San Luis Obispo County is joining hundreds of other cities and counties nationwide in the fight against opioids in a class-action lawsuit against the pharmaceutical industry.
Adam Hill, district supervisor for the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors, confirmed the county’s part in the lawsuit Thursday.
The county, along with other plantiffs, argue the pharmaceutical industry played a destructive role in the nation’s opioid epidemic.
Many people claim opioid makers and pharmaceutical sales reps were not transparent enough when marketing the drugs.
"The pharmaceutical companies knew that these things were very dangerous and they knew they were very addictive, but they did not market them as such," Hill said.
Hill says the epidemic impacts everything from emergency services and law enforcement, to hospitals and health clinics.
He told KSBY News the next step in this battle is figuring out how much the opioid epidemic is costing the county before moving forward.
