Sandy Springs To Join Lawsuit Against Opioid Distributors

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — Many parts of metro Atlanta have spent the last several years conjuring up ways to deal with an opioid crisis that seems to be outpacing any attempts to get out in front of the epidemic. While many communities are strategizing ways they can reach at-risk residents before they succumb to the disease of drug addiction, a few jurisdictions such as Sandy Springs are taking their battle to the judicial system.

Council members at their March 6 meeting unanimously directed City Attorney Dan Lee to join a lawsuit against opioid makers and distributors. The suit, Lee added, would allow local jurisdictions and public safety officials to recoup the costs they are not reimbursed for when caring for anyone who overdoses on these drugs.

Lee said the lawsuit is part of a collection of petitions filed across the country that federal courts have consolidated into one suit. They are similar to the class action lawsuits filed in the 1990's and 2000's against tobacco companies.

The city attorney said Fulton and DeKalb counties joined the lawsuit last year and other jurisdictions are also weighing if they should sign on. Sandy Springs' decision to join in the lawsuit came a week and few days after Sandy Springs police responded to a fatal overdose. Police Chief Ken DeSimone, who said the agency responds to opioid overdose calls on a weekly basis, told the council that a man and woman both suffered an overdose, with the man passing away and the woman surviving.

The incident, which was reported around 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24 at 5385 Peachtree Dunwoody Road, occurred while several juveniles were in the apartment unit, the chief added (For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here).

Sandy Springs' decision also comes days after a well-known forensic pathologist was indicted by federal prosecutors in an elaborate opioid distribution ring. Dr. Joseph L. Burton, 76, of Milton, who served as a medical examiner for Cobb, Gwinnett and Paulding counties, allegedly wrote 1,100 prescription for painkillers in return for sexual favors. The feds note those prescriptions amounted to more than 108,000 individual doses, including more than 66,000 oxycodone pills. Burton would often write prescription without thoroughly examining or, at times, without meeting patients, the indictment charged.

Burton also prescribed drugs such as oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone "irrespective of any legitimate medical purpose and outside the normal course of professional practice in exchange for sexual favors and romantic affection," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Fulton County and metro Atlanta cities have equipped first responders with doses of naloxone, which is used to temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid-induced overdose, and have even hosted a summit designed to address drug abuse. In July, Fulton County commissioners adopted an Opioid Misuse & Abuse Prevention Plan sponsored by Commissioners Bob Ellis of District 2 and Liz Hausmann of District 1.

That plan calls for implementing prevention solutions in response to the growing opioid epidemic in Fulton County. The Fulton County Medical Examiner's office identified 154 opioid-related deaths in 2016, an 156-percent increase since 2010. In 2015, Fulton County had approximately 11.7 opioid-related deaths per 100,000 residents, which is more than double the national rate.

The plan also calls for taking four steps to help curb the use of opioids: increasing the number of drug drop boxes, introducing a crisis text assistant hotline, rolling out a public awareness campaign and enhance accountability and education among medical providers.

Sandy Springs City Councilman John Paulson said he believed if more cities joined the lawsuit, they would have a greater chance of obtaining a positive outcome for the public.

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