Popular Articles
Today Week Month Year


Oklahoma court orders Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million for helping fuel opioid epidemic
By Ethan Huff // Aug 29, 2019

For the part it played in helping to fuel our nation's opioid epidemic, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has been ordered to pay $572.1 million to the state of Oklahoma, an amount far lower than what the state's attorney general had originally anticipated.

Brighteon.TV

Attorney General Mike Hunter had reportedly sued J&J for $17 billion, hoping to be awarded at least a substantial fraction of this amount to help cover the costs associated with the epidemic of opioid abuse in his state. But the final award was far lower – a mere drop in the bucket for J&J, which profited to the tune of billions with its illicit opioid racket.

"The expectation was this was going to be a $1.5 billion to $2 billion fine," stated Jared Holz, a healthcare strategist for Jefferies & Co., to Reuters. "$572 million is a much lower number than had been feared."

J&J shareholders and investors were ecstatic about the news, as they, too, had expected a much higher fine than this measly $572 million. Consequently, J&J shares were up two percent in extended trading, and had an initial gain of more than five percent.

Even so, J&J is still planning to appeal the ruling, which is extremely light considering the fact that upwards of 6,000 Oklahomans have died from opioid overdoses since the year 2000, an amount to which J&J certainly contributed.

Hopefully these numbers are beginning to subside, seeing as how Oklahomans have since voted to legalize medical cannabis, which is significant because research shows that in areas where medical cannabis is legal, rates of opioid abuse and opioid deaths are substantially lower compared to prohibition areas.

To learn more about how medical cannabis contributes to reductions in pharmaceutical abuse and deaths, be sure to check out CannabisCures.news.

Oklahoma's lawsuit against J&J is just one of about 2,500 others filed by states, counties, and municipalities

As disappointing as this judgment turned out to be, J&J is hardly out of the water when it comes to its liability for the consequences of opioid abuse. Some 2,500 additional lawsuits against J&J and other opioid manufacturers have also been filed by other states, as well as counties and municipalities, that similarly want to hold Big Pharma accountable for fueling the opioid crisis.

Chances are that J&J and these other companies will try to settle as many of these cases as possible, rather than allow them to go to trial – Oklahoma's being the first such case to go to trial. But either way, J&J is going to have to pay up, and hopefully with these other cases it will have to pay up a lot.

"The opioid crisis is an imminent danger and menace to Oklahomans," stated Judge Thad Balkman of Cleveland County District Court in Norman, following the seven-week, non-jury trial.

J&J has already asked for the $572.1 million award to be put on hold while the company forms an appeal, which, if granted, could extend well into 2021. The company also insists that its opioid products are safe; were marketed legally; and did not contribute to the "public nuisance" that the state of Oklahoma claimed in its suit.

"There's going to be people struggling with this for years," stated Lance Land, a 36-year-old recovering opioid addict turned activist from Oklahoma City, who told the media that Judge Balkman's award judgment is "short sighted," and hardly enough to compensate the state for victims like himself who have a long recovery road ahead of them.

To learn more about how drug companies like J&J are getting away with murder, as they are rarely held accountable for all of the people they injure and kill with their deadly products, be sure to check out DrugCartels.news.

Sources for this article include:

Reuters.com

KFOR.com

NaturalNews.com



Take Action:
Support NewsTarget by linking to this article from your website.
Permalink to this article:
Copy
Embed article link:
Copy
Reprinting this article:
Non-commercial use is permitted with credit to NewsTarget.com (including a clickable link).
Please contact us for more information.
Free Email Alerts
Get independent news alerts on natural cures, food lab tests, cannabis medicine, science, robotics, drones, privacy and more.

NewsTarget.com © 2022 All Rights Reserved. All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. NewsTarget.com is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. NewsTarget.com assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published on this site. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.

This site uses cookies
News Target uses cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using this site, you agree to our privacy policy.
Learn More
Close
Get 100% real, uncensored news delivered straight to your inbox
You can unsubscribe at any time. Your email privacy is completely protected.