Attorneys representing Detroit and Macomb County filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against multiple drugmakers, drug distributors and pharmacy chains for their alleged role in facilitating Michigan's opioid crisis, according to a report from the Detroit Free Press.
The counties of Delta and Chippewa, as well as the cities of Lansing and Escanaba, are also listed as plaintiffs in the suit. The legal action accuses the companies of engaging in the reckless sale of opioids and seeks to obtain funds to help address the crisis.
"It's not that we want to profit from litigation, we want to stop it through litigation," said Mark Hackel, Macomb County executive, according to Detroit Free Press. "Enough is enough."
In 2016, Macomb County saw a 134 percent surge in opioid-related deaths from the year prior, bringing the death total over 200.
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