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The trial of the âBig Threeâ drug companies accused of fueling an opioid drug epidemic in Cabell County and the city of Huntington is taking place at the Robert C. Byrd U.S. Courthouse in Charleston.
Courtesy of the West Virginia Humanities Council
CHARLESTON – As the landmark federal opioid trial concluded its fourth week, attorneys for Cardinal Health probed an addiction science professor from Marshall University about recovery programs and estimated costs.
The City of Huntington and the Cabell County Commission sued three of the nation’s top pharmaceutical distribution companies – AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson – in 2017 seeking compensation over claims the companies helped fuel the opioid epidemic by sending more than 81 million controlled substances to the county between 2006 and 2014.
Before the start of testimony May 28, U.S. District Judge David Faber, who is overseeing the bench trial, brought up previously admitted documents that were not presented to the media. Faber said that while he does worry about how the media can misconstrue the documents, with a previous ruling in mind, he felt the public had the right to see the documents.
An email released Friday in the federal trial pitting Huntington and Cabell County against three drug distributors showed McKesson Corp. employees cheering trends that showed Appalachians were shifting away from
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Originally published on May 12, 2021 4:31 pm
The City of Huntington and Cabell County are in federal court, taking prescription opioid distributors to task. If the city and county win their lawsuit, that could result in a payout of tens of millions of dollars. And in theory, that money could help fix the problem.
Dr. Lyn O Connell works with the City of Huntington to tackle the substance use crisis through clinical services, research and program development.
She was also part of a team that produced a resiliency plan in 2020 for Huntington. The plan outlines a continuum of care her community could implement to stomp out the opioid crisis.