Johnson & Johnson Acted as Opioid ‘Kingpin,’ Oklahoma Attorney General Says
CNN is reporting that Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter has argued in court filings that Johnson & Johnson should be compelled to release millions of pages of documents about its role in the opioid epidemic.
The company acted as an opioid “kingpin” by using a web of foreign and domestic subsidiaries to supply raw materials “necessary to manufacture the opioid pain medications thrust upon the unsuspecting public since the 1990s,” Hunter alleged.
“The Oklahoma case is set to be the first in the nation to go before a jury that could determine pharmaceutical companies’ role in the nation’s opioid epidemic and whether Big Pharma should pay for it,” writes CNN’s Wayne Drash. “On Friday, District Court Judge Thad Balkman denied pharmaceutical companies’ request for a delay, saying it is in the public’s interest for the trial to begin May 28.”