MOUNT VERNON — On Thursday, Knox County joined other counties and municipalities across Ohio in a unified effort to hold opioid manufacturers accountable for the increased opioid use over the past 10 years.
The plan, called One Ohio, divides any money received from opioid manufacturers between local communities (30%), a foundation governed by a board made up of local government leaders who would distribute the money among 19 regions (55%), and the Ohio Attorney General Office (15%). All of the money will be used for prevention, recovery, and treatment programs.
“We have met with counsel and other counties across the state to discuss the best way to proceed,” said Commissioner Thom Collier, president of the Knox County Board of Commissioners. “We decided the best way to proceed is a common front and formula versus multiple lawsuits.”
Collier said that multiple lawsuits get into issues such as who filed their lawsuit first and who should get more money.
Ohio, along with many individual counties and cities, filed a lawsuit in 2017. The lawsuits allege that the pharmaceutical industry fueled the opioid epidemic by knowingly using misleading marketing tactics and not tracking suspicious orders. More than 2,600 lawsuits were combined under the U.S. District Court in Cleveland.
Knox County voted to file its lawsuit in February 2018.
“It is the most logical way for the county to proceed to try to recoup at least a portion of the money used for child placement, legal expenses, and other expenses due to opioid use,” said Commissioner Bill Pursel of the settlement plan.
“We’ll never recoup all that we spent, but at least we’ll get something,” said Collier.
Local governments have until today, March 6, to decide whether to adopt the Memorandum of Understanding to participate in the One Ohio settlement. The City of Mount Vernon approved the MOU on Feb. 24.
