Johnson & Johnson are sentenced to million fines for contributing to the US opioid crisis

During the 33-day trial, 109 witnesses have told their stories about the experiences of opioids, which have destroyed thousands of lives and cost Oklahoma billions of dollars. It reports CNN.

The highly addictive drugs, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson, among others, but also found in illegal drugs, have taken more than 400,000 Americans' lives since 1999 and continue to kill over 100 people a day.

According to Oklahoma State Prosecutor Mike Hunter, the company bears part of the blame for the drug epidemic, which President Donald Trump called a "national emergency." Hunter believes that Johnson & Johnson have been both a manufacturer and supplier to other companies and that the company should have conspired with other drug companies to aggressively market opioids and hide facts about how addictive drugs are.

According to the lawsuit, the company must also have pressured physicians to prescribe drugs containing opioids despite being aware of the negative effects.

The state states that Johnson & Johnson acted "drug king" and that they caused public discomfort and torment - and have demanded the company nearly $ 17.2 billion for funding a 30-year plan to deal with the epidemic.

Now, the Oklahoma court has made its decision - and gives the state the right. The company is expected to pay $ 572 million, a lower sum than the prosecutor's claim for, for its role in the state's crisis, writes local media.

The company itself has constantly asserted its innocence and denies all charges. They believe they were wrongly portrayed as scapegoats and will appeal the verdict.

Two other pharmaceutical companies, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Purdue Pharma, were initially also covered by the prosecution. However, they chose to make a settlement of millions with the Land.

The Oklahoma trial that ended today was the first of its kind in the country, where a state holds a pharmaceutical company responsible for destroying thousands of lives. Now, dozens of new lawsuits await companies in other states, as well as a federal case where nearly 2,000 lawsuits from other cities, communities and individuals have been merged into one.