POULSBO — Kitsap County filed suit today against the makers and distributors of opioids, stating that it is seeking to hold the drug companies “responsible for the harm caused by opioid overuse and addiction within the community.”

The lawsuit, filed on Monday, alleges that opioid manufacturers knowingly distributed unreasonable and unconscionable amounts of prescription opioids, resulting in marked increases of opioid overuse, addiction, hospitalizations and deaths within Kitsap.

Kitsap County Commissioner Robert Gelder highlighted the ubiquity of the opioid epidemic.

“There isn’t a community that hasn’t been touched by the opioid crisis – friends, family members, neighbors,” he said. “It’s time to join in the fight to turn the tide in the conversation, debate and response.”

The Kitsap County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has partnered with Seattle-based law firm, Keller Rohrback, in order to represent the county in this lawsuit.