BAY COUNTY OPIOID LAWSUIT

Bay County is suing pharmaceutical companies, alleging negligence on their part in the opioid crisis. The county’s suit has been consolidated in a multi-district litigation case that will be heard by a federal court in Cleveland, Ohio. With 121 prescriptions per 100 people in 2016, Bay County has the second highest per capita rate of opioid prescriptions in the state, led only by neighboring Washington County. Judge Dan Polster of the Northern District of Ohio, has ordered the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to turn over confidential records that have tracked the exact number of opioids delivered to every city and county in the country.