By Courtney Hessler, The Herald-Dispatch
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Accusers in a lawsuit alleging opioid wholesalers have fault in the Cabell County and Huntington drug crisis used a “heroine,” scientist, historian, social worker and health expert to stitch together pieces of a quilt they say will eventually explain how the area was left in carnage.
Huntington Fire Chief Jan Rader, who rose to fame for her role in the 2017 Oscar-nominated documentary “Heroine;” Dr. Corey Waller, an addiction medicine specialist; historian David Courtwright; Connie Priddy, program coordinator for Huntington’s Quick Response Team; and West Virginia’s former chief health officer, Dr. Rahul Gupta, testified about what they saw before, during and after 80 million pills were shipped to the area over an eight-year period starting in 2006.
The defendants said they reported suspicious orders to the Drug Enforcement Administration, but never heard back. They never knew when an investigation was happening.
They argued there is no way to know if the overdoses in Cabell County were from illicit drug use or people using opioids as prescribed. West Virginians, who generally fail in every health category and face labor-intensive jobs, need opioids more for pain, they said. They blamed doctors and agencies for pushing high numbers of prescriptions for the high volume…
To read more:
