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Jul 5, 2022

Judge rules in favor of drug distributors in opioid lawsuit

In West Virginia, a federal judge has ruled in favor of three major drug distributors in a lawsuit over the opioid addiction epidemic. Two local governments had sued, arguing the distributors shared blame for the crisis, which has killed nearly half-a-million Americans. The re-emergence of coal in Europe – due to the saga over Russian gas – could mean setbacks when it comes to meeting global climate change goals.

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This illustration image shows tablets of opioid painkiller Oxycodon delivered on medical prescription taken on September 18, 2019 in Washington,DC. - Millions of Americans sank into addiction after using potent opioid painkillers that the companies churned out and doctors freely prescribed over the past two decades. Well over 400,000 people died of opioid overdoses in that period, while the companies involved raked in billions of dollars in profits. And while the flood of prescription opioids into the black market has now been curtailed, addicts are turning to heroin and highly potent fentanyl to compensate, where the risk of overdose and death is even higher.
This illustration image shows tablets of opioid painkiller Oxycodon delivered on medical prescription taken on September 18, 2019 in Washington,DC. - Millions of Americans sank into addiction after using potent opioid painkillers that the companies churned out and doctors freely prescribed over the past two decades. Well over 400,000 people died of opioid overdoses in that period, while the companies involved raked in billions of dollars in profits. And while the flood of prescription opioids into the black market has now been curtailed, addicts are turning to heroin and highly potent fentanyl to compensate, where the risk of overdose and death is even higher.
Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images

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