Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced that in April, Nevada will receive the first payments of over $284 million in opioid settlement funds agreed to by the state.
Attorney General Ford says Nevada remains the hardest hit state in the opioid epidemic, and that opioid related deaths have skyrocketed.
In recompense for the damage opioids have done in the silver state, the state is set to receive approximately $329 million from 3 settlements, including some from last year. The first receipt being $50.7 million.
"We have now won pivotal battles that will now bring in much needed money to the state of Nevada," Attorney General Aaron Ford says.
The settlements are from opioid manufacturers such as Johnson & Johnson and its U.S.-based Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies and opioid distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson.
428 Nevadans died of an opioid related death, which is the highest single number of opioid related deaths yet.
Attorney General Ford explains "We will bring justice to those who have caused harm to Nevada, and its residents and those who acted as a root cause for this epidemic."
He also tells us they came together to create the One Nevada Agreement, to allocate recoveries, settlements and bankruptcies between the state, county and litigating cities to remediate harms, risks and impacts of opioids.
Attorney General Ford adds, "With this money, Nevada and its local governments can and will establish programs and services that are needed right now."
He also mentions that all of these settlements have been battles won, but ultimately they want to win the war against opioids.
“It is not an exaggeration to say this is the most significant infusion of money into Nevada since the receipt of emergency COVID-19 funding,” said Attorney General Ford. “This money will go directly toward remediating the harms done to Nevada by the ongoing opioid epidemic, and will give our state, our counties and our litigating cities access to the funding and tools they need to help the members of our Nevada family impacted by the horrors of addiction. Help is here, and I will continue to fight for even more aid to our state.”
In 2021, Ford announced a $45 million settlement with the opioid consulting firm McKinsey and Company, Inc. McKinsey provided marketing plans and otherwise advised opioid manufacturers, including OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, for over a decade.
Earlier in 2022, Ford announced that Nevada will participate in a $26 billion opioid settlement with the three largest opioid distributors — AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson — which will result in Nevada receiving $231,679,409 over a period of 18 years under the settlement.
At that time, Ford also announced a settlement with Johnson & Johnson and its U.S.-based Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, which will result in Nevada receiving $53,508,792, 95% of which is payable by the end of 2022.
While Nevada remains open to settling with other defendants, the Office of the Attorney general will continue to seek justice and hold those accountable who acted as a catalyst for this epidemic. The state’s litigation continues with a trial date set for April 17, 2023.
Earlier this year, the state; all Nevada counties; and cities that currently have active litigation against opioid companies came to an agreement on the intrastate allocation of funds from opioid-related recoveries.
