The Oklahoma opioid ruling is a very good start | By Holly M. Karibo for CNNOpinion
Holly M. Karibo is an assistant professor of history at Oklahoma State University. She is the author of"Sin City North: Sex, Drugs, and Citizenship in the Detroit-Windsor Borderland." The views expressed in this commentary are her own. View more opinion articles at CNN.
For two years, the state of Oklahoma prepared a case against major pharmaceutical companies, charging that they played a key role in the rise of the opioid problem across the state. This has raised national debates over whether and how private companies selling legal products can be found liable for the damage those products and their business practices inflict.
Holly M. KariboFinally having companies found liable for their actions is cathartic and important. The hard work addressing the issue of addiction, though, clearly still lies ahead.During the eight-week-long trial, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter alleged that Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc."embarked on a cynical, deceitful, multibillion-dollar brainwashing campaign to establish opioid analgesics as the magic drug.
West Virginia struggles to overcome opioid crisis 04:01Johnson & Johnson denied both wrongdoing and financial responsibility and announced on Monday its plan to appeal Balkman's ruling. Pointing to the fact that their products were FDA-approved and prescribed by medical professionals, they argued that any problems that arose were the result of criminal misuse of their products.
Emails show drug execs indifferent to opioid epidemic 02:04In light of all of these challenges, the judgment against Johnson & Johnson is an important victory. For Oklahoma, it will provide at least some financial support to move forward with more treatment and prevention programs. As a state that regularly suffers from budget crises and cutbacks, this is no small feat. Oversight of these funds, though, will be the key to ensuring they are actually used effectively.
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