Wayne, Oakland sue drugmakers over opioid epidemic

Wayne and Oakland county executives announced a joint lawsuit today against several drug manufacturers and distributors, alleging the "deceptive marketing and sale of opioids" including OxyContin and Fentanyl.

Wayne County Executive Warren Evans called the opioid-related addictions and deaths—which have claimed 817 lives in his county in 2016, up from 506 in 2015 — a "full-blown health crisis from which the drug companies have made billions," in a joint news release.

Corporation profits "completely disregard" human life, Evans said in a news conference today.

"It is in my mind a very very dark chapter in terms of what it does to lives. But it's equally a dark chapter in terms of what it does to our collective budgets," Evans said at the news conference, citing the increased costs for law enforcement, prosecutors, and medical services.

"All of those things are things that impact a community of taxpayers who would much rather see those dollars obviously go to other areas that are needed and not be a part of a drug problem."

The lawsuit filed in the U.S District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan demands a jury trial and levies the following complaints: violation of Michigan Consumer Protection Act, public nuisance, negligance, unjust enrichment, and violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act.

The complaint comes less than a month after Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette opened an investigation into opioid manufacturers and distributors.  Schuette's probe is part of a bipartisan effort involving 41 state attorneys general that demands detailed information and documents from the corporations, according to the attorney general's website.

In 2015, Michigan saw its third straight year of increased drug overdose deaths, as 1,981 people died because of overdoses — 13.5 percent more than in 2014, according to the attorney general's website.

“Highly addictive opioid drugs have destroyed families, robbed children of parents and robbed parents of children,” Schuette is quoted in the statement.  "I will be working with attorneys general from across the country, pooling our resources, and digging into the marketing, distribution and sale of opioids.  Once the information has been provided and reviewed, we will take further coordinated legal action as appropriate."

Schuette's investigation is targeting several of the manafucturers that the counties' lawsuit targets, including: Endo International PLC, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Cephalon Inc., Purdue Pharma, and drug distributors, Cardinal Health, Inc. and McKesson Corporation.

The other companies that Oakland and Wayne counties are targeting are: Insys Therapeutics, Inc., Mallinckrodt Plc., Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, AmerisourceBergen Corporation, and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.

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Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said that the drug manufacturers have taken a page out of the "tobacco era" by using what he called false advertising and false claims. Patterson's county saw 165 opioid-related deaths in 2016, according to the lawsuit.

"We're flooding the market, and I don't think the manufacturers or the distributors of these kinds of drugs really care," Patterson said. "It's about driving the bottom line and profits."

The lawsuit cites that Michigan healthcare providers wrote 11 million presciptions for opioid drugs in both 2015 and 2016, or "more annual opioid prescriptions than Michigan has people."

Evans said it's staggering that the issue has reached this point.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that there are far far more drugs out there that have been prescribed legally than any one could ever use in any constructive, logical, or medical way," Evans said.

Macomb County is not a part of the litigation announced today.

But County Executive Mark Hackel said officials are working with a law firm from Michigan that is tied to a law firm in New York to guide them and eventually file their own litigation on the matter. He declined to identify the firms, but said they were part of tobacco ligation years ago.

Hackel said the firms working with Macomb County are doing the work for no charge, unless there is a payout.

Wayne County mentioned to Macomb County's corporation counsel it was planning to do something, Hackel said, but Macomb County officials were already working on their own efforts.

Hackel said officials are trying to determine the "damage or harm here to the taxpayers." That could include, he said, costs for policing and jailing efforts and the medical examiner's office among other costs.

"The fact is, it is a problem you can't deny," he said.

Free Press reporter Christina Hall contributed to this report. Contact Hasan Dudar: hdudar@freepress.com