Just in time for the 2018 elections, Attorney General Pam Bondi has announced a fresh initiative against drug makers and drug users.
The focus of this new initiative is on opioid drugs prescribed by physicians, including hydrocodone (Vicodin) and Oxycodone (OxyContin).
Bondi is joining with attorney generals in other states to pressure pharmaceutical companies to compensate the families of victims who have died from habituation to these drugs.
The hope is that a settlement can be reached in a mass civil suit between hundreds of other plaintiffs and opioid distributors and manufacturers. The money would be used much like the anti-tobacco suit money in the 1990s to fund anti-smoking education and addiction treatment.
How sincere is the lawsuit?
The fear is that the suit is only window dressing in the war against opioid drugs, which kill 15 people every day in our state.
Individuals who are charged with possession or distributing opioids – either in pill form or as heroin — still occupy the hot spot in the war against drugs.
Despite the state’s professed concern for the health and safety of its citizens, it has no problem putting non-violent addicts – people with a sickness — behind bars for years at a time.
The bottom line
If you are arrested with just seven Vicodins in your pocket, and no legal prescription, you face a potential three years in jail. That’s mandatory.
Our firm defends people caught up in the hysteria surrounding drugs. We know the defenses that give you the best chance of escaping incarceration.
But let’s not let government off easy, lining up for million dollar recovery money from this lawsuit, while continuing to ruin the lives of people making a very common – and very deadly – mistake.
