US drug companies distributed 76B opioid pills over 7 years
Opioid makers released 76 billion powerful painkillers in the U.S. over a period of six years according to federal data.
Court documents released late Tuesday revealed drug companies increased their distribution of pills like hydrocodone and oxycodone by the billions.
According to federal data cited in a case being overseen by a federal judge in Cleveland, Ohio, 76 billion opioid pills were given to pharmacies between 2006 and 2012.
The Washington Post and HD media sued to get the information released by Judge Dan Polster, who is overseeing 1,500 lawsuits filed by local governments against companies involved in the distribution of the powerful painkillers.
According to DEA numbers obtained by the Washington Post and HD Media, these are the top distributors of opioids between 2006 and 2012.
Polster argued there wasn't any basis to the government's argument that the release of the data, gathered by the Drug Enforcement Administration, would compromise ongoing investigations.
The data shows 8.4 billion pills were distributed to commercial pharmacies in 2006; in 2012 that number increased to 12.6 billion.
News of the increase comes as Johnson & Johnson faces accusations of acting like a "kingpin" by flooding the Oklahoma market, leading to the deaths of 48,000 people in 2017.