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The Cherokee Nation faults several major drug companies and distributors for opioid addiction and overdose deaths among their members. Theirs is the first tribal lawsuit to combat the growing problems associated with prescription pain relievers. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are among the organizations that say opiate addiction is an epidemic. In 2015 more than twenty thousand people died from prescription opioid overdoses. Who is responsible when people abuse powerful prescription drugs?
Native America Calling reached out to the companies named in the Cherokee Nation lawsuit. Two of them and IHS issued written statements that you can read here.
Guests:
Todd Hembree (Cherokee Nation) – Attorney General for the Cherokee Nation
Dr. Michelle Johnson-Jennings (Choctaw) – Director of the RICH (Research for Indigenous Health) Center, Associate to the Dean for Indigenous Health, and Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Minnesota
Hil Kaman – Public Health and Safety Director for the city of Everett Washington
Elima Bird (Spokane) – chemical dependency professional trainee for the Spokane Tribe of Indians behavioral health
Break music: Buc Wild – Teen Boy’s Southern Straight (song) Gathering Of Nations Powwow (artist) A Spirit’s Dance (album)
