Oklahoma AG Seeks J&J Docs in Opioid Lawsuit

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter has asked a state court to publicly release millions of pages of confidential documents submitted by Johnson & Johnson in a state case relating to the opioid epidemic.

Hunter’s office called J&J the “kingpin” at the center of the opioid crisis, noting the company produced raw narcotics in Australian poppy fields and manufactured opioid APIs it supplied to other opioid manufacturers like Purdue. The state further alleges the drugmaker funded pro-opioid groups such as the Pain Care Forum that aggressively pushed the products.

J&J, meanwhile, asked the District Court of Cleveland County to deny the request, claiming it would bias the potential jury pool and violate court procedures.