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A settlement with several major drug distributing companies in the United States means that the state of Missouri will receive nearly half a billion dollars to help victims of the opioid epidemic.
Missouri will get $458 million to help victims of the opioid epidemic as part of a settlement with the three biggest U.S. drug distribution companies and the drugmaker Johnson & Johnson, the state attorney general announced Friday.
FILE - In this Aug. 9, 2021, file photo, fake pill bottles with messages about OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt said it’s the biggest "victim-centric" settlement ever in Missouri.
"Today we have the opportunity to right some of the wrongs caused by the greed and deception of the opioid manufacturers and distributors," Schmitt said at a press conference in St. Louis. "Today is about getting some sort of justice for the victims and their families and helping those who need it most."
Schmitt said the money likely will be spent on more beds at in-patient addiction centers and emergency medicine used to counteract opioid overdoses, among other addiction resources.
FILE - This file photo shows an arrangement of prescription oxycodone pills in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
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Attorney General’s Office spokesman Chris Nuelle said $458 million is the maximum amount Missouri could have received under the deal.
The state of Missouri will get 60% of the settlement money and dole it out in grants to addiction treatment and prevention programs throughout the state, Schmitt said. The other 40% will go directly to cities and other municipalities.
The money represents Missouri’s share of a broader $26 billion deal between opioid makers and distributors and other state and local governments across the U.S. Lawyers for state and local governments reached the settlement after suing to force the pharmaceutical industry to help pay to fix a nationwide opioid addiction and overdose crisis.
Eric Schmitt, Missouri attorney general, speaks during a news conference outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Over 100,000 Americans died from drug overdoses from September 2020 to September 2021, which represents a 16% increase from the previous year, according to the CDC.
The CDC stated that 78,388 of those deaths were from opioids and 86% of those deaths were from fentanyl, a synthetic opioid.
Associated Press contributed to this report
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