Opioid drug makers sued by Oklahoma Attorney General

Opioid manufacturers will be held accountable: Oklahoma AG

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter is suing multiple drug companies that are fueling the opioid epidemic.

President Trump declared the opioid crisis a national public health emergency Thursday as federal agencies will now have access to more resources to combat the drug crisis and target companies that are fueling the epidemic.

"We can be the generation that ends the opioid epidemic," Trump said at a White House ceremony.

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter is suing multiple pharmaceutical companies for misrepresenting the risks of opioid painkillers.

“Those manufacturers have been systematically defrauding and misrepresenting the addictive qualities of opioids for the last two decades. They’ve spent millions of dollars to accomplish this,” Hunter told FOX Business’ Charles Payne in an exclusive interview.

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The attorney general said he will hold both doctors and manufacturers responsible for understating the addictive risks of opioid painkillers and overstating the treatment benefits.

“We’re confident that those manufacturers are responsible for billions of dollars in Oklahoma taxes going to healthcare, to corrections, to law enforcement, and we are going to hold them accountable,” he said.

Hunter said the state of Oklahoma is collaborating with the medical community to develop framework on how to stem the crisis.

“There are opportunities with e-prescriptions, so we are getting away from fraudulent paper prescriptions, getting a tougher prescription moderating program,” he said.