Wisconsin AG Kaul joins opioid distributors investigation

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul is joining a multistate investigation into three opioid distributors that began in 2017 as a nationwide overdose crisis continues to claim thousands of lives.

Kaul announced Monday that the Wisconsin Department of Justice would join the probe that’s looking into the distribution practices of AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson. Kaul’s office says they control about 90 percent of the country’s opioid supply.

Kaul calls the opioid epidemic “the most significant public-safety challenge we face.”

The multi-state investigation into marketing and sales practices seeks to find out whether the industry’s own actions worsened the epidemic.

Drug distributors and manufacturers have pledged to help solve the crisis.