Pine County has become the newest group to enter into a class action lawsuit against major opioid manufacturers.
The county joins the likes of Carlton County who are looking for compensation to help offset the cost of addiction in the county.
During his presentation to the County Board, Attorney Reese Frederickson said that opioids have become a major part of his work.
"When I started my career 10 or 11 years ago, I never saw pills. I never saw heroin. Now, we see them all the time," said Frederickson.
According to Pine County's Health and Human Services Department, 582 residents entered substance abuse treatment in 2018, and 14.3% of those who entered were treated for heroin and other opiate addiction.
Commissioner Steve Hallan told the board it was important that they held lower that number. "If 2% of our population is in treatment at any one time, that's a scary number," Hallan said. "If we can do anything to help that, I think we need to."
The county has entered a contingency fee retainer with two law firms and will not pay any expenses or fees unless there is a recovery.
The picture above was taken from Pine County Attorney Reese Frederickson's Facebook page.