Opioids

Fentanyl is killing people in Florida and across the U.S. in alarming numbers. Researchers may have discovered ways to lessen the drug's deadly effects and save lives.

One lawsuit was filed by eight Northwest Florida counties and four cities, and another by Miami-Dade and two South Florida cities. They allege that McKinsey & Company “played an integral role in creating and deepening the opioid crisis.”

Pinellas County opioid deaths are being addressed through CORE, an initiative being slowly rolled out across the state.

CVS would pay about $5 billion and Walgreens more than $5.5 billion, though neither company has admitted wrongdoing. States have until the end of the year to accept the terms of the settlement.

The retail giant becomes the latest major player in the drug industry to announce a plan to settle lawsuits filed by state and local governments over the toll of opioids sold at its pharmacies.

It could amount to the last round of huge settlements after years of litigation over the industry's role in an overdose crisis linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. over the past two decades.

Attorney General Ashley Moody announced that as part of the settlement Walmart has agreed to dispense 672,000 naloxone kits to first responders.

The initiative, which includes the first statewide director of opioid recovery, is based on a pilot treatment program in Palm Beach County that state health officials touted as a success.

It was a deadly weekend involving drugs in Gadsden County. The sheriff’s office handled a spike of fentanyl overdoses, most of them on Friday. Nine people died.

Attorney General Ashley Moody’s lawsuit contends five hospital districts, by pursuing separate claims against pharmaceutical industry companies, are jeopardizing settlements her office has reached.

Some physicians say administering anti-addiction medication as a monthly injection holds tremendous potential. So, why aren’t more patients getting it?

Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office claims five public hospital systems and the Miami-Dade school board are jeopardizing settlements with pharmaceutical companies over the opioid epidemic.