Settlements with opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and three opioid distributors will bring in $114 million over the next two decades, all of which will be channeled back into opioid addiction treatment and prevention, Attorney General Peter Neronha announced Tuesday.
The settlement with pharmaceutical distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen puts an end to the case brought by Rhode Island in June 2018. In joining the national settlement along with 45 other states, Rhode Island will receive $90.8 million to be used exclusively for “opioids abatement,” including treatment, prevention, overdose rescue and recovery, in the state. The first payments are expected in the coming weeks, Neronha said. Separate payments will cover litigation fees for the outside counsel that helped the attorney general’s office with the case.
