SALT LAKE CITY — Utah will take in an estimated $309 million as part of a massive billion dollar opioid settlement, with the money expected to go to those affected by the drug crisis.
The $26 billion settlement will likely be the largest of many in the opioid litigation playing out nationwide. It's expected to bring more than $23 billion to abatement and mitigation efforts to help get treatment for people who are addicted along with other programs to address the crisis.
The money would come in 18 annual payments, with the biggest amounts in the next several years.
Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen — the nation’s three major pharmaceutical distributors — and Johnson & Johnson, which manufactured and marketed opioids, are part of the settlement.
"The impacts of the opioid epidemic have been and continue to be devastating to thousands of Utahns and their families. ," Gov. Cox said. "I look forward to working with the Legislature to determine the best use of these funds to benefit Utah citizens affected by the opioid crisis."
Noting that opioids and the companies who manufacture and distribute them have torn families apart, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes was pleased over the belated settlement.
"This is a reckoning long overdue. It has taken us years of hard-fought investigation, prosecution, and negotiation to arrive at this landmark settlement. But that is nothing compared to the years of suffering from so many in our state,” said Reyes.
