Truth Test: The Opioid Lawsuit Under Attack?

It's the latest attack ad about Gentner Drummond from Attorney General Mike Hunter.

The father of star OU football player Austin Box taking aim at statements Drummond has made about the opioid lawsuit.

“When you lose a child it's the last thing you think about when you go to bed… the fact that Gentner Drummond would attack this opioid lawsuit is insulting to me and to the memory of my son,” Craig Bix said in the ad.

There's not much in the ad that we could test but it does send you to a website, Saveoklahomalives.com.

The site said Drummond wants to shift the focus to opioid addicts and defended drug companies. Neither is completely true.

The site links to an unofficial transcript from an Oklahoma District Attorneys Association meeting. Drummond is quoted as saying if those addicted to opioids "can't get their stuff together, they need to go to jail." But doesn't say the focus needs to shift to addicts alone. In the full quote he says the lawsuit should be comprehensive and include drug makers, distributors, doctors and users.

When it comes to defending drug companies, it's more of a compliment wrapped in an insult.

Hunter's campaign said Drummond championed the drug makers' legal work but the quote they use doesn't say that. What Drummond actually said, was Hunter made a "rookie mistake" that opened the door for the legal teams of drug companies. No defense and no praise.

What about sabotaging the lawsuit? We couldn't find any hard evidence that's true.

Saveoklahomalives gives four pieces of "evidence" but it only shows Drummond stating opinions. No direct actions to undermine the state's case against Drug companies.

Some may argue that Drummond is trying to signal to drug companies he'll be more favorable to them if he's elected but that's more trying to read the politics than what's on paper.

Overall, the site is more of what we've come to expect from this race so far; an ugly war of words. But the words used by the Hunter campaign venture into more untrustworthy territory so we'll rate the claims misleading.