Press Release

Attorney General Ellison: Rash of overdoses why Minnesota investigating and suing opioid manufacturers

June 7, 2019 (SAINT PAUL) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison issued the following statement in response to a Minneapolis Police Department report of a record-high 50 overdoses, including one suspected death, during the week of May 28 – June 5, 2019:

The Minneapolis Police Department has done the right thing in alerting the public about a rash of recent overdoses, many involving opioids. I want people to know two things about this:

First, if you’re with someone who’s experiencing an overdose, call 911 immediately.

• If you think the overdose is opioid-related, administer naxolone, commonly known as Narcan.
• Watch this video to learn more about Narcan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGdUFMrCRh4, especially from 1:30-3:00 on how to deliver it to someone experiencing an overdose.
• If you’re a friend or family member of someone who’s at risk of an opioid-related overdose, have Narcan on hand.
• You can get Narcan from major pharmacy chains. If you have insurance, it should be covered.
• Minnesota’s Good Samaritan Law provides immunity from prosecution to those who administer Narcan or call 911 to save a life.
• Here’s how you can tell if someone’s experiencing an opioid overdose: https://harmreduction.org/issues/overdose-prevention/overview/overdose-basics/recognizing-opioid-overdose. 

People who are addicted to drugs of any kind, legal or street, should also seek help for addiction at a chemical-dependency treatment center. People who are close to them should support them in getting treatment.

Second, this rash of overdoses is one of the reasons my office is investigating and suing opioid manufacturers and others responsible for this crisis. We charge that opioid manufacturers’ misconduct in aggressively selling and marketing their products — and hiding the risks of them that they knew about —led directly to the ongoing opioid epidemic. Many people who are now addicted to illegal opioids started with a legal prescription for opioids, which have highly addictive properties. Purdue’s blockbuster drug OxyContin and others are shown to be a gateway to heroin use, which is an opioid, both in Minnesota and nationwide. Research has shown that about “nearly 80 percent of heroin users reported using prescription opioids prior to heroin.” Deaths from opioid overdoses skyrocketed 800% in Minnesota from 2000–17. 

This is also why I supported the new law to make sure that opioid manufacturers and distributors make substantial payments to a new fund to fight the epidemic, and that whatever money we win from our cases against them goes directly to fighting it.

It’s going to take a lot of resources and care to make people, families, and communities whole. My office and I are a partner to everyone involved in that fight.