Missouri to receive $458 million in settlement with J&J and other opioid distributors

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."“They refused to tell people and misrepresented the addictive nature of these drugs,” Attorney General Eric Schmitt said Friday. “These were being prescribed because of what these manufacturers and distributors were telling people. You had countless people who became addicted to it.”

Dozens of state and local jurisdictions had sued the companies, alleging they downplayed the addictive nature of opioid painkillers.

To unlock the settlement, all counties that had sued the companies needed to agree to join, said a spokesman for the attorney general’s office.

Nearly 150 cities and counties joined the settlement, Schmitt said. Of those, about 10 had filed lawsuits against the companies.

“We had to get all the frogs in the wheelbarrow, as they say,” he said. “Everybody’s included, and that’s why we were able to maximize the settlement.”

The proceeds of the settlement will go directly to addiction treatment and prevention programs, Schmitt said. Sixty percent of the payout will go to the state, and 40% will be distributed to counties. The state’s portion of the settlement payout will go to a repository controlled by the state agencies, which treatment providers and law enforcement will access through grants.

“Nothing will reverse the damages the opioid crisis has caused,” Schmitt said. “This settlement will bring the resources desperately needed though, to help communities and people who need it most.”
The money is sorely needed to treat the scores of people addicted to opioids in the state, said Felisha Richards, a project director at Four Rivers, a federally supported health clinic in Rolla.
“It’s easy to get into treatment for a medication-first program, that’s not very costly,” she said. But child care, housing, transportation and other services that people need to recover are expensive. She hopes the state will be flexible when it comes time to distribute the money."...