US Opioid Crisis: Native Americans Receive $ 590 Million Settlement | Court News

Three U.S. drug dealers and drug makers Johnson & Johnson have agreed to settle tribal claims about the opioid epidemic.

The three largest U.S. drug distributors and drug makers Johnson & Johnson have agreed to pay $ 590 million to resolve Native American tribe claims because companies sparked an opioid epidemic in their communities, according to court records.

His presentation to the U.S. District Court in Cleveland, Ohio, details details of his agreements with Johnson & Johnson and AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson.

Tribal settlements are part of more than $ 40 billion in settlements, penalties, and fines for the role companies have played in the opioid epidemic that has spread across the U.S. over the years.

Including drugs such as prescriptions OxyContin and outlaws like heroin and illegal fentanyl have been linked to more than 500,000 deaths nationwide over the past two decades.

Many tribes in the United States have been hit hard by the crisis of addiction and overdose. A study cited in the settlement found that in 2015, Native Americans had the highest rate of opioid overdose per capita in any population group.

More than 400 tribal and inter-tribal organizations representing about 80 percent of indigenous peoples have been prosecuted for opioids. All federally recognized tribes will be able to participate in the newly filed settlements, even if they are not prosecuted for opioids.

Under the agreement, Johnson & Johnson of New Jersey will pay $ 150 million over two years and distribution companies will pay $ 440 million over seven years. Each tribe would decide whether or not to participate. Most of the money goes to help tribes deal with epidemic damage in their communities by funding treatment and other programs.

Johnