WASHINGTON, D. C. – Attorney General Karl A. Racine announced a bipartisan coalition of 41 attorneys general seeks documents and information from manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids as part of multistate investigations into the nationwide opioid epidemic. This information will enable the attorneys general to evaluate whether manufacturers and distributors engaged in unlawful practices in the marketing, sale, and distribution of opioids.

Nationwide and in the District of Columbia, opioids—prescription and illicit—are the main driver of drug overdose deaths. According to the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, there were 231 deaths from opioid overdoses in the District in 2016—an increase over 114 deaths in 2015 and 83 deaths in 2014.

“Opioid overdose deaths are skyrocketing in the District, particularly in our most vulnerable communities. If companies used unlawful practices to maximize profits at the expense of public safety, we will hold them accountable for contributing to this ongoing tragedy,” said Attorney General Racine.

The attorneys general served investigative subpoenas for documents and information, also known as Civil Investigative Demands, on Endo, Janssen, Teva/Cephalon, Allergan, and their related entities, as well as a supplemental Civil Investigative Demand on Purdue Pharma. Likewise, the attorneys general sent information demand letters to opioid distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson requesting documents about their opioid distribution business.

The bipartisan coalition is using these investigative tools to determine what role the opioid manufacturers and distributors may have played in creating or prolonging this epidemic and determine the appropriate course of action to help resolve this crisis.