The State of Mississippi has filed a lawsuit against Dublin-based Cardinal Health and two other opioid distributors, saying they failed to prevent the diversion of drugs into the state.
The suit also names McKesson and AmerisourceBergen as defendants. It alleges the companies violated the Mississippi Consumer Protection Act by breaching their legal duties to "monitor, detect, investigate, refuse, and report suspicious orders of opioids." The suit alleges if the companies had fulfilled their legal obligations, the opioid epidemic would not be what it is today. The state says in 2017, Mississippi had enough opioids supplied to provide 61 pills for every man, woman, and child in the state.