Florida sues opioid makers, distributors

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Tuesday that she is suing the nation’s largest opioid drugmakers and distributors, blaming them for fueling an epidemic that she says is now killing 15 Floridians a day.

The lawsuit follows similar litigation filed by Palm Beach County, Broward County and Delray Beach — communities that have been hit hard by a spike in heroin and opioid overdoses.

Bondi said the action by Florida will send a message that “it’s time the defendants pay for the pain and destruction they have caused.”

“If we continue this tragic path, it’s hard to imagine any Florida family that will not be impacted by this,” she said.

The suit, filed in Pasco County, accuses drugmakers and distributors of downplaying the risks of prescription pain medication, such as OxyContin, fentanyl and Percocet.

It seeks damages for costs related to drug treatment, babies born addicted to opioids, state foster care services, law enforcement and other taxpayer expenses caused by the epidemic.

The complaint names as defendants opioid manufacturers Purdue Pharma, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Cephalon, and Allergan and related companies, as well as opioid distributors AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp., Cardinal Health, McKesson Corp. and Mallinckrodt.

Bondi coordinated her announcement with the filing of lawsuits by attorneys general in five other states — Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas. About 200 other suits have been filed nationally by local governments and states.

Palm Beach County Mayor Melissa McKinlay — who has been vocal about the opioid epidemic’s toll in South Florida — said local lawsuits such as the one filed by her county will continue alongside Bondi’s lawsuit.

McKinlay said her community has costs not covered in the state’s lawsuit, such as fire-rescue expenses related to a surge in overdose calls.

“My hope is that every family who needs treatment services has a place to get them," McKinlay said.

Before a crackdown seven years ago, Florida was known as the nation’s pill mill capital, where doctors handed out oxycodone and other powerful painkillers like candy at storefront clinics.

In 2010, 98 of the top 100 opioid-prescribing physicians were in Florida, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Now, medical examiners are seeing unprecedented overdose deaths caused by heroin and ultra-potent synthetic versions of the drug.

In 2016, 596 people died of opioid overdoses in Palm Beach County and 582 in Broward County, according to medical examiner statistics.

Connecticut-based Purdue denied claims of wrongdoing in an emailed statement.

The civil lawsuits followed months of negotiations with state officials to address the opioid crisis, company spokesman Bob Josephson said. The filings will result in costly and protracted litigation, he said.

At Bondi’s announcement, Lisa Brandy, a Sarasota resident, held up a picture of her 18-year-old daughter, Brandi Meshad, who died of a prescription drug overdose in 2011.

She called on the state to help “eradicate this epidemic before it destroys an entire generation.”

“Don’t blame the addict anymore and don’t blame the parents,” she said. “Blame Big Pharma for lying and knowing that they created this.”