Beltway & Opioid Litigation Briefs
ONDCP director makes waves in Senate testimony, House passes mental health bill, and judge deals W. Va. setback in opioid case
By Emily Piper
NOTE: This was originally published for the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation’s monthly Recovery Advocacy Update. If you’d like to receive our advocacy emails, subscribe today.
With the 2022 midterm election cycle in full swing and the January 6th Committee continuing to dominate the headlines, other news out of the Beltway seems a bit buried. That said, there have been a few highlights relative to our work in recovery advocacy. Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, provided testimony to the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. He faced tough questions and made big waves, signaling potential policy shifts toward safe consumption sites and cannabis decriminalization on the horizon.
In addition to the Senate hearings, the U.S. House passed the Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act with wide bipartisan support, led by co-sponsors Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA). Hazelden Betty Ford friend, Minnesota Congressman Tom Emmer, recently published his testimony in support of the Act, highlighting two provisions: expanding Medicaid access to incarcerated juveniles who are detained pre-trial, and creation of a behavioral health coordinating office to better align the resources of the federal government across agencies. The legislation is now headed to the Senate.
Finally, in the biggest and deeply disappointing news on the seemingly never-ending rollercoaster of state and local government litigation regarding the opioid epidemic: a verdict in favor of the nation’s three largest opioid manufacturers. A federal judge rejected the arguments of Cabell County and the city of Huntington in West Virginia — among the hardest-hit areas in the nation — by dismissing their claims that McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and Cardinal Health should be held liable under public nuisance laws for the havoc created by the wave of opioids pouring over their communities for years. This verdict, which is likely to be appealed, is not only a blow to to this case but also puts another case, filed in Kanawha, West Virginia, with over 60 plaintiff communities, in similar jeopardy. The day after the Cabell verdict, the plaintiffs in the Kanawha trial were granted a continuance to assess next steps, and there is recent word of a potential settlement. Although there are certainly many more chapters to be written, the Cabell verdict was a significant setback for West Virginia, which did not sign onto last year’s global $26 billion settlement, opting instead to continue its own suit due to the disparate impact of the opioid epidemic on its communities.
Emily Piper is the vice president of government and external affairs for the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.
