New Jersey is all set to join the $26 billion nationwide opioid settlement, which will reward the state with $641 million for the opioid crisis faced by its people and communities.
The settlement was announced in July 2021 and involves drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson (J&J) along with major pharmaceutical distributors of opioids, namely McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen.
Officials representing the state informed that the compensation amount would be used to conduct programs to reduce, treat and prevent the drug crisis. The amount would be evenly split with 50% for the state ad 50% for the individual municipalities across New Jersey.
As per the agreement, the four companies will collectively pay $21 billion over the next 18 years. On the other hand, J&J will pay up to $5 billion over the next nine years. The agreement even prohibits the companies from manufacturing and selling opioids. It has even refrained J&J from funding third-party companies that might sell opioids.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the United States reported nearly one million overdose deaths since the beginning of the opioid crisis. The data even reveals that April 2020 to April 2021 recorded nearly 100,000 fatal overdoses. New Jersey reported 2,896 overdose deaths from January 2021 to November 2021.
Earlier, the drug companies even informed that they might use certain tax benefits for their settlement expenses of $26 billion.
