Drug manufacturers who market opioids must be held accountable for the nation’s opioid addiction epidemic. 

While Purdue Pharma is filing for bankruptcy and paying out billions in damages, it just isn’t enough. 

Lives have been shattered. 

So many people have died. 

So many others have lost loved ones. 

There is not enough money in the hands of all the opioid manufacturers combined to pay for the losses. 

And that is saying a lot because they have a lot of money while people using the products have been dying right and left. 

Without getting into the deep weeds of the science, which frankly we are not qualified to analyze, it is obvious to any observer the drugs were not ready for market and were not dispensed with enough controls. 

There are people in Georgia who are notably upset that Attorney General Chris Carr has agreed to join a national settlement agreement that may mean a lot of money to people who have lost family members, but it could also mean putting an end to any future claims against the defunct pharmaceutical giant. 

The agreement could mean up to $12 billion in payouts nationwide, over a period of time, and Purdue has filed for bankruptcy as part of the deal.

Carr has defended the decision to join the settlement saying, “Our focus from the beginning has been to hold those accountable for their role in fueling the opioid crisis and to quickly and efficiently get resources into the hands of those who are struggling” and explaining that the money from the settlement will help combat the Georgia opioid crisis and “address the needs of people living in our communities who have been devastated by the actions of those who fueled it.”

Still, his office says there are about 180,000 people in Georgia struggling with addictive opioid-use.

So, we get it when people displeased with the settlement say it is simply too little and way too late. 

More than 80 Georgia cities, counties and hospitals have joined another lawsuit fueled by local governments across the country to hold 27 other prescription drug manufacturers and distributors accountable.

To some it may seem like a token gesture, but we encourage cities and counties in our coverage areas to push forward — do not waffle on these lawsuits — and do your part in holding all these pharmaceutical makers accountable.