We the undersigned demand that officials at the state, county and local levels force manufacturers, distributors and promoters to pay for the deadly opioids that have shredded American families and communities. Every aspect of American life has been harmed by this scourge, from inner cities to affluent suburbs to rural counties. Whether white, black, Latino, Native American or Asian-American, the pharmaceutical industry knowingly and unrepentantly subjected Americans to a devastating epidemic of addiction.
We denounce cowardly complicit government officials who accept insufficient amounts in legal settlements knowing full well that if brought to trial no jury would side with this culture of greed that pushed its addiction-for-profit scheme. Any settlements must be able to fund for years to come the costs of rehabilitation and education programs, while compensating victims and their families for the loss of life, health, property, employment and general well-being.
Those who caused this blight must be made to make Americans whole. We vow to hold accountable any governor, attorney general, county or local official who fails to recover adequate compensation from the culprits for the sake of a headline or simply to "make the problem go away." They owe it to the victims to do their job.
