Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and three major drug distributors have reached a $119 million settlement with the Idaho officials over the companies' role in the opioid crisis.
It is the second-largest consumer settlement in state history after the national tobacco settlement of $712 million in 1998. The state became eligible for a minimum of $64 million settlement, but the participation of the local government entities has resulted in boosting the amount to $119 million.
The attorneys representing the state said that Idaho had implemented several ways to deal with the opioid crisis throughout the past few years, and the current settlement would offer additional resources to combat the crisis.
As per the agreement, J&J would pay $21 million over nine years, whereas the drug distributors are required to pay $98 million over 18 years. The settlement amount would be a huge asset to the state for funding treatment, recovery, and prevention programmes in Idaho.
The agreement even states the breakup of the amount by allocating 40% of the money to the participating counties and cities, 20% to regional public health districts, and the remaining 40% would go to the state-directed opioid settlement fund.
Apart from settlement, the agreement even provided guidelines on the sale and distribution of opioids. The agreement even calls for an independent monitoring process that will stop the deliveries of opioids in case of misuse occurring. J&J is banned from selling and promoting opioids as per the agreement.
In February, J&J, along with the three drug distributors, reached a $26 billion national opioid settlement to deal with the nationwide crisis. In 2017, the federal government declared a public health emergency, and the settlement will address the damage caused because of the crisis.
