Stretching the Law: The Application of Public Nuisance to the Opioid Epidemic

Authors

Lindsay ManningFollow
Hannah L. ThompsonFollow

Keywords

Opioids, Public nuisance, Health crisis, Toxic torts, Epidemic, Public Health, Lead Paint, Tobacco, Pollution

Abstract

Opioid use in the United States increased five-fold in the last decade.

Every day ninety Americans die from drug abuse overdose. Is it

illegal opioid trafficking, or is it a problem within the medical profession?

Recent litigation strategies, like those used in the recent

landmark case of Oklahoma v. Johnson and Johnson, show that opioid

production and distribution are being linked to fueling the opioid

epidemic. Oklahoma is just one of the states that have concluded that

Johnson and Johnson, a large pharmaceutical company, is “overstating”

the efficiency of opioids and “understating” the harmful effects

of these drugs. Consequently, litigation has begun across the country

charging pharmaceutical companies for causing the opioid crisis.

BYU ScholarsArchive Citation

Manning, Lindsay and Thompson, Hannah L. (2020) "Stretching the Law: The Application of Public Nuisance to the Opioid Epidemic," Brigham Young University Prelaw Review: Vol. 34, Article 13.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byuplr/vol34/iss1/13