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Colorado cities, counties sue pharmaceutical companies over opioid hype

Posted at 5:12 PM, Jan 14, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-14 19:12:38-05

DENVER (AP) — Denver and 16 other Colorado communities have sued the manufacturers and distributors of opioids claiming they fraudulently hyped the drugs behind the deadly nationwide epidemic of overdoses.

The Denver Post reports three lawsuits were filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Denver against some of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the country, including OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma Inc.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuits include the cities of Aurora, Black Hawk, Thornton, Broomfield, Commerce City, Hudson, Northglenn and Westminster.

Adams, Jefferson, Arapahoe, Boulder, Fremont, Larimer and Teller counties are also included in the suits.

The newspaper's phone and email messages Monday to Purdue media representatives were not immediately returned.

Cities and counties across the country have filed more than 1,500 lawsuits against the pharmaceutical companies.

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Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com