Cleveland County Judge Thad Balkman issued the decision Monday in the nation's first state trial against the companies accused of contributing to the widespread use of the highly addictive painkillers.
Oklahoma's governor and Republican legislative leaders are raising concerns about the state's proposed $85 million settlement with an opioid manufacturer that has yet to be approved by a judge.
Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter's opened the state's case against consumer products giant Johnson & Johnson and several subsidiaries by saying the powerful painkillers have led to the "worst manmade public health crisis" in U.S. history.
New York on Thursday sued the billionaire family behind OxyContin, joining a growing list of state and local governments alleging the drugmaker sparked the nation's opioid crisis by putting hunger for profits over patient safety.
Democratic presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand says she's "open to improving" a Senate bill that would limit opioid prescriptions for acute pain.
Two former physicians from opposite ends of New York State are accused of contributing to New York State's opioid epidemic, one from the western part of the state and the other from the eastern portion of New York.
The Senate Joint Task force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction is holding a forum in Utica tomorrow to gather input on the rise in the use of heroin and opiates.