LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Pulaski County has agreed to join a lawsuit seeking relief from dozens of opioid manufacturers, and the addition of the lone holdout means every Arkansas county is now involved in the legal fight.
The lawsuit was originally filed March 15 in Crittenden County Circuit Court.
More than 50 drug manufacturers are named as defendants. The counties claim the companies concealed or misrepresented the harmful and addictive properties of the medications they made, causing Arkansans to suffer.
The plaintiffs argue that the manufacturers, retailers, prescribers and distributors of the drugs should pay for treatment.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that Pulaski County is still retaining two law firms to pursue its own case against people and companies that marketed, prescribed or sold prescription drugs containing opioids.
