A federal judge overseeing litigation related to the nation's opioid epidemic ruled Tuesday that lawsuits targeting Purdue Pharma and other drug companies can move to trial even as the OxyContin maker tries to reach a settlement.

The ruling was one of several issued by U.S. District Court Judge Dan Polster, who is preparing for a trial scheduled for Oct. 21 over claims from the Ohio counties of Cuyahoga and Summit.

It would be the first federal trial seeking to hold drug companies, distributors and pharmacies accountable for an overdose and addiction crisis that has killed more than 400,000 Americans since 2000. More than 2,000 local governments have sued the industry, with most of the cases gathered in multidistrict litigation under Polster. The first trial is partly intended to answer legal questions that could arise in others that would follow if a settlement can't be reached.

Polster issued six rulings Tuesday denying motions for summary judgment from various groups of defendants, who had hoped to have at least some claims against them tossed out. While it's not a surprise that Polster denied the requests, the decisions strengthen the plaintiffs' positions with the initial trial less than two months away.

He ruled that civil conspiracy claims against the companies that make, distribute and sell opioids can remain in the case. In his opinion, Polster wrote that it's for a jury to decide whether there is enough evidence to show the companies' actions meet the criteria of a conspiracy claim.

Some of the defendants also sought to have claims tossed out because of conflicts between the underlying state and federal laws; Polster denied those, as well.

Polster also made rulings specific to certain defendants or groups of them. He found that claims should not be dropped against Mallinckrodt, Teva and Actavis, three makers of generic drugs.

They argued that there was no proof they had marketed their generic opioids during certain time periods, but plaintiffs in the case responded that the companies had indeed done marketing. They pointed to their sponsorship of patient advocacy groups that called for more access to pain treatment.

The judge also ruled against a group of smaller drug distributors. They had argued that lawsuits against them should be tossed out because their involvement in the opioids industry was too small to make a difference.

In recent weeks, Polster has ruled against several efforts to keep expert witnesses from testifying on behalf of the local governments.

It's not clear just which defendants might be included when the trial begins. Last month, drugmakers Endo and Allergan settled claims with the two Ohio counties, and more settlements could come in the weeks ahead.

Purdue, a company strongly associated with the opioid epidemic through its OxyContin drug, has proposed settlement terms that would have the Stamford, Connecticut-based company file for a structured bankruptcy and pay $10 billion to $12 billion to settle all claims against it. The Sackler family, which owns Purdue, would pay $3 billion under the proposal and contribute an estimated $1.5 billion more from the sale of another company they own, Mundipharma.

Since details of the deal became public last week, some local officials and state attorneys general have pushed back, saying the amount of money offered is too small. Others have said they want people affected by the opioid epidemic to have a chance to address company executives in court.

Last month, a state judge in Oklahoma ruled that Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries must pay $572 million in the first state-court verdict on the opioid crisis. Purdue and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries settled with the state before the trial began.

Meanwhile, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has sued to stop the trials involving the Ohio local governments' claims, saying the state's lawsuit should go first.

A judge formally approved a plan Friday to turn OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma into a new company no longer owned by members of the Sackler family and with its profits going to fight the opioid epidemic.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain officially confirmed the reorganization Friday, more than two weeks after he announced he would do so pending two largely technical changes to the plan presented by the company and hashed out with lawyers representing those with claims against the company.

His confirmation took more than six hours to read in court earlier this month, and the written version is 159 pages long, full of reasoning that appeals courts can consider later. Several states among other parties have already appealed the decision.

The deal resolves some 3,000 lawsuits filed by state and local governments, Native American tribes, unions, hospitals and others who claimed the company's marketing of prescription opioids helped spark and continue an overdose epidemic linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. in the last two decades.

The plan will use company profits and $4.5 billion in cash and charitable assets from members of the Sackler family to pay some individual victims amounts expected to range from $3,500 to $48,000, and help fund opioid treatment and prevention programs across the U.S.

