Nevada Addicted: Why Nevada won't settle opioid suit

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Another milestone was crossed this week in the legal action involving opioids, and the crisis associated with addition.

Three opioid distributors and one pharmaceutical company reached settlements with two Ohio counties, Summit and Cuyahoga, for more than a quarter of a billion dollars.

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“The settlement, in this case, is allowing us to be able to move forward, rather than years and years of litigation, or whatever it would take to get to where we are today,” said Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro.

The settlement involves $260 million in payments from drug distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen, as well as Teva Pharmaceutical.

According to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley, their share of the settlement will be used to help citizens most impacted by the opioid crisis.

“We are looking at utilizing this money for treatment and getting people in programs and assisting first responders as they deal with this crisis," said O’Malley.

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O’Malley’s reasons are similar to why the State of Nevada, Clark County, and Las Vegas have filed lawsuits against opioid manufacturers.

However, at this point, they have refused to settle.

Nevada Assemblywoman, Ellen Spiegel, who represents District 20, says she’s glad Nevada is standing its ground, and not selling its citizens short.

“I think have a lot to do, and we need to be looking out for Nevadans, and getting them the care that they need,” said Spiegel. “If we settle too soon, and don't settle for enough, we're not going to be able to have the resources we need, for the help we need, and for the people who need it.”

It’s impossible to know when the local and state lawsuits will yield damages from opioid manufacturers, and the settlement in Ohio will not have an impact on any of the remaining 25-hundred lawsuits related to opioids.

That’s why Spiegel says more work needs to be done by state lawmakers to help Nevadans currently dealing with addiction, and the collateral damage it continues to cause.

“Some of what we need to be doing is developing programs to help people wean themselves off these addictive drugs,” Spiegel said. “We need to give people help. We need to give people a future that is where they're not reliant on medications that are going to kill them.”