image description

Frosh Joins Bipartisan Investigation Into Opioid Marketing

June 15th, 2017 by WCBC Radio

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh announced Thursday that he's joining with a bipartisan group of counterparts to investigate the marketing and sale of opioids.

“Opioids are highly addictive and extremely dangerous, altering the one’s brain, even after just one use,” Frosh said in a statement. “The opioid epidemic has been devastating to communities and families across Maryland. Addiction to opiates is dangerous and it’s our goal to combat the opioid epidemic from all angles."

WBAL reports Frosh cites state statistics that found that 89 percent of all intoxication deaths in Maryland last year were opioid-related, and that the number jumped by 70 percent from the year before, quadrupling since 2010. Deaths linked to prescription opioids jumped 19 percent, and many of those deaths occurred in combination with heroin or the far more potent fentanyl.

Other attorneys general in the probe include Massachusetts' Maura Healey, New York's Eric Schneiderman and Pennsylvania's Josh Shapiro. LancasterOnline reports they'll examine whether manufactures illegally marketed and sold opioids for company gain.

Leave a Reply