The Pasco County Board of County Commissioners gave County Attorney Jeffrey Steinsnyder approval to retain special counsel for litigation regarding the local opioid epidemic.

• Sheriff: 122 122 opioid-related fatal overdoses last year
• Nocco says costs should not be put on taxpayers
• County Attorney plans to retain firm Levin Papantonio
  

"This is a health epidemic that got put upon law enforcement, on our shoulders. Those costs should not be put on taxpayers, they should be put upon these companies that created the greed and created the death," said Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco.

Nocco spoke before the commissioners in support of litigation. He said he's also appeared before the board in the past to make a different type of request related to the financial strain the epidemic has placed on his office.

"There's so many indirect costs that it's huge," Nocco said. "That's why, moving forward with this lawsuit, what we're told from the commissioners is that whatever firm they use, they're going to be bringing in specialists to look to see what the direct costs were, what the indirect costs were."

According to board documents, Steinsnyder plans to retain the firm Levin Papantonio.

Terms offered by the county specify that special counsel won’t be paid if the county doesn't recover any money. About 200 cases nationwide have been identified as Multi District Litigation (MDL) seeking damages from drug manufacturers or distributors.

Sheriff Nocco said Pasco County saw 122 opioid-related fatal overdoses last year, nearing the peak numbers from the prescription drug crisis it experienced in 2010.

"We're seeing less deaths than other counties from opioids specifically, but we know that there's a huge addicted population," said Monica Rousseau, coordinator for Pasco Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention. "We’re seeing hepatitis rise – hepatitis B and C -- largely from needle sharing."

Board Chairman Mike Wells said in addition to recovering funds lost fighting the epidemic, which he estimates to be in the tens of millions of dollars, the goal of any legal action is to send a message.

"Folks need to understand that, as a county, we're not going to put up with it, and we are going to do everything we can do to hold them accountable for what's happened in Pasco County," Wells said.