Across U.S., lawmen aim at drug firms

A BIPARTISAN coalition of attorney generals from 41 states announced a new weapon Tuesday in the fight against America’s opioid crisis: a multistate investigation into drug makers and marketers.

Subpoenas and other document requests were served Monday to various manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids.

Through the bipartisan coalition, chief legal officers across the 41 states will pool resources to determine whether some of the companies engaged in any unlawful practices in the marketing and distribution of prescription drugs.

It’s a major expansion of existing investigations into the nationwide opioid epidemic, said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

“Some states have more opioid prescriptions than they have residents, which is really mind-boggling,” he said.

Opioid distributors alone make nearly $500 billion a year in revenue, the attorneys general said. Opioids — both prescription and illicit — are the main cause of drug overdose deaths nationwide and in New York.