Dealing with the Drug-Dealers

Opioids were involved in almost 400,000 overdose deaths from 1999 to 2017.  Since 2000, some 6,000 people in Oklahoma have died from opioid overdoses. 

Pharmacist corporation Johnson & Johnson must pay $572m (£469m) for its part in fuelling the opioid addiction crisis in Oklahoma. Judge Thad Balkman said prosecutors had demonstrated that J&J contributed to a "public nuisance" in its deceptive promotion of highly addictive prescription painkillers.

"Those actions compromised the health and safety of thousands of Oklahomans. The opioid crisis is an imminent danger and menace to Oklahomans," he said in his ruling.

The payment would be used for the care and treatment of opioid addicts, he said. 

The state's lawyers had called J&J an opioid "kingpin" and argued that its marketing efforts created a public nuisance as doctors over-prescribed the drugs, leading to a surge in overdose deaths in Oklahoma.

The state's Attorney General Mike Hunter, said,  "Johnson & Johnson will finally be held accountable for thousands of deaths and addictions caused by their actions,"

Earlier this year, Oklahoma settled with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma for $270m and Teva Pharmaceutical for $85m

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49452373