Judge Cites Opioid ‘Menace,’ Awards Oklahoma $572M In Landmark Case

(By Jackie Fortier, StateImpact Oklahoma and Brian Mann, North Country Public Radio for Kaiser Health News)

An Oklahoma judge has ruled that drugmaker Johnson & Johnson helped ignite the state’s opioid crisis by deceptively marketing painkillers and must pay $572 million to the state.

Oklahoma sought $17 billion, blaming Johnson & Johnson’s marketing practices for fueling the crisis that has claimed the lives of 6,000 people in the state.

It’s the first ruling to hold a pharmaceutical company responsible for one of the worst drug epidemics in American history.  Continue reading article here…

Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit national health policy news service that is part of the nonpartisan Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

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