Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
With Opioid Crisis Continuing To Escalate Cherokee Nation Takes Drug Distributors To Court
As the nation鈥檚 opioid addiction and overdose crisis grows, the Cherokee Nation is launching the first-ever lawsuit against drug distributors that will be litigated聽in a tribal court. The suit takes on companies including pharmacies CVS Health, Walgreens and Wal-Mart, and drug distributors Cardinal Health, Inc. and McKesson Corporation, alleging that they didn鈥檛 properly monitor prescription painkillers, which eventually "flooded" every Cherokee county. (Young, 5/15)
A weekend spike in overdose deaths has led to new warnings from western New York health officials. Erie County saw eight suspected fatal overdoses over the weekend. Chautauqua County also is reporting deaths in recent days. (5/16)
