Friday, Nov. 4, 2022 | 2 a.m.
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The opioid crisis has devastated Nevada, resulting in thousands of deaths and causing tens of thousands in the Silver State to become addicted to these drugs. Unfortunately, many of these victims are veterans, who are at higher risk of becoming addicted than other groups in our communities.
On Dec. 7, 2017, Clark County filed a lawsuit seeking damages for all the past and future costs the county incurred, and continues to incur, fighting the opioid epidemic. Over 20 pharmaceutical companies were named in the complaint by Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson. Other Nevada cities and counties soon filed their own lawsuits; however, not all politicians were interested in abating this crisis.
Our previous attorney general, Adam Laxalt, acting on behalf of our state, sued a single pharmaceutical company — Purdue Pharma — ignoring the dozens of other companies that illegally trafficked opioids into our state. Laxalt’s legal strategy was shortsighted because Purdue filed for bankruptcy. As a result, Nevada, as well as its cities and counties, would obtain only nominal relief from the opioid manufacturer. In fact, those bankruptcy proceedings have not concluded, and Nevada has not received any recovery from Purdue Pharma related to its misconduct.
While Laxalt chose to sue only one company, other state attorneys general sued dozens. Wolfson sued over 20, while Laxalt traveled the country raising political funds from the same pharmaceutical companies that he had refused to sue. This was a complete sell-out.
Conversely, Nevada’s next attorney general, Aaron Ford, understood that more needed to be done with respect to abating the crisis. During his campaign, Ford promised that if elected, he would go after the big pharmaceutical companies that caused the crisis in our state. He kept his promise.
Immediately after taking office, Ford announced that his office filed a lawsuit against over 40 opioid companies that either caused or contributed to the crisis. This included companies that made, shipped or sold these addictive drugs in the Silver State.
In response, Big Pharma hired dozens of attorneys. It is estimated that Big Pharma and its insurance companies spent over $200 million on lawyers’ fees to defeat our state’s cases. Despite this, Nevada has thus far recovered over $300 million in settlements — more opioid settlement money per capita than almost any other state.
One of these settlements came from a multinational consulting firm based in New York. McKinsey & Company played an integral role in aiding Big Pharma and designed the opioid marketing playbook that all other companies adopted.
How did our state do against McKinsey? During the initial settlement negotiations, McKinsey offered a paltry $7 million, citing Nevada’s small population. Forty-nine other states agreed to settle their cases against McKinsey based on the population settlement formula. However, under Ford’s leadership, Nevada demanded more.
McKinsey soon realized that Ford’s legal team was “battle ready.” The consulting company and its legal team agreed to settle with Nevada for $45 million. Simply put, Nevada’s settlement with McKinsey was over six times higher than what was originally offered, and a higher per capita amount than any other state.
The over $300 million in settlement funds have been and will continue to be distributed for use by our state, counties and cities, which will address and mitigate opioid addiction. The designation and earmark of these funds for drug programs, treatment centers, educational outreach and other initiatives was made possible because of legislation — Senate Bill 390 — that Ford supporter and Gov. Steve Sisolak signed into law.
Our state has enjoyed unprecedented success with the opioid litigation cases under Ford’s leadership. So, on behalf of our veteran community and citizens, kudos to Ford, Sisolak, former Gov. Brian Sandoval, Wolfson and other legislative leaders who helped make this possible. Because of their leadership, Big Pharma is being held accountable, and Nevadans will greatly benefit.
The Veterans Media Group and our 5,000 members are proud to endorse Ford for attorney general because he is a hero who gets things done.
Bob Maxwell is an Air Force veteran and CEO of Veterans Media Group, which provides pro bono communications and disability claims for veterans.
