Ohio joins Purdue Pharma settlement with all but 1 state, D.C., 5 territories

FILE - The Purdue Pharma offices are seen, May 8, 2007, in Stamford, Conn. (AP Photo/Douglas Healey, File)

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

FILE - The Purdue Pharma offices are seen, May 8, 2007, in Stamford, Conn. (AP Photo/Douglas Healey, File)

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has announced that along with Ohio all but one state, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories have signed on to a $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family.

The settlement came after charges were brought against the company and the family that owned it, accusing them of contributing to the opioid drug crisis through their aggressive marketing of the opioid drugs that they produced. The settlement ended the Sackler family’s control of the drug company and barred them from selling opioids in the U.S., as well as doling out billions in settlement funds over the next 15 years.

Yost said that the attorneys general of every state but Oklahoma, along with the District of Columbia and American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, signed on to the deal.

Next, local governments will be allowed to join the settlement, which is subject to approval of a federal bankruptcy judge.

Yost said that Ohio governments will receive up to $198 million from the agreement, to be distributed according to the established OneOhio plan : 55% to the OneOhio Recovery Foundation, 30% to local governments, and 15% to the state.

“The money won’t undo the damage, but it will help communities in Ohio and elsewhere continue to address and overcome the unspeakable harm,” Yost said.

About the Author