Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith at a Minneapolis hospital this afternoon (1pm) will announce new prescribing guidelines in an effort to reduce opioid addiction in Minnesota. It comes the day after county attorneys from across the state said they’re sueing opioid manufacturers and distributors, alleging they ignored addiction risks in marketing the drugs to doctors. Washington County Attorney Pete Orput says, “We must hold these corporate schlockmeisters responsible for their rapacious profiteering that has directly contributed to deaths, family breakups, hospitalizations and addictions.” Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman echoes, “What bothers me the most is when you see kids whose parents are hopelessly addicted abusing the kids, not because they intend to do it, ’cause they’re so wasted they don’t know how to help.”
More in this excerpt from Thursday’s news conference by county attorneys (this clip is from Orput):