Monroe and Sioux counties of Iowa have signed on to a lawsuit filed on behalf of more than 100 counties across eight states against five drugmakers and their subsidiaries for the companies' alleged role in facilitating the opioid epidemic, according to a Dec. 6 report from the Des Moines Register.
The lawsuit, which originated in Wisconsin, collectively seeks to recoup millions in damages for the cost of local social services, law enforcement and emergency care associated with the opioid epidemic.
"These companies engaged in a false marketing campaign about the non-addictive nature of opioids for long-term use, and therefore created what we now know as the opioid epidemic," Erin Dickinson, a lawyer with the Wisconsin-based law firm Crueger Dickinson who is representing the counties, told the Des Moines Register.
A significant portion of Iowa's 99 counties could potentially join the lawsuit in the coming months, as the Iowa State Association of Counties unanimously passed a resolution last month to encourage its members to support the lawsuit, according to the report.
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