President Trump made the comments during a speech in New Hampshire to introduce the White House’s strategy to address the opioid crisis. President Trump previously mentioned a potential federal lawsuit against drug companies March 1. This time, the president was more forceful with his comments, describing the potential legal action as “major.”
“Our Department of Justice is looking very seriously into bringing major litigation against some of these drug companies,” said President Trump, according to STAT. “We will bring it at a federal level. Some states are already bringing it, but we are thinking about bringing it at a very high federal level, and we will do a job.”
States, cities and local governments nationwide have filed hundreds of lawsuits in recent months against drug companies for allegedly engaging in deceptive marketing tactics to promote widespread, unsafe use of opioid medications. On Feb. 27, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the formation of a DOJ task force to increase scrutiny on opioid manufacturers and distributors. The task force was also charged with examining local and state opioid epidemic lawsuits to determine what assistance federal law could provide to these legal actions.
To read the full STAT report, click here.
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