Members of the Sackler family are also required to get out of the opioid business worldwide in time.

Millions of company documents, including communications with company lawyers, are to be made public.

The changes are to take effect when the bankruptcy process is finalized; the earliest that could be is in December.

The attorneys generals from the states of Connecticut, Maryland, Washington and the District of Columbia, as well as the U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee have all announced appeals. Their chief objection is that members of the wealthy Sackler family would be granted protection from lawsuits over opioids.

For many people in recovery from opioid addictions or who have lost loved ones to overdoses, the deal is infuriating.

Ellen Isaacs, a mother whose son died from an overdose, filed court papers requesting Drain not accept the plan. At a hearing on Monday, she gave a passionate some sometimes tearful 40-minute speech on her request. Like other activists, she asserted that Sackler family members — who have never been charged with criminal wrongdoing — are getting away with crimes, and that politicians and courts are not doing enough to end the opioid epidemic.

"The attorneys are playing games on paper and humans are dying," she said.

Drain said the money from the settlement would help avert more deaths, even if it will come too late for Isaacs' son.

"I did not become a judge to get things wrong," he told her.

He stood by his confirmation of the plan.

At the hearing, Drain also said he would approve a request from Purdue to use nearly $7 million to start setting up the funds that will distribute settlement money to victims, government entities and others. He also, for the third year, approved a plan of incentive payments for Purdue executives if they meet certain goals.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Diagnosed with cancer seven years ago, Kentucky Republican state Sen. Dan Seum said doctors gave him a "nice bottle of Oxycontin," a legal opioid-based prescription painkiller that has led to a spike in overdose deaths throughout the state.

"I threw it in the garbage can and went home and smoked a joint," the 77-year-old lawmaker said. "And guess what? No nausea. I was able to function. I was going through the (chemo) treatment. It was during the legislative session, I did not miss a day due to nausea from the cancer."

Seum was one of a bipartisan group of Kentucky lawmakers on Wednesday who introduced a bill that would make marijuana legal in Kentucky for medical purposes only. The proposal comes weeks after the U.S. Congress, led by U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, passed a farm bill that effectively legalized hemp, a crop that comes from the same plant that produces marijuana.

Medical marijuana is legal in 33 other states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The Kentucky House of Representatives flipped to Republican control in 2017, giving the GOP complete control of state government. Since then, support for the bill has been growing among the Republican majority. That includes GOP Rep. Jason Nemes, who said he was opposed to medical marijuana when he first ran for the legislature in 2016 but has since changed his mind.

"I am quite confident a majority of House members support it," Nemes said. "If we get a vote, the numbers will be above 60."

But the bill is unlikely to get a vote in the 100-member state House of Representatives this year. House Majority Floor Leader John "Bam" Carney, who controls which bills get called for a vote to the House floor, said he would not call the bill for a vote if the state Senate would not support it. Wednesday, Republican Senate President Robert Stivers called marijuana "a gateway drug" and said he had seen no credible studies showing marijuana had medicinal value other than "it makes you feel good."

"We're going to smoke marijuana and outlaw tobacco? That's a little inconsistent to me," Stivers said.

The 149-page bill includes regulations for growers, processers and dispensers. Michael Raus, founder of Kentucky Bluegrass Cannabis, said it has the potential to create a $100 million industry in the state.

The bill still would not let people could smoke marijuana in public, but the proposal is silent on what they could do with it in their own homes. Other restrictions would include a ban on advertising, requiring plants to be grown indoors under lock and key and a program to monitor inventory. Republican Rep. Diane St. One said the proposal would even let low-income people grow up to six marijuana plants in their homes, but only if doctors prescribe it and local law enforcement agencies know about it.

Seum he would provide studies on the medical benefits of marijuana to Republican Senate leaders, adding he felt no unease about admitting publicly to smoking marijuana. He also outed one of his 24 grandchildren, saying she "partakes" of marijuana to treat her epilepsy.

"Wouldn't it be nice if my granddaughter was no longer a criminal," he said.