Sarasota City Commissioners have voted to join a federal multi-district lawsuit against the manufacturers and distributors of opioids.

Bill Robertson, attorney for Kirk Pinkerton, will work on contingency in filing the suit in Tampa Federal Court. Robertson told ABC-7 cities like Sarasota have spent hundreds of thousands–if not millions–of dollars fighting the drug epidemic. He said the Sarasota and Manatee County region has one of the ighest opioid death rates per capita in the nation.