Opioid Lawsuit Resolution May Come Soon

Tennessee may soon join the state of Ohio in suing five drug manufacturers.

For two weeks, Rep. Ryan Williams and House leaders have been working on a resolution allowing Tennessee to join the suit. He said the Legislative Office of Legal Services is working on the language for the complex issue.

“It’s a very difficult and complex situation that’s not easily remedied, but on the other hand, there’s obviously some liability associated with it when you miscommunicate and be deceitful with your practice of communication about the product that you’re selling,”  Williams said.

Just last week, Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery announced he had joined a bipartisan coalition of Attorneys General to address the issue.

Williams said the resolution should be ready to submit to the General Assembly within a week.

Williams said the opioid crisis looks like another public health issue.

“You know it likens itself a lot to the tobacco settlement, tobacco companies not really communicating honestly about the addictive properties of tobacco, smoking,” Williams said.

A vote can’t be conducted on the resolution until the session reconvenes this winter. But Williams hopes enough legislators sign onto the resolution that Slattery will join the lawsuit pending the vote.