PORTLAND (AP) — The mayor of Portland, Maine, says he would likely support taking legal action against opioid manufacturers as city officials weigh a potential lawsuit.
In August, the City Council will discuss filing a lawsuit or joining an existing one against the makers of powerful painkillers, such as OxyContin.
The Portland Press Herald reported (http://bit.ly/2vBm88T ) that Mayor Ethan Strimling said Friday he would probably support the effort, but wants to hear from city lawyers about what action might be appropriate.
Maine’s attorney general joined a multistate investigation of the companies and their marketing practices last month. She says drugmakers advertised opioids as nonaddictive before a widespread crisis of misuse led to a record number of fatal overdoses.
This Feb. 19, 2013 file photo shows OxyContin pills are arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. In a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in December 2015, drug overdoses in the U.S. rose again in 2014, driven by surges in deaths from heroin and powerful prescription painkillers such as Vicodin and Oxycontin. Overall, overdose deaths in the U.S. surpassed 47,000 — up 7 percent from 2013. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)
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