Lansing, MI — Attorney General Dana Nessel is representing the State of Michigan in a lawsuit against several major drug distributors for their lack of oversight in handling opioid products.
Nessel said the actions and inactions of Cardinal Health, McKesson Corporation, AmerisourceBergen, and Walgreens put them on the wrong side of Michigan’s Drug Dealer Liability Act. “These companies knowingly and deliberately used their licenses to distribute drugs in our state without controls, and the opioid crisis has been exacerbated as a result of that, leaving behind a litany of grieving families and grave concerns,” said Nessel.
The state charges these companies with a list of wrongdoing including distributing and selling opioids in ways that facilitated and encouraged their flow into the illegal secondary market and choosing not to investigate, monitor, or report suspicious orders.
The state feels that because the companies knowingly participated in the illegal distribution of prescription opioids purchased by Michigan residents, they are liable to the state of Michigan under the Drug Dealer Liability Act for damages caused by opioids acquired from their distribution channels. Those damages include the State’s expenses for increased law enforcement and prosecution efforts, added health care expenses, drug treatment programs, and incarceration.
The court is expected to rule in the case in the coming days or weeks.
Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand
