUING DRUG COMPANIES
Lawmaker says lawsuit isn’t solution to opioid crisis.
U.S. Rep. CLEVELAND —
Jim Renacci, a Republican from Wadsworth running for governor, said Tuesday that suing drug manufacturers over the opioid epidemic was not a solution to the ongoing drug problem in Ohio.
Several localities as well as Attorney General Mike DeWine — another Republican candidate for governor — have sued drug companies, accusing them of lying about the addictive nature of opioids to get doctors to prescribe the pain medications. The suits have mostly broad bipartisan support.
But Renacci said during a speech at the City Club of Cleveland that suing the drug manufacturers wouldn’t alleviate the problem.
“If you don’t like the drug situation and say, ‘Well I’m going to sue the drug manufacturer,’ well the next time if there’s a car accident, are you going to sue the car manufacturer? The next time someone uses a gun, are you going to sue the gun manufacturer?” Renacci said. “The answer isn’t in suing the manufacturers. The answer is to really get to the core of the problem and to talk to the people who have been associated with those problems.”
Renacci said the state should focus on education, harsher penalties for drug dealers and community solutions through local organizations and churches.
“That’s a waste. That’s a case that will be years and years down the road,” Renacci said. “I’m not too sure there’s a winning argument there.”
DeWine’s lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, filed in June, relies on the idea that the drug companies lied about how addictive opioids were to doctors, thus causing an increase in prescriptions.
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One of the most common ways people become addicted is through a legal prescription. A patient becomes hooked on the legal drug and eventually searches illegal means to acquire it, sometimes graduating to other drugs like heroin in the process.
The opioid suit is similar to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, a deal between the tobacco companies and 46 states that exempted the companies from liability in exchange for funding for health programs and awareness campaigns.
State attorneys general sued the tobacco companies for lying about the addictive qualities of nicotine as well as the health hazards related to smoking. They sought the recovery of Medicaid expenses in return.
The deal was reached in November 1998, with the states guaranteed more than $200 billion over the next 25 years, as well as further payments in perpetuity.
The opioid lawsuit in Ohio — as well as several other states — bears similarities to the tobacco settlement, with the state seeking damages for the cost of addiction prevention and treatment.
“Our lawsuit speaks for itself,” said attorney general spokesman Dan Tierney.
Renacci did not say if he felt manufacturers have the same amount of fault as street drug dealers, who he said needed harsher punishments. He also declined to say whether Ohio should pull out of the current suit, or if as governor, he would suggest the attorney general do so.
“I would want to make sure our attorney general is doing everything he can to make sure drug dealers are not back on the streets, which is a major issue for me,” he said.
Former U.S. Attorney Steve Dettelbach, a Democrat running for attorney general, praised DeWine’s suit and said he would continue it should he win the office. His opponent, Republican Auditor Dave Yost, told cleveland.com in early November if there is proof of deceit on the part of the drug companies, he would continue the suit as well.
More than 4,000 people in Ohio died of opioid overdoses in 2016, with about 28 percent of those deaths occurring in Northeast Ohio.
Renacci’s message on the drugs thus far has been mostly economic.
In several appearances, he’s questioned the validity of drug education and instead said the best way to combat the problem is strengthening the economy so people have jobs and don’t turn to drugs.