For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, October 21, 2020
Contact:
Laura Brewer (919) 716-6484
(RALEIGH) Attorney General Josh Stein on the USDOJ settlement with Purdue Pharma:
“I cannot support this deal. The opioid epidemic is a scourge leaving addiction, death and sorrow in its wake. Just as we were making some progress here in North Carolina, the COVID-19 pandemic has set us back; overdose numbers are on the rise.
“Purdue Pharma is as responsible for creating this crisis as any company and the Sacklers as any family. I have alleged that Purdue engaged in kickbacks to doctors, misled the DEA, and conspired to prescribe addictive pills without a legitimate medical purpose — all to make billions of dollars. And the Sacklers extracted for themselves from Purdue more than $10 billion in recent years.”
“This settlement does not force the Sacklers to take meaningful responsibility for their actions. A real agreement to resolve these cases would force the Sacklers to pay more and would provide funding to help pay for the treatment and programs people need to get well.”
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