Marion County has joined a growing list of individual counties suing drug manufacturers for the cost of the nation’s opioid crisis.
The Board of Supervisors issued a resolution Monday and signed paperwork authorizing several law firms to represent the county as it seeks funds to reimburse costs associated from abuse of pharmaceutical substances.
Board Attorney Joe Shepard presented documents from the McHugh Fuller Law Group in Hattiesburg and five other firms from across the nation, agreeing to pay the attorneys 30 percent of any settlement received, but allowing no fees to be collected if there is no recovery.
At the Board’s Oct. 16 meeting, members learned that Marion County is second in the state for the number of per capita opioid prescriptions. In Marion County, 182.9 prescriptions are written for every 100 residents. Only Forrest County ranked higher.
The litigation focuses on the manufacturers and wholesale distributors and their role in the diversion of millions of prescription opiates into the illicit market, which attorneys argue which has resulted in opioid addition, abuse, morbidity and mortality.
At the October meeting, Amy Quezon, a lawyer with the McHugh-Fuller Law Group in Hattiesburg, said counties are suffering immense expenses for law enforcement, emergency medical costs and jails because of opioid painkillers and addiction.
“They (drug manufacturers) are flooding communities with pills,” Quezon said. “Marion County is off the charts. The opioid crisis has affected every single one of us in some way.”
In taking action the Marion County Board of Supervisors declared opioids a serious public health threat to the citizens of Marion County.
The Board passed the resolution, which opened the doors to approve the suit. The motion to approve the resolution was made by District 4 Supervisor Raymon Rowell and seconded by District 2 Supervisor Terry Broome. The Board voted unanimously to approve it and also signed off on paperwork allowing the attorneys to file suit against the manufacturers and distributors. The paperwork was immediately signed and sent to the law firm.
