The Grand Forks County Commission has voted unanimously to increase a multi-district lawsuit against companies purportedly fueling the opioid epidemic.
According to Grand Forks County State’s Attorney Haley Wamstad, the County’s legal counsel has identified at least nine new potential defendants with at least a two percent market share of opioid sales in the County.
Six are pharmaceutical companies. The other three are pharmacy chains: Thrifty White, Dakota Drug and American Associated Pharmacies.
Some commissioners were uneasy about adding those chains, including Mark Rustad, who said:
“You can’t go over to (a local drug store)… and go buy Oxycontin. So that directive has to come from a physician, and so it seems to me that we’re punishing the wrong entities.”
The board passed a motion that the suit would include future defendants from the County, if they are identified.