New Mexico will get $195.5 million from four pharmaceutical companies as part of a national opioid settlement for fueling the opioid crisis throughout the nation.
Drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson (J&J), along with distributors Amerisource Bergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by 23 states over growing opioid overdoses and abuse rates.
As per the agreement, New Mexico will deliver $107 million to the local governments over the next 18 years, whereas $88 million would be used to fund opioid abatement programs. The abatement activities would include medical assistance and treatment support programs for the people coping with the opioid addiction crisis.
The funds would also be used for public education about drug abuse which would help to address the opioid crisis more effectively. These four companies face the states’ federal lawsuit in Ohio, whereas New Mexico is seeking compensation from more than two dozen other companies. In September, the litigation will go to trial in the state capital of Santa Fe.
All the lawsuits allege that the companies failed to warn the users about the dangers and addictive nature of opioids. Officials representing the state even notified that the patients and parents need to be careful with opioid usage.
Brian McMath, director of the Consumer and Environmental Protection Division of the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, has asked the users to dispose of these drugs if the prescription is expired. He even notified that the users must thoroughly educate themselves about the risks associated with the drugs and should communicate efficiently with their doctors before consuming the medicines.
