Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford says Nevada has reached a settlement with CVS Pharmacy, Inc. regarding the company’s role in the opioid epidemic.

The settlement, announced at a press conference in Carson City on Tuesday, will bring in a total of $151,858,772.26 in abatement money to Nevada.

With this settlement, AG Ford has brought in a total gross amount of $606 million in opioid litigation-related monies to Nevada.

“My office will never stop fighting to hold accountable those companies and organizations that contributed to the crisis of the opioid epidemic,” said AG Ford. “The resources and funds that come to the state through our settlements will provide substantial help for Nevadans. I will work to do whatever I can to bolster the support we can offer the residents of our great state.”

The $151.9 million settlement with CVS will be split between the state and the signatories of the One Nevada Agreement. The state will receive $66,605,257.51, which will be placed in the Fund for Resilient Nevada, and the signatories of the One Nevada Agreement will receive $80,984,763.40, which will be used for abatement in their jurisdictions.

Those municipalities will determine how the settlement money is used - but they have to put it toward opioid abatement. 

The state's money will be used in a strategic way, thanks to legislation passed in 2021 - which requires committees of experts in the field to recommend resources and programs. 

"Just look at the numbers, according to 2022 data from the Nevada Overdose Data to Action program, there were 497 overdose deaths in Nevada containing a synthetic opioid such a fentanyl. According to DHHS, there were 566 opioid deaths in Nevada in 2021. In 59% of these deaths, synthetic opioids like fentanyl were found."

Ford says his office has garnered more than half a billion in opioid litigation and settlement's - and they are pursuing one final lawsuit with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. The trial is set for August.

(Office of Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford contributed to this report.