Zachary Fitzgerald
Louisiana’s attorney general says he hopes to use a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers as a way to help combat the opioid epidemic along with the state’s violent crime problem.
Attorney General Jeff Landry was guest speaker during the St. Mary Industrial Group’s luncheon meeting at the Petroleum Club of Morgan City.
Since taking office as attorney general, Landry has been examining “a slow increase in violent crime” throughout Louisiana. In places such as Baton Rouge and New Orleans, “at one point and time, there was literally a shooting every 10 hours,” Landry said.At the same time, Landry said he wanted to do something to curb the opioid epidemic that’s been sweeping the country.
“It’s going to only be impacted using a multitude of resources and agencies and organizations,” Landry said.
Since 2012, the Louisiana Department of Health’s Bureau of Vital Records has shown that opioid-related deaths and overdoses in Louisiana have climbed from 155 deaths in 2012 to 305 in 2016, a September news release from Gov. John Bel Edwards said. Many experts believe these numbers are under-reported, the release said.
“This epidemic knows no demographic. It really knows no boundary,” Landry said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re poor or rich or middle class. This epidemic is affecting everyone.”
Louisiana joined 41 other states to investigate the conduct of opioid manufacturers during the past 15 years to determine if manufacturers contributed to the opioid epidemic by possibly hiding the addictive nature of the drugs, Landry said.
Several weeks ago, an official with the governor’s office informed Landry that the state Department of Health and Hospitals filed a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers for allegedly worsening the opioid epidemic, Landry said.
Last week, Landry filed a motion to supersede Edwards’ administration in an attempt to take over the lawsuit from the governor’s office in an attempt to try to consolidate the issues and hold appropriate parties responsible for their actions.
Part of the reason Landry said he wants to take control of the lawsuit is that the attorney general’s office “is designed” to handle such litigation.
Landry also wants to ensure any money awarded as a result of the lawsuit will go to “specific, targeted areas,” including drug courts, rehabilitation services, education and law enforcement.
“If we properly funded those four areas, we could immediately start to impact both the violent crime epidemic and an opioid epidemic,” Landry said.
Edwards’ spokesman Richard Carbo said, “The governor is taking a leadership role in fighting this epidemic, and he is willing to work with the attorney general. But at every opportunity, Jeff Landry is playing politics.”
The governor will continue to reach out to Landry to work with him on this issue, though, Carbo said.
Sabrina Williams, spokeswoman for Teche Regional Medical Center, said the opioid epidemic in the community and nationally has been “a long-term issue.”
With “recent support of the government” and everyone trying to address the issue, Teche medical professionals are following new Centers for Disease Control guidelines to determine how to best treat opioid patients, Williams said.
It’s extremely difficult to diagnose a person who visits the emergency room as someone who’s addicted to opioids, Williams said.
“They all have a story, or they all have an illness, or they all have an issue,” Williams said. “Now, with these CDC guidelines, our physicians and nurses are looking at each patient and trying to get the best possible care for whatever the issue is that they’re coming in for.”
Morgan City Police Chief James Blair said the opioid epidemic is finally getting the attention it deserves because the drugs are a danger to communities.
The area has seen a rise in heroin and Fentanyl overdoses, and authorities have worked to improve communication with medical facilities to know how many overdoses occur each month, Blair said.
In Morgan City, police have documented about 10 opioid overdoses during the past two months of people from ages 16 years old to 61 years old, the chief said. Information wasn’t available as to whether those overdoses resulted in any deaths.
Area authorities are trying to be proactive in their approach to the epidemic, and Morgan City police recently received over 130 Naloxone vials from the Attorney General’s Office to counteract the effects of an opioid overdose, Blair said.
Fentanyl can cause harm to “law enforcement officers and to innocent bystanders because it can be absorbed through the skin,” and the powder can be inhaled, Blair said.
“A quick response is important to preserving a life,” Blair said.
Officers are receiving training to learn more about opioid issues and how to combat the problem, he said.