Our federal system is based on a balance between national and state partners. Any serious public problem needs action at both levels. But for over a decade state governments have been very slow to react to what has become a truly national crisis. Opioid-related death and addiction have spread across our communities, a tragedy recognized on the individual and local level, but for many years missed as a national epidemic in need of proactive government intervention.
Now with an average of 115 people dying from opioid-related causes a day, many states and localities have entered into lawsuits against the manufacturers of these drugs, including a mega-lawsuit assigned to the Northern District of Ohio that combines more than 400 cases.
