Highly addictive opioids are taking lives, destroying families, and costing state governments billions to pick up the pieces.
But drugmakers like Johnson & Johnson are actually profiting from mass addiction to the drugs they produce.
But Johnson & Johnson finally has its day in court — literally. The nation’s largest drugmaker is facing a lawsuit from Oklahoma, where 4,000 people have died of opioid overdoses in the past decade.
This case could set a huge precedent for holding drugmakers accountable for the crisis they enabled. That’s why we’re coming together to let Johnson & Johnson know we stand with Oklahomans whose lives have been ruined by the drugmaker’s reckless pursuit of profit.
Call on Johnson & Johnson to offer compensation for its role in causing the opioid crisis.
The state’s attorney says that drugmakers knowingly overproduced addictive painkillers for profit. And two of the companies implicated in the suit — Purdue Pharma and Teva Pharmaceuticals — have already settled with the state for a combined $355 million.
That money will go to prevention and support for individuals suffering from addiction. But Johnson & Johnson wants to hold onto the money it made by getting people addicted to its painkillers.
Opioid overdoses took over 70,000 lives in 2017 alone. But so far, the drugmakers overproducing prescription painkillers have faced no consequences. This trial could change that — and it’s just the start. This is the first of some 2,000 trials facing drugmakers like Johnson & Johnson for their role in the opioid epidemic. To set a strong precedent, we need to raise our voices now.
Tell Johnson & Johnson to own up to its role in enabling the opioid crisis.
