Trump threatens to sue opioid makers

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump threatened Thursday to sue drugmakers that manufacture opioids, mimicking an approach embraced by dozens of cities and states wrestling with huge increases in overdose deaths.

During a Cabinet meeting, the president asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions to bring a lawsuit against companies selling opioids and tasked him with looking into legal action to stop drug trafficking from China and Mexico, which he accused of “sending their garbage and killing our people.”

“I’d like us to look at some of the litigation that’s already been started with companies,” Trump told Sessions during the meeting. “Rather than just joining them I’d like to bring a federal lawsuit against those companies.”

The Trump administration filed a “statement of interest” in March in a lawsuit brought by cities, states and others that have sued drug manufacturers. That filing noted the “substan- tial costs and significant interest” the federal government has in the epidemic.

This week, New York state was the latest to sue Purdue Pharma, the maker of Oxy Contin, alleging that the company downplayed the risk of addiction in its marketing.

Trump declared the opioid crisis a national health emergency in October. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday that 72,000 Americans died of a drug overdose last year, a 10 percent increase over 2016.

It’s not clear when – of even if – the administration will follow through on Trump’s request. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the pharmaceutical industry’s trade group, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump also turned to the deadly synthetic drug fentanyl.

“Whatever you can do from a legal standpoint – whether it’s litigation, lawsuits, for people and companies,” Trump told Sessions. “In China, you have some pretty big companies sending that garbage and killing our people. It’s almost a form of warfare.”