Overland Park has become the first among Johnson County’s largest cities to take steps toward recovering costs associated with the overuse of opioid painkillers.
The city council recently gave the go-ahead to find a lawyer to investigate suing opioid manufacturers. The suit would seek to recoup money the city spends on, for example, police and paramedic calls to handle drug overdoses. The idea is an emerging trend among local and state governments as the abuse of the pain killers increases. Opioid overdoses killed 42,000 nationwide in 2016, with 40 percent of that involving a prescription opioid, according to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
Attorneys general in 41 states, including Kansas, are investigating marketing practices of pharmaceuticals, and Missouri has filed a lawsuit against three makers of the drugs. But until this month, none of the larger cities in the county had made any moves to pursue the issue on a legal front.
(Read more: Shawnee Mission Post – Community news and events for northeast Johnson County)