End Substance Use Disorder Statement on Johnson & Johnson and Drug Distributor Opioid Litigation Settlement
Today, states and local communities announced that they have finalized a $26 billion settlement with Johnson & Johnson and three major drug distributors for fueling the opioid overdose crisis. The first funds from the settlement, which must be used to address the overdose crisis, will be issued in two months and will be distributed over an 18-year period.
End Substance Use Disorder released the following statement:
“No amount of money can erase the pain and suffering that millions of families have experienced as their loved ones have struggled with opioid use disorder and died from overdoses,” said Erin Schanning, president of End Substance Use Disorder. “We are disappointed that these corporations did not admit to wrongdoing for placing profits above safety. With the settlement finalized, we now call on states and local governments to use the funds to invest in prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery solutions that have a firm grounding in the evidence.”
The settlement agreement was reached with drug maker, Johnson & Johnson, and the three largest U.S. drug distributors: AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson. The companies had been accused of downplaying the addiction risk of opioids in their marketing materials and flooding local communities with opioids. More than 3,000 lawsuits had been filed, mainly by state and local governments.
In addition to the $26 billion fund, the settlement requires the drug distributors to create a shared clearinghouse on drug shipments to encourage self-regulation. End Substance Use Disorder has joined with leading organizations to endorse a set of guiding principles for how states, cities, and counties should use funds received from the opioid litigation. In addition, End Substance Use Disorder has recognized the White House for issuing a model state law for the use of opioid litigation funds.
When this settlement proposal was first announced in June 2021, End Substance Use Disorder was critical of its lack of accountability. After the settlement was announced, the stock prices of the corporations involved rose, demonstrating that the settlement was beneficial for their bottom lines.
The proposed $26 billion settlement is the second largest cash settlement in U.S. history behind the $246 billion tobacco settlement reached in 1998. A previously proposed $4.5 million settlement with Purdue Pharma, the maker of Oxycontin, and the Sackler family was blocked by a judge due to its unprecedented grant of immunity. Cases against pharmacies and other drug companies are proceeding in courts.