logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

American Indians in Dakotas Sue Pharma Companies for Their Role in Opioid Epidemic

Steve Dubb
January 10, 2018
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

January 8, 2018; Bismarck Tribune and Argus Leader

Three Dakota-based, American Indian nations—the Rosebud Sioux, Flandreau Santee Sioux, and the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate—filed a federal lawsuit this week against opioid manufacturers and distributors, “seeking monetary damages for an epidemic that has had devastating impacts for tribal members,” reports Amy Dalrymple in the Bismarck Tribune.

The suit, filed in US District Court in South Dakota, names 24 defendants, including pharmaceutical manufacturers Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Allergan, and distributors McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc., and AmerisourceBergen Corp.

“Representing the plaintiffs,” Dalrymple adds, “is former North Dakota US Attorney Tim Purdon and former South Dakota US Attorney Brendan Johnson, who now lead the American Indian Law and Policy Group for national firm Robins Kaplan.” John Hutt of the Argus Leader notes that Robins Kaplan previously took on the tobacco industry in the 1990s, reaching a $6.13 billion settlement for the state of Minnesota and $469 million for Blue Cross/Blue Shield in 1998.

The suit is hardly the first opioid-related lawsuit to target pharmaceutical companies, but, according to Hutt, “it’s one of the first to tie those claims to the opioid crisis’ disparate impact on [American Indian] populations.” Plaintiffs’ attorney Purdon notes that, “The prescription opioid crisis has hit Indian Country hard,” and says that he is “hopeful” that other North Dakota tribes may join the lawsuit.

As NPQ has noted before, American Indians have been disproportionately affected by the opioid epidemic. Chairman Dave Flute of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, whose territory crosses the South Dakota-North Dakota border, says opioid abuse is “growing to the point of being catastrophic. It’s causing more health conditions, causing social dysfunction, family separations. It’s negatively impacting our social way of life.”

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

In South Dakota in 2015–16, Dalrymple writes that American Indians constituted 17.8 percent of people who died from opiate use and 28 percent of patients treated, even though they are only nine percent of the state’s population. Flute adds, “We’re challenged with an epidemic here. And we need to hold people accountable for their actions, all people. Those that use, those that abuse, and those that are contributing the problem, and that includes the pharmaceutical companies.”

Hutt adds, “The 106-page lawsuit outlines a wide range of deceptive marketing, including the use of misleading advertisements, paid speakers who addressed small groups of doctors and direct-to-doctor marketing.”

The complaint also seeks to apply the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act. As Hutt notes, the alleged “RICO Act violations relate in part to a pharmaceutical group called the ‘Healthcare Distribution Alliance, an industry group the lawsuit says was used to inflate sales and supplies of the controlled substances.” RICO allows for “both criminal and civil penalties for groups engaged in dishonest financial conduct,” Hutt explains.

Hutt adds that RICO claims related to the opioid epidemic have been filed in other states, including a class action case in Mississippi; a suit by the City of Tacoma, Washington; a health fraud case in Boston, Massachusetts; and suits filed by Luzerne County, Pennsylvania and Cincinnati, Ohio.

“The effect of opioids on South Dakota tribes has been horrific,” says plaintiff co-counsel Johnson. “This epidemic has overwhelmed our public-health and law-enforcement services, drained resources for addiction therapy and sent the cost of caring for children of opioid-addicted parents skyrocketing.”

The complaint seeks a jury trial to determine damages caused by the opioid epidemic, as well as punitive damages. It also seeks an “abatement fund,” which could pay for treatment programs.—Steve Dubb

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
About the author
Steve Dubb

Steve Dubb is senior editor of economic justice at NPQ, where he writes articles (including NPQ’s Economy Remix column), moderates Remaking the Economy webinars, and works to cultivate voices from the field and help them reach a broader audience. Prior to coming to NPQ in 2017, Steve worked with cooperatives and nonprofits for over two decades, including twelve years at The Democracy Collaborative and three years as executive director of NASCO (North American Students of Cooperation). In his work, Steve has authored, co-authored, and edited numerous reports; participated in and facilitated learning cohorts; designed community building strategies; and helped build the field of community wealth building. Steve is the lead author of Building Wealth: The Asset-Based Approach to Solving Social and Economic Problems (Aspen 2005) and coauthor (with Rita Hodges) of The Road Half Traveled: University Engagement at a Crossroads, published by MSU Press in 2012. In 2016, Steve curated and authored Conversations on Community Wealth Building, a collection of interviews of community builders that Steve had conducted over the previous decade.

More about: Native AmericansNonprofit Newsopioid addiction

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

Spring-2023-sidebar-subscribe
You might also like
Building Community through Finance: A Wisconsin Native CDFI’s Story
Fern Orie
An Indigenous Community Land Trust Rises: Making Land Back a Reality
Michelle Vassel and David Cobb
Moving Beyond the 5 C’s of Lending: A New Model of Credit for Indian Country
Jaime Gloshay and Vanessa Roanhorse
Helping Native Business Owners Thrive: How to Build a Supportive Ecosystem
Heather Fleming
Rewriting the Rules: Putting Trust Lands to Work for Native American Benefit
Lakota Vogel
The “Long Awaiting”—Lifting Up Native Voices for Economic Justice
Raymond Foxworth

NPQ Webinars

April 27th, 2 pm ET

Liberatory Decision-Making

How to Facilitate and Engage in Healthy Decision-making Processes

Register Now
You might also like
Building Community through Finance: A Wisconsin Native...
Fern Orie
An Indigenous Community Land Trust Rises: Making Land Back a...
Michelle Vassel and David Cobb
Moving Beyond the 5 C’s of Lending: A New Model of Credit...
Jaime Gloshay and Vanessa Roanhorse

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

NPQ-Spring-2023-cover

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.