"They knew what the harm was. They did it anyway," Attorney General
The attorney general's announcement came as opioid overdose deaths more than doubled from 2019 to 2022, with 2,048 deaths recorded in 2022, according to the most recent numbers from the
Under the deal, the state and local governments would have to spend
The harm is “left now to policymakers to grapple with,” the attorney general said, "or families and individuals who grapple in a very different way with the real tragedy of addiction.”
The settlement agreement still requires approval from a judge. If approved, the deal would send over
Since the 2000s, drugmakers, wholesalers, pharmacy chains and consultants have agreed to pay more than
Under the agreements, most of the money is to be used to combat the nation’s addiction and overdose crisis.
Drug overdoses caused more than 1 million deaths in the
The attorney general’s office noted that in 2015 the company was the largest supplier in the country of the active pharmaceutical ingredients that go into opioid drugs.
“The Company’s actions relating to the marketing and promotion of important prescription opioid medications were appropriate and responsible,” according to the statement.
Funds will be awarded by the end of this fiscal year, which means that the Legislature can earmark the money during the current legislative session. Half of the money will go to a state account, while the other half will go to an account for local governments, according to the attorney general’s office.
Democratic Sen.
“The fact that these lawsuits have played out since then, they can’t unfortunately bring back the lives that we lost," she said. "But they are bringing resources to our communities and to our state that we are able to invest in ways that will help people recover and hopefully help to prevent future addiction and future crises like the one that we’re seeing right now.”
The deal comes about two years after the nation’s three largest opioid distributors agreed to pay the state
___
AP reporter
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
, source