Columbus is the latest Ohio municipality to take legal action against drug companies to recoup city funds expended addressing the city's opioid crisis, according to a report from ABC 6.
The lawsuit, filed Dec. 15, lists 22 drugmakers and three drug distributors as defendants, accusing the companies of various transgressions that perpetuated the opioid crisis in Columbus. Allegations made in the lawsuit include the dissemination of false information about the safety of opioid medications and failing to track suspicious opioid shipments.
"This is something that every neighborhood can feel the squeeze on from the over-proliferation of opioids from the pharmaceutical industry," said Zach Klein, Columbus' incoming city attorney, according to ABC 6. "This [is] not about filling city coffers. This is about getting people the help they need to educate people about the dangers of opioid abuse."
Similar legal actions have been taken by the state of Ohio, Cleveland and Cincinnati.
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