Louisiana's attorney general is trying to take control of a lawsuit filed by Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration accusing pharmaceutical companies of worsening opioid abuse in the state.
The Advocate reports that Attorney General Jeff Landry wants to expand the lawsuit. He also wants to hire Mike Moore, the former Mississippi attorney general who shepherded a national action against tobacco manufacturers in 1990's that settled for billions of dollars.
Landry's office filed a document Monday evening asking the Baton Rouge-based court where the opioids lawsuit is filed to allow the attorney general to "supersede" the Louisiana Department of Health.
The health department's lawsuit, filed Sept. 27 against more than a dozen pharmaceutical firms, accuses the companies of "an orchestrated campaign to flood Louisiana" with highly-addictive opioids to boost their profits.