The city of Westbrook is joining a nationwide lawsuit against two pharmaceutical companies that produce opioids to be part of a $26 billion settlement with approximately 4,000 communities in 45 states.
The settlement requires distributors McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Corporation to pay up to $21 billion over 18 years and for Janssen, the parent company of Johnson & Johnson, to pay up to $5 billion for up to nine years. Of the total, $22 billion is earmarked for local communities and Maine is slated to receive $130 million, according to the Press Herald.
When supporting the council’s unanimous approval to join the lawsuit Jan. 24, Councilor Mike Shaughnessy said he doesn’t believe the funds will even begin to address the impact the city has seen from the opioid epidemic.
“This needs to be used diligently; it is not a gift and won’t even come close to addressing the impact,” Shaughnessy said.
In order to participate in the collective settlement, municipalities must agree they won’t individually pursue damages against the pharmaceutical companies.
According to the report published in the Press Herald, the U.S. has seen more than 500,000 deaths in the past 20 years linked to both prescription opioids and black market drugs.
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