Miami Sues Opioid Manufacturers and Distributors Over Epidemic
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The city of Miami is joining other cities and states that are suing several Pharmaceutical companies over the Opioid crisis.
The city alleges in its lawsuit that the companies were negligent and deceptively marketed the painkillers as safe.
"This is costing our taxpayers lots of money and we've seen an increase in the calls for overdoses," says Eugene Ramirez, a spokesman for the city of Miami. "The problem with these companies is that they are lying to doctors and telling them these medicines don't have the side effects we now know they do."
"They need to be transparent with the people who are going to consume these drugs and only prescribe them to the people who really need them," he says.
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Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin and one of the companies being sued, responded to CBS4 with a statement that reads in part:
"We are deeply troubled by the prescription and illicit opioid abuse crisis. Although our products account for less than 2% of the total opioid prescriptions, we've developed three of the first four FDA approved opioid medications with abuse-deterrent properties and partner with law enforcement to ensure access to naloxone."