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

[Sherman A1]

Missouri will receive $458 million to fund drug treatment and prevention programs as part of a settlement with Johnson & Johnson and three other drug distributors.

All 114 of the state’s counties signed onto the settlement, guaranteeing the maximum payout. In return, they agree to drop individual suits against the companies, which include McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen, for their role in the opioid epidemic.

“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.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/health-science-environment/2022-02-18/missouri-to-receive-458-million-in-settlement-with-j-j-other-opioid-distributors