It was not "hyperbole" to use the word "kingpin" to describe the actions of pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson when it comes to promoting the sale of opioids in the United States, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter said Tuesday, a day after a judge in his state ordered the company to pay $572 million in a landmark state lawsuit.
"I don't know if there are words that are sufficient to describe the recklessness, the irresponsibility, the cold-bloodedness of (them) trying to convince physicians that it wasn't an addiction and they should prescribe more," Hunter told MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "The money Johnson & Johnson made is blood money. The CEO needs to step up and write the check in Oklahoma so we can deal with problems they caused."
Hunter said that J&J was the originator of the oversupply and overprescribing epidemic, after joining with partners on a scheme that doctors needed to treat pain as a fifth vital sign.
"We proved it and the judge's decision, in a way that's absolutely inarguable, established their culpability for causing the epidemic in our state, said Hunter.
Hunter said the state settled with two other defendants earlier this spring, Purdue Pharma and Teva, meaning that it was able to collect almost $1 billion to start dealing with the epidemic in Oklahoma. Oklahoma was able to use a public nuisance law against J&J, which allows the judge to determine if there was a significant public nuisance to a large population.
"I have no apologies, nor do I think it is a theory that isn't going to be upheld in appellate courts," said Hunter. "We know what we are doing and we are ready for appeals."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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