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(AP) – A federal judge ruled that local and local governments can not disclose federal government data on the distribution of prescription opioids, which is detrimental to news organizations.
The US Drug Enforcement Agency provides state and local governments with information to use in prosecuting companies that manufacture, distribute and sell drugs. Data sharing, even with them, was accompanied by a long list of conditions, including law enforcement and litigation.
Judge Dan Polster, based in Cleveland, oversees over 800 lawsuits in federal court. decided on Thursday that the data can not be made public. He said that it would reveal trade secrets and "eviscerate" the terms under which the information was shared.
The federal government collects information on the distribution of all controlled hazardous substances.
The judge has scheduled the first trials in the case to begin in March 2019. He has meanwhile pushed for a national settlement.
The drug industry and government entities, including states that have not filed lawsuits, have been negotiating for months even though cases are being prepared for trial. The pharmaceutical industry is asking the judge to dismiss the lawsuits, arguing that local governments do not have the legal capacity to take legal action and dispute that they caused the crisis, which involves drugs approved by the federal government and prescribed by physicians
. Organizations, including The Associated Press, had requested data through requests for public documents addressed to local governments.
The Washington Post and HD Media, owner of West Virginia's Charleston Gazette-Mail, went to court. Newspapers said they were considering appealing Thursday's decision.
"We are disappointed, but we remain determined to fight for records that highlight the causes and costs of the opioid epidemic." The government wants to keep the public secret " , said Friday the editor of Gazette-Mail, Greg Moore, in an email.
A West Virginia judge released some data in 2016. The Gazette-Mail Millions of pills sank in the United States. state, which has only 1.8 million inhabitants, over a six-year period.In the meantime, more than 1,700 West Virginians have died from opioid overdoses, a clbad of drugs that includes prescription drugs such as OxyContin and Vicodin and illegal drugs such as heroin and fentanyl unlawfully made.
drugs, Paul Farrell, said the data would also show the public which pharmacies were selling drugs. Huge amounts of drugs.
Washington Post lawyer Karen Lefton said that "keeping the secret secrets does not give anything to the families of the victims.
Opioids killed more than 42,000 Americans in 2016, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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