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OGDEN, Utah (AP) — Another county in Utah is suing opioid makers and distributors over what critics call the ill effects of prescription painkiller abuse.
Weber County Commissioner James Ebert announced the 240-page lawsuit on Thursday.
The Standard-Examiner reports it names 24 defendants, including opioid makers Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Cephalon.
Purdue makes OxyContin. It says in a statement that curbing opioid abuse is its fight too.
Ebert says the intent isn't to get the drugs off the market, but to change how they're marketed and prescribed.
Similar suits have been filed by Tooele, Summit and Salt Lake counties.
They accuse companies of downplaying dangers of opioid addiction, contributing to a spike in overdoses and a health crisis that costs communities millions to fight.
State data says downtown Ogden had the highest per-capita rate of opioid deaths in Utah in 2014 and 2015.
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Information from: Standard-Examiner, http://www.standard.net
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