r– from Tamara Greene for SJC Prosecutor’s Office —
News outlets nationwide have described the problems arising from the epidemic in the use of opioids. Whether it is the overuse of powerful addictive prescribed painkillers or the illegal use of a cheaper cousin, such as heroin, there is large human and governmental cost.
“Families are ripped apart. There is a real cost to county sheriffs, prosecutors, courts, and county health departments all of who are on the front line,” said Prosecuting Attorney/Coroner Randall Gaylord. “After families, county departments bear the brunt of the response to highly addictive drug overdoses and deaths.” Gaylord has declared two opioid deaths so far this year.
According to the CDC San Juan County had 57.9 opioid prescriptions written for every 100 persons in the County. “This indicates the problem is here. We may be a tight knit, beautiful island community but we have not escaped the problem of opioids,” said Gaylord.
Counties and cities throughout Washington are turning to the courts to help turn the tide by changing the practices of opioid manufacturers and compensating for costs incurred by the Local government. The San Juan County Council has decided to join in a multi-county lawsuit against the manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids. Prosecutor Gaylord agrees this is the best approach to get a share of any payments that may be made.
[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]San Juan County had 57.9 opioid prescriptions written for every 100 persons in the County[/perfectpullquote]
The County will be represented by the Seattle Law Firm of Keller Rohrback. The firm is one of the lead attorneys in the multi-district litigation in Ohio, where all lawsuits are being consolidated. The firm is hired on a contingency fee basis. “This means the legal expenses will be paid from the proceeds of a recovery,” added Gaylord. At last count, about half of Washington counties have asked to join the litigation. “Participating in this litigation,” says Gaylord, “gives the County a voice to influence the outcome in a way that best fits the needs of our community.”
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I am pleased to see SHC joining this suit. Big Pharma has marketed opiod use into abuse and it is necessary to stem the tide.
I wish someone would track down the doctors who are writing such an unreasonable amount of prescriptions….58 prescriptions per 100 population????!!!!! Really! These drugs are useful in the hands of reasonable doctors and the abuse makes them out of reach for those who truly need pain relief. The same same thing happened with the drug valium about 30 years ago when it was abused (fortunately it didn’t kill…)
This from a friend, a retired neuro suegeon who specializes in pain management and is an accredited prosecution witness against doctors who over prescribe pain medication:
“Not sure what the news article means. They don’t say over what period the deaths occurred. How many were because of illegal drugs, etc. There are some patients who should be on chronic opioids…for example cancer pain…that one person might get many prescriptions in a year or even in a single month. It is not so much the legitimate opioid prescriptions that cause the deaths as it is the illegal drugs and prescription drugs that have been diverted for illegal use. The medical licensing boards, especially here in Washington have been very effective in reducing excessive prescribing. The drug companies are not at fault. If you want to control opioids make them all legal…like alcohol. Those who want to use/abuse will at least be getting pure and controlled doses. The lawsuits will only drive some of the producers of legal prescriptions out of the market and scare the hell out of legitimate doctors and patients. The lawsuit will get Mr. Gaylord a lot of money as well as the county if they win. And what will they do with it?
Check out the facts:
https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates
Fentanyl has become the number one drug causing accidental death. It is easy to manufacture…doesn’t just come from legal companies. So how will the law suit reach the illegal labs? No it will just attack the legal ones.
The other part of the problem is that drug companies do not want their drugs to be abused. How will a law suit do something positive about that?
https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/fed_regs/rules/2007/fr0423.htm
It is a very complicated problem, but not fair to penalize legitimate companies who are trying to help the problem already.
The Orcas newspaper by not telling the whole story is doing what a lot of other media outlets are doing. Twisting the news or holding some of the facts for sensationalism. Not good journalism and really close to fake news.”
Nancy Ayers – and her nuerosurgeon cooresponsdent – ae absolutely correct.
This issue has been steadily mis reported and mis perceived over the coursre of the last decade, making the base issue more lethal and causing great harm to the doctor’patient relationship.
The so calleds, “opioD epidemic – is NOT a doctor caused or even pharamceutical manufacturer caused event fAR MORE PEOPLE DIE FROM TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS OR ACCIDENTAL MEDICAL ERROR THAN ALL OPIATES COMBINED.
aDDITIONALLY, UP TO EIGHTY PERCENT OF “OPIOD” RELATED CASUALTIES ARE THE RESULT OF MULTIPLE DRUG INTOXICATION, INCLUDING ANTI DEPRESSENTS AND, ESPECIALLY, ALCOHOL. .DEATHS ARE SELDOM CXAUSE DBY EVEN THE MOST POTENT PHRARMACEUTICALS BUT BY ILLEGAL OPIATES SUCH AS HEROIN AND FENTYNAL.
oNLY EIGHT PERCENT OF THOSE PERSCRIBED OPIODS ABUSE OR BECOME ADDICTED,.
wILL THIS LAWSUIT PREVENT PEOPLE FROM USING HEROIN? nO.
iF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A REAL CAUSE OF THE OPIOD PROBLEM, BLAME CAPITALISM IN ALL OF ITS PERNICIOUS ITERATIONS. bIG PHRMA STREET DEALERS, PREYED UPON WORKING PEOPLE, THE COSTS OF COMPREHENSI VE MEDICAL EVALUATION AND CARE
IT;S THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM WE LIVE UNDER THAT PERCIPITATES THE NEED FOR THE RELEASE OPIATES PROVIDE TO BEGIN WITHL
iF WE ARE REALLY SERIOUS ABOUT DEALING WITH PAIN WE SHOULD ROOT OUT THE ACTUAL SOURCES, NOT BLAME PHSCIANS.
pLAEAse OI. if you are going to report on this issue, dig a little deeper
Editor’s note: Please know that this article is not a report by Orcas Issues staff. Rather it is a message from the San Juan County Prosecutor’s office. While we may or may not agree with its stand, we feel that county officials, as well as the public, have the right to inform the public as to their policies and actions. It is up to the public to decide whether this is good or bad government, but it is not bad journalism to let the elected government officials communicate what they are doing — and we like that they spoke to us without using all caps.
The drug companies are complicit in the opioid epidemic! Thank you Randy Gaylord!
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-opioid-epidemic-how-big-pharma-and-congress-created_us_59e4e02ee4b003f928d5e8bf
Sorry for the caps – incidental to bad eyesight and a poorly wlit room, but my point remains.
Yes, the county, and
oi. need to get their story out, but the county press release tells such a small part of this story that supplemental info needs tobe interpolated