The full cost of dealing with the opioid crisis will run to hundreds of billions of dollars. Taxpayers will foot some of the bill
saw a landmark reckoning in court for a drugmaker involved in America’s opioid disaster. A judge in Oklahoma ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $572m to fund a state plan to combat opioid addiction. Whatever the outcome of’s legal appeal, this is a milestone in a public-health calamity that cost 47,600 American lives in 2017 and could well claim a further 500,000 over the next decade .
For a start, many drug distributors and pharmacies, mesmerised by growing sales, failed to take action, as they are obliged to, when signs emerged that opioids were being diverted for illicit use. Doctors and hospitals, eyeing the bottom line, also veered towards incaution when handing out pills. The system put sales and “customer” satisfaction before patients’ well-being. Medical-professional societies were at best supine, and in a few cases complicit in encouraging overuse.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Trump’s push for the border wall, legal obstacles asideIn the push for a border wall, Donald Trump is reportedly telling officials to seize land while floating potential pardons if they violate the law. Morning Joe discusses the threats of President Trump acting above the law.
Read more »
Donald Trump Sends Legal Demand Over Comment From MSNBC's Lawrence O’DonnellThe president's personal attorney tells NBCU brass that legal proceedings could be pursued if there's no retraction or apology for stating that 'Russian oligarchs' co-signed loans to Trump.
Read more »
Legal campaigner Miller asks courts to block UK parliament suspensionLegal campaigner Gina Miller said on Wednesday she will ask the courts to block ...
Read more »
MSNBC’s O'Donnell Admits ‘Error In Judgement’ In Trump Report After Legal ThreatThinly sourced report claimed Russian ties to Trump bank loans.
Read more »
MSNBC’s O'Donnell Admits ‘Error In Judgement’ In Trump Report After Legal ThreatThinly sourced report claimed Russian ties to Trump bank loans.
Read more »
“What Boris Johnson is doing is legal—but it is clearly also cynical”“What Boris Johnson is doing is legal—but it is clearly also cynical.” JohnGPeet explains the thinking behind the latest Brexit twist, on “The Intelligence”
Read more »