Iowa, like much of the country, is experiencing an opioid crisis.

Assistant Greene County Attorney Thomas Laehn tells Raccoon Valley Radio the County Attorney’s office has seen an increase in criminal cases involving opioids and other drug incidents.

“I would hazard to guess that maybe 90-percent of the crime we see is either related to drugs or is somehow rooted in drugs, and part of that is the result of the opioid crisis. We do see the effects of opioid abuse in Greene County. It’s a form of addiction, but there’s also people making a profit from selling these drugs.”

Laehn says there are two law firms, Cruegor Dickinson in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin and Simmons Hanly Conroy, that are putting together a lawsuit against some of the pharmaceutical companies, claiming that they bear some of the responsibility for the growing crisis. The law firms are asking all Iowa counties to join the lawsuit, but Greene County isn’t yet one of them. Laehn points out that the agreement with the law firms acknowledges that there isn’t upfront costs to joining the lawsuit. However, Laehn notes the law firms would still require County Attorney offices to provide resources and only get paid on a contingency basis.

“Whatever that award was, that jury award or settlement, the law firm would get 25-percent off the top, plus being reimbursed for its costs (and) the residual would be divided among the counties participating in the lawsuit.”

Laehn says it’s not a guarantee that the law firm would win or get a settlement, and they don’t have enough people in their office to devote time and resources to the lawsuit. Laehn adds that by January 22nd they had 21 new cases, and last year they had 290 total cases.

Laehn discussed the pending lawsuit with the County Board of Supervisors at their December 11th meeting and the Board chose at that time to table their decision to join the lawsuit indefinitely.