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A pseudoephedrine lawsuit filed in Oklahoma is being closely watched around the country because it is the first of its kind.
The suit is being filed by the widow of an Oklahoma State Trooper who was killed by an illegal drug dealer and manufacturer on the side of a highway in 2003. The lawsuit seeks damages from several parties, alleging that they were complicit in the sales of pseudoephedrine products that they may have known wound up as being an integral part in the making of the illegal drug methamphetamine.
The lawsuit names Pfizer, Leiner Health Products, Perrido Co., Wal-Mart and Walgreens as defendants. The suit also seeks damages from the killer, Ricky Ray Malone, who has already been sentenced to death.
The wife, Linda Green, was just able to file suit under Oklahoma State Statute of Limitations laws that say lawsuits must be filed within two years of a person''s death. Green has stated that she was hesitant to file the suit because she didn''t want the publicity or the emotional drama that is set to ensue for her and her young children. She has, however, filed the suit in hopes that it will change pseudoephedrine laws around the country.
Her husband, Trooper Nik Green, was killed after stopping to check out a mobile meth lab run and set up by Malone, the killer. Malone was apparently in a meth-induced drug state and successfully wrested Green''s gun away from the officer, shooting him twice in the head.
The death of Trooper Green sparked a statewide pseudoephedrine crackdown and a series of laws named after Green throughout Oklahoma. Tens of other states followed suit shortly after, passing laws that restricted the sales of pseudoephedrine containing products, including several over-the-counter cold medications. Currently, Wal-Mart restricts the sale of pseudoephedrine products to three per customer.
Linda Green has been instrumental in stemming the sale of further pseudoephedrine in Oklahoma. Her most recent lawsuit is the first in the nation to allege a link between the cold medication manufacturers and marketers and the production of methamphetamine drugs, however. Part of the suit alleges that the drug industry deliberately sought to exploit the demand for pseudoephedrine containing products, even though they may have known that people were using the products to make meth.
In addition, drug companies like Pfizer, continue to oppose any pseudoephedrine regulation around the country and continue to pour money into any opposition to the product''s restrictions.
The lawsuit alleges that the drug companies are directly responsible for the violence that happens from their products, even if their products were used illegally. The case has spurred nationwide controversy and debate and is likely to continue the efforts of several around the country to limit the sales of pseudoephedrine products.