Lawmakers have asked the Department of Justice to explore whether criminal charges should be brought against members of the Sackler family who control Purdue Pharma, opening a possible new front in sprawling nationwide opioid litigation. The senators made their move as a potential $4.5 billion settlement between the Sackler family and prosecutors in some 3,000 lawsuits hangs in the balance. That settlement initially included a provision shielding the family from further liabilities, a clause that angered victims’ families and was recently rejected by a judge. In pressing their action, the senators noted that the Sacklers directed and oversaw operations and marketing that falsely claimed its premier product, OxyConton, was non-addictive, which fueled the opioid addiction and overdose crisis. Whether the Justice Department will take up the matter isn’t clear, nor is how this would impact other billion-dollar settlements.
Meanwhile, Pew Trusts has released an in-depth look at the addiction crisis, and how the states should address it. First, they must expand their treatment offerings and remove unnecessary regulations so that more people can access life-saving treatment for opioid use disorder. Although medication is the most effective treatment for OUD, only a fraction (just 18 percent) of the 1.6 million people with OUD receive medication. Pew also calls for more flexible approaches to treatment—such as mobile methadone treatment, to make access easier— and to provide integrated medical and mental health care.
And finally, one of the hallmarks of marijuana legalization laws approved by states is the opt-out provision, allowing municipalities to ban cannabis businesses in their neighborhoods. Although polls show that a majority of Americans generally favor legalization, in most legal states a majority of localities have nevertheless opted out and said no to dispensaries as well as on-site consumption lounges, fearing an uptick in drug use and a negative impact on vulnerable populations, such as young people. Now, however, the powerful cannabis lobby in California appears to be mounting a campaign to rescind the opt-out provision, arguing that this has led to a growth in the illicit market for pot. Citing a “disappointment gap" between what legalization promised and today’s still booming black market, an industry lobbyist says that today there are fewer licensed retail outlets in the state than there were before cannabis reform. Not a very compelling reason to take away the right of communities to say they don’t want pot stores in their backyard.