Ohio to receive nearly $200 million in opioid settlement with Purdue Pharma

Ohio is set to receive up to $198 million following a settlement agreement between 55 attorneys general and Purdue Pharma regarding the company's production and sale of opioids and its role in the national opioid crisis. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced in a release on Monday that he, 48 other state attorneys general and the attorneys general of Washington, D.C., and five U.S. territories had signed on to a $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue and its owners, the Sackler family. With all relevant states and territories signed on to the settlement, Yost said that local governments nationwide would be asked to join the settlement. Municipalities in Ohio could receive up to $198 million through the settlement. The settlement will also require approval from a federal bankruptcy judge and a hearing to request that approval is scheduled "in the coming days," Yost said. The attorneys general had accused the Sackler family of "aggressively" marketing the opioids which Purdue produced and "contributing to the largest drug crisis in American history." The settlement will also remove the Sackler family from control over Purdue and bar them from selling opioids in the United States. "This is another major step toward accountability and recovery," Yost said in the release. "The money won't undo the damage, but it will help communities in Ohio and elsewhere continue to address and overcome the unspeakable harm." Once the settlement is approved, local municipalities will receive money over the next 15 years to fund addiction treatment, prevention and recovery services. If the settlement is approved, it will be distributed in Ohio under the state's OneOhio plan: 55 percent will go to the OneOhio Recovery Foundation, 30 percent to local governments and 15 percent to the state government. The OneOhio Recovery Foundation is a private nonprofit that was created under the direction of state and local officials to distribute the majority of money that Ohio received from opioid manufacturers and retailers as a result of lawsuits over the opioid crisis and its impact on the state. OneOhio was founded in 2021 to redistribute 55 percent of opioid settlement funds to local municipalities and organizations throughout the state to help with drug abuse prevention and addiction recovery services. Lorain County is in OneOhio's 19th district, along with Medina, Erie, Huron, Richland, Ashland and Wayne counties. "Establishing the OneOhio Recovery Foundation is the next step in enhancing Ohio's prevention, treatment and recovery support services," Gov. Mike DeWine said in a 2021 news release on the founding of the organization. "The investments made by the foundation will create an opportunity for local communities to plan for and sustain efforts that address the ever-evolving drug epidemic. There is not one part of the state that hasn't been impacted by the opioid crisis, and this is critical to beginning the healing process." Ohio has previously reached several settlements with opioid producers accused of contributing to the opioid crisis including: an $808 million settlement with Cardinal Health, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen; a $679 million settlement with Teva, Allergen, CVS and Walgreens; a $185 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals; a $114 million settlement with Walmart; and a $24.7 million settlement with McKinsey and Company. Yost was joined in signing the settlement by the attorneys general of every state except Oklahoma, the attorney general of the District of Columbia and the attorneys general of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.