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A federal judge on Monday ruled in favor of three major U.S. drug distributors in a landmark lawsuit that accused them of causing a health crisis by distributing 81 million pills over eight years in one West Virginia county ravaged by opioid addiction. The verdict came nearly a year after closing arguments in a bench trial in the lawsuit filed by Cabell County and the city of Huntington against AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. (Raby, 7/5)

US District Judge David Faber said in an opinion Monday that McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Corp. didn’t create a public nuisance in Cabell County, West Virginia, and its largest city, Huntington. The plaintiffs said that between 2006 and 2014 the companies delivered more than 127 million painkillers to pharmacies in the county -- or about 142 pills annually for each man, woman and child in the area. (Feeley, 7/5)

Judge David Faber rejected arguments from the city of Huntington, W.Va., and the Cabel County Commission that AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp.’s distribution of prescription opioids in Huntington and Cabel County caused an opioid epidemic and a “public nuisance” in those areas. The opioid crisis has taken a considerable toll on the citizens of Cabell County and the City of Huntington,” the ruling reads. “And while there is a natural tendency to assign blame in such cases, they must be decided not based on sympathy, but on the facts and the law. In view of the court’s findings and conclusions, the court finds that judgment should be entered in defendants’ favor.” (Gans, 7/4)

KHN: Crowdsourced Data On Overdoses Pinpoints Where To Help

Men lined up outside the Corner of Hope, a homeless resource center, eyeing free supplies on plastic shelves inside a white van. Some wanted bags with toiletries or condoms, but others took kits that help them safely use drugs or naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal medicine. (Rayasam, 7/5)

This month, a shiny blue receptacle that resembles a mailbox was installed in an alley behind Mat-Su Urgent Care in Palmer, across the street from the local fire department. The unassuming box marks a major step in a long-running campaign to combat the public health hazards posed by used hypodermic needles: It’s the first publicly funded used-needle disposal site in Alaska. (Berman, 7/3)

Researchers say such “contingency management” programs use the reward systems in the brain to nudge people away from drug use. “This isn’t just paying people to do what they should do,” said Steve Shoptaw, a UCLA professor of family medicine who has researched treatments for stimulant use disorder. “This is an intervention that actually stimulates the brain to work in different ways so that their goals are met.” (Alpert Reyes, 7/4)