AG Bondi Defends Decision Not To Join South Carolina Opioid Lawsuit

WFSU | By Nick Evans

Published August 16, 2017 at 4:11 PM EDT

This week South Carolina decided to sue the maker OxyContin for deceptive marketing.

Florida isn’t joining the suit anytime soon, but Attorney General Pam Bondi says she’s pursuing the issue as part of a bipartisan executive working group.

“As the attorney general of the state of Florida," Bondi says, "being on this small working group, I can obtain documents much faster than anyone else will be able to who’s already sued.”

The group’s investigation could support legal action in the future. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, South Carolina saw 11.4 opioid overdose deaths per 100,000 in 2015 adjusted for age. In Florida the rate is slightly lower—at 9.4.

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Nick Evans

Nick Evans came to Tallahassee to pursue a masters in communications at Florida State University. He graduated in 2014, but not before picking up an internship at WFSU. While he worked on his degree Nick moved from intern, to part-timer, to full-time reporter. Before moving to Tallahassee, Nick lived in and around the San Francisco Bay Area for 15 years. He listens to far too many podcasts and is a die-hard 49ers football fan. When Nick’s not at work he likes to cook, play music and read.

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