CHARLESTON – All three major drug distribution companies objected to Cabell County and Huntington attorneys bringing in an expert witness with a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration background to examine opioid data.
The City of Huntington and Cabell County sued three of the largest distribution companies – AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson Corp – in 2017, seeking the parties be held responsible for shipping over 81 million prescription pain pills into the area of 100,000 residents. Five of 77 pharmacies in Cabell County and Huntington, received over 23.2 million pills between 2006 and 2014 according to the data released by DEA.
Attorney Paul Farrell Jr., representing Cabell County, called James Rafalski, a former DEA official to the stand May 26. Rafalski investigated registrants, collect due diligence files and put together reports to determine effective controls to prevent diversion on behalf of the DEA.
Originally published on May 26, 2021 11:06 am
During years when the prescription opioid epidemic was spiraling out of control, corporate executives at the drug wholesaler McKesson sent at least two memos ordering employees to refrain from using the word suspicious to describe escalating opioid orders from pharmacy chains.
The documents were disclosed this week as part of a landmark federal opioid trial now underway in West Virginia, one of the states hit hardest by opioid deaths.
The case focuses on claims by local officials in Cabell County and the city of Huntington. They say their community of roughly 90,000 residents was devastated by tens of millions of prescription opioid pills shipped to local pharmacies.
Drug distributors have faced embarrassing revelations about their internal practices. One email shared by corporate executives described rural Americans addicted to opioids as "pillbillies."
Audio: Opioid Trial In West Virginia Comes Amid A National Reckoning For Big Pharma scpr.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from scpr.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Opioid Trial In West Virginia Comes Amid A National Reckoning For Big Pharma
By Brian Mann
May 26, 2021
During years when the prescription opioid epidemic was spiraling out of control, corporate executives at the drug wholesaler McKesson sent at least two memos ordering employees to “refrain from using the word ‘suspicious ” to describe escalating opioid orders from pharmacy chains.
The documents were disclosed this week as part of a landmark federal opioid trial now underway in West Virginia, one of the states hit hardest by opioid deaths.
The case focuses on claims by local officials in Cabell County and the city of Huntington. They say their community of roughly 90,000 residents was devastated by tens of millions of prescription opioid pills shipped to local pharmacies.