In 2017, Pierce County Councilmember Derek Young and Tacoma City Councilmember Conor McCarthy convened representatives from multiple sectors as the Pierce County Opioid Task Force. The Pierce County Council declared a “State of Opioid Crisis,” which paralleled a Presidential declaration, and sent a letter to Governor Jay Inslee urging him to declare Pierce County in a state of emergency. The City of Tacoma filed a lawsuit in 2017 against three opioid manufacturers and the county followed suit in early 2018.