A federal judge is pushing for a solution for the plethora of lawsuits being leveled against opioid manufacturers. According to the judge, a legal deal should be reached that will provide a way to escape the opioid crisis that is affecting the United States from coast to coast.   The discussions as to how this might feasibly be accomplished using a legal framework began on Wednesday, January 31, in a federal courthouse located in Cleveland, Ohio. Attorneys for local governments across the United States, drug distributors, and drug manufacturers are being brought together to open the conversation on a possible settlement for the lawsuits leveled against opioid manufacturers and distributors.   Because the goal of the conversation is to agree upon a settlement, the judge has closed the courtroom to the public.   As reported by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 42,000 Americans died of opioid overdoses during 2016, and the number who died from similar causes in 2017 is believed to be even higher. Opioids are a class of drugs that include illicit substances like heroin, as well as prescription pills like oxycodone. The potent and dangerous fentanyl, which is sometimes manufactured legally and sometimes illegally synthesized in home laboratories domestically and abroad, is also included in this class.   Many city, county, and state governments have brought lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors. Judge Dan Polster, based out of Cleveland, Ohio, has…