Lawyers urge county to file opioid lawsuit

A handful of lawyers visited Jackson County Commissioners this week in a special hour-long meeting before the board's regular evening session Tuesday, encouraging the government officials to raft toward a ship that's sailing now toward federal court, and asking the board members to let them steer that craft to the bigger vessel.

There's a ship-load of lawsuits aimed at distributors and manufacturers of drugs now blamed for a widespread American opioid-dependency crisis. The lawyers who appeared Tuesday want a crack at filing and handling a lawsuit for Jackson County to go along with the rest to a federal judge who'll be hearing all of them.

One presenter referred to a map of Florida that shows statistics gleaned from the records of the Centers for Disease Control. That federal agency keeps track of how many patients are prescribed opioids.

According to some presenters, Jackson County has one of the highest opioid prescription rates in the entire state of Florida.

The lawsuits aim for monetary awards, which could help the prevailing jurisdictions assist their affected citizens in recovery.

Jackson County Commissioners took no immediate action, but indicated another session may be held to consider the matter further.

Jill Courtney of the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, a national trade association representing distributors, reached out this week to offer a quote from the association's Senior Vice President John Parker regarding the organization's position.

"The misuse and abuse of prescription opioids is a complex public health challenge that requires a collaborative and systemic response that engages all stakeholders. Given our role, the idea that distributors are responsible for the number of opioid prescriptions written defies common sense and lacks understanding of how the pharmaceutical supply chain actually works and is regulated. Those bringing lawsuits would be better served addressing the root causes, rather than trying to redirect blame through litigation."

The email from Courtney also included the following general statements:

"Distributors are logistics experts, tasked with the primary responsibility of delivering all medicines to licensed pharmacies and healthcare providers. Distributors do not manufacture, prescribe, dispense or in any way, drive demand. Further, distributors cannot make medical determinations about patient care or provider prescribing.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is responsible for setting the annual production of controlled substances in the market, approving and regulating the entities allowed to prescribe and handle opioids, and sharing data with entities in the supply chain regarding potential cases of diversion. Distributors report every single opioid order to the DEA ? whether it is suspicious or not. Greater communication and coordination with the DEA will help support real-time response against abuse and diversion where it occurs."