LUBBOCK, Texas — Lubbock County sued a long list of pharmaceutical companies on Tuesday, accusing them of contributing to an opioid epidemic nationwide which harmed local residents.
Judge Curtis Parrish is hoping an end to the opioid crisis in our country and our community comes very soon.
“We’re ready to stand up and say enough is enough, this has been very harmful to our people,” Parrish said.
Parrish said we don’t want to see these prescriptions get into the wrong hands.
“Sometimes you see healthcare physicians not doing their due diligence, and they’re over prescribing, and it’s just causing this flood of this product out in the market,” Parrish said.
“Few places in Texas suffered more than Lubbock County,” the lawsuit said. Lubbock County claims that pharmaceutical companies failed to make sure that opioid pain killers were provided strictly for medical need.
E.M.S. reported that it responded to 190 suspected overdoses in 2016, 49 of which resulted in death.
court records
The lawsuit said opioids are addictive and, if abused, deadly. The lawsuit said pharmaceutical companies made billions of dollars in profits while local residents and local governments were left to suffer from the fallout.
“From 2006 to 2012, there were 77,595,883 prescription pain pills supplied to Lubbock County, enough for 41 pills per person per year—well above state and national averages,” the lawsuit said.
“The trend has continued in Lubbock County and, as a direct result, the number of overdoses and overdose deaths have mushroomed. In 2016, University Medical Center E.M.S. reported that it responded to 190 suspected overdoses, 49 of which resulted in death (a 26 percent increase over the previous year).”
Pharmacist, Chris Hobart said it’s easy to become addicted.
“It’s very dangerous because it’s twofold, first it’s psychological dependence that can come from the euphoria when you take it and that can happen very quickly,” Hobart said. “The second part is the chemical and physical dependence of it.”
CLICK HERE to read the lawsuit and to see the long list of companies Lubbock County sued.
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