The Cleveland County District has ordered American pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries to pay $844 million, ruling that it helped fuel the opioid crisis in Oklahoma after launching an aggressive and misleading marketing campaign. The US state has been ravaged by opioids, with Attorney-General Mike Hunter stating that between 2007 and 2017, 4,653 people were killed in opioid overdoses. Lead lawyer for Johnson & Johnson, Larry Ottaway said in his closing argument that opioid drugs serve a critical health need while one of its other lawyers, Sabrina Strong called the decision “flawed”. The company is expected to appeal the ruling.

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