More than $84 million was paid to the state and local governments to be used to abate the opioid crisis in Tennessee, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced on Friday.
The funds are part of initial settlement payments with three national pharmaceutical companies and opioid manufacturer Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, as an agreement over the companies’ role in creating and fueling the nationwide opioid crisis.
AG Skrmetti announced that Tennessee received $84 million as part of the recent opioid settlement. This money will go directly to help those harmed by the opioid epidemic. TN has received a total of $128 million.
Read more here: https://t.co/anGD9hRWXs pic.twitter.com/s8VZimlO2h— TN Attorney General (@AGTennessee) November 4, 2022
Including the $84 million payout this week, Tennessee has received more than $128 million from the initial settlement payments, according to a press release by Skrmetti’s office.
More than $90 million of the total amount will be allocated to the Tennessee Opioid Abatement Trust Fund, Skrmetti’s office notes. To oversee the trust and ensure funds related to opioid abuse, misuse, prevention, and awareness are dispersed throughout the state, the Opioid Abatement Council was established in law by the Tennessee General Assembly in 2021. Funds remaining for abatement are split between the state’s general fund and a separate fund distributed directly to counties and local governments by the national administrator.
“This money will be used exclusively to repair the damage caused by the opioid epidemic that continues to ravage Tennessee,” Attorney General Skrmetti said in a statement. “No amount of money will be enough to fully compensate the affected families and communities, but we will keep working to hold every bad actor accountable for their role in the crisis.”
Skrmetti continued, saying, “I am proud of our consumer protection team and the sacrifices they have made to get us to this point. Through Tennessee’s efforts at both the state and national levels, we have been able to hold these pharmaceutical companies accountable and now obtain significant funds to address the damage opioids have done to our communities.”
In addition to the current agreements, Skrmetti notes that his office “continues to investigate and litigate against numerous other companies responsible for the opioid crisis.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
