GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Gaston County is trying to hold opioid manufacturers accountable for the opioid crisis by taking them to court.
Earlier in January, Mecklenburg County announced it is also preparing to sue over the deadly epidemic.
In Gaston County, community leaders met on Monday to discuss the painful problems the crisis is creating for taxpayers and hurting families.
"Every family in this county is affected by the opioid crisis," said Paul Coates, one of the attorneys who is representing the county.
He met with Gaston County's commissioners and law enforcement leaders.
"People are dying. They're dying at a high rate," Coates said.
There have been 57 people who have died of opiate overdoses in Gaston County in 2016, according to the most recent data from North Carolina's public health survey.
That's a 375 percent increase in deaths in Gaston County since 1999.
In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found there were more painkiller prescriptions than people in Gaston County.
“For every man, woman and child in Gaston County, you have 1.2 prescriptions of opioids," Coats said.
More and more cases of opioid abuse flood in every day. On Sunday, police said a man passed out in a drive-thru at the Walgreens on Union Road. They said he was high on opioid pain medication before he ever reached the pharmacy.
The epidemic is also eating away at the county's budget. It has set aside money for more treatment programs and more parents are in jail, so more children are in foster care.
More training and protection is also needed for officers and paramedics who could overdose after coming into contact with opioids.
"It's a national crisis but it has local tragedy implications," Coates said.
Attorneys said it's possible more than 10 percent of the county's entire budget goes toward fighting the epidemic. That's why they're now fighting back against the drug manufacturers who promised patients the opioid medications were safe and not addictive.
A judge is expected to resolve the lawsuit in 2018 or take it to trial in 2019.
If the county wins the lawsuit, the drug companies could have to pay for all the services dedicated to treating and ending opioid addiction.
The attorneys who are handling the case aren't charging taxpayers.
They're already representing another 15 cities and counties that are also suing the drug manufacturers.
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