Michigan Attorney-General Dana Nessel, seen here in Clawson, Mich., announced that the state is suing four companies over the opioid crisis.Michigan on Tuesday sued four companies over the deadly painkiller epidemic, becoming what state Attorney General Dana Nessel said is the first state to sue major opioid distributors under a drug dealer liability law.
“These companies’ failure to monitor, investigate, report and halt suspicious orders of prescription opioids are a direct and proximate cause of the widespread diversion of prescription opioids for non-medical uses in Michigan — substantially contributing to the opioid epidemic and prescription opioid abuse, addiction and death in the state of Michigan,” Nessel said during a news conference where she was joined by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan’s chief medical executive.