Lexington Joins 30 Other Kentucky Cities in Opioid Addiction Lawsuit

A Kentucky city is suing more than a dozen drug manufacturers and distributors to recoup the escalating cost of dealing with drug addiction.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports the city of Lexington filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday, alleging the companies helped cause an opioid addiction epidemic by flooding the city with pain pills.

Councilman Richard Moloney, who encouraged the merged city-county government to join more than 30 other counties in suing drug wholesalers, says they’re focusing on recovering the costs to the city and aren’t joining the state’s lawsuit, which is going after fines.

The city’s total costs haven’t been tallied, but it spends more than $1 million a year on drug treatment.

The senior vice president of the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, John Parker, called the lawsuits misguided in September.