County Attorney Steve Abdella and County Public Health Director Christine Schuyler discuss potential litigation against major drug manufacturers at Wednesday’s Human Services Committee meeting. P-J photo by Jimmy McCarthy

MAYVILLE — Several counties across the state have filed lawsuits against major drug manufacturers for their alleged role in the opioid epidemic, and Chautauqua County may be the next one to join.

On Wednesday, county legislators on the Human Services Committee authorized to allow the county executive to commence civil litigation on behalf of the county against pharmaceutical manufacturers for allegedly misleading many about addictive prescription painkillers. Damages are being sought amid growing costs associated with services and policing, among other expenditures.

If the full legislature gives its approval next week, the county would join six counties in the state that have filed similar lawsuits.

Christine Schuyler, county public health director, told legislators there’s widespread belief that certain pharmaceutical companies knowingly marketed products as being nonaddictive when they knew compounds within the drugs could lead to abuse. According to excerpts from the Buffalo Law Journal, counties are alleging that pharmaceutical manufacturers misled doctors and patients into believing that opioid painkillers were not addictive and that “manufacturers aggressively marketed opioid pain relievers despite growing addiction rates.”

Legislator Ron Lemon, R-Frewsburg, asked if opioid overdose figures are higher this year compared to 2016. Schuyler said numbers are higher in 2017 when comparing opioid overdoses to last year.

Data found within a resolution before legislators depicted 63 opioid overdose emergency department visits and 21 confirmed overdose deaths in 2016 in Chautauqua County.

“There are a lot of other important facts that no one is tracking yet, but they will be soon when you look at increased child welfare costs and overall health in general,” Schuyler said. “There are so many ripple effects. You’re looking at increased STDs, unplanned pregnancies, hepatitis as well as things as heart failure.”

Schuyler said the situation reminds her of the tobacco industry’s marketing of cigarettes and how they downplayed the associated harmful effects. Tobacco settlements were handed out to the state and counties as a result of lawsuits.

“I think that’s something of what we’re looking at now in the manufacturing of opioids,” she said.

During tobacco litigation, County Attorney Steve Abdella said many counties brought forth lawsuits, which eventually led to the state Attorney General’s Office providing its resources. Abdella said it’s the county’s hope the same will occur this time around.

“It seems to be such that the counties need to step forward, and that helps galvanize the state,” he said.

Abdella said the county received proposals from two primary law firms that are handling similar cases. Abdella said they’re looking to go with a firm based in Suffolk County, which is where cases could be consolidated and brought to court.

While the county wouldn’t need to provide any upfront costs, Abdella said officials would need to provide statistics to support their damage claim.

Regardless of the outcome of litigation, legislator Paul Whitford, D-Jamestown, said it will send a strong message and put pharmaceutical companies on notice.

Counties that have pursued litigation include Erie, Niagara, Nassau, Suffolk, Orange and Broome. The state of Ohio has also pursued litigation against major drug manufacturers.

In New York, the I-STOP Prescription Monitoring Program is in place to limit the amount of prescription painkillers being distributed. However, Schuyler said that drove people to heroin.

“Now it’s hard to find heroin and we’re seeing a huge uptick in meth in our county,” she said.