Page 2 - Lyn Oconnell News Today

HUNTINGTON — A $2 million grant will aid the City of Huntington in establishing support for those suffering substance use disorder.

CHARLESTON — The fourth week of Huntington and Cabell County’s opioid trial against three drug distributors was highlighted by an email showing McKesson Corp. employees cheering Appalachian trends shifting away from pills to illicit drugs in 2012. The email was shared among McKesson employees, first by Tracey Jonas, director of regulatory processes, who shared a February 2012 article which said the DEA was seeing a sharp drop in Florida oxycodone. Dave Gustin, a director of regulatory...

CHARLESTON — The fourth week of Huntington and Cabell County’s opioid trial against three drug distributors was highlighted by an email showing McKesson Corp. employees cheering Appalachian trends shifting away from pills to illicit drugs in 2012. The email was shared among McKesson employees, first by Tracey Jonas, director of regulatory processes, who shared a February 2012 article which said the DEA was seeing a sharp drop in Florida oxycodone. Dave Gustin, a director of regulatory...

Cabell County Sheriff Chuck Zerkle CHARLESTON – At the landmark federal opioid trial, Cabell County Sherriff Chuck Zerkle testified being directly involved in Huntington, once deemed “epicenter of the opioid crisis,” has evolved.  During his testimony May 27, Zerkle said he wanted to make a difference and to help combat issues he believes are harming the community. “One of the reasons I ran for sheriff was I felt I could make a difference in our community,” sa...

1 of 2 The trial of the “Big Three” drug companies accused of fueling an opioid drug epidemic in Cabell County and the city of Huntington is taking place at the Robert C. Byrd U.S. Courthouse in Charleston. Courtesy of the West Virginia Humanities Council

CHARLESTON – As the landmark federal opioid trial concluded its fourth week, attorneys for Cardinal Health probed an addiction science professor from Marshall University about recovery programs and estimated costs.  The City of Huntington and the Cabell County Commission sued three of the nation’s top pharmaceutical distribution companies – AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson – in 2017 seeking compensation over claims the companies helped fuel the opioid epidemic by sending...

An email released Friday in the federal trial pitting Huntington and Cabell County against three drug distributors showed McKesson Corp. employees cheering trends that showed Appalachians were shifting away from

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Originally published on May 12, 2021 4:31 pm The City of Huntington and Cabell County are in federal court, taking prescription opioid distributors to task. If the city and county win their lawsuit, that could result in a payout of tens of millions of dollars. And in theory, that money could help fix the problem. Dr. Lyn OConnell works with the City of Huntington to tackle the substance use crisis through clinical services, research and program development. She was also part of a team that p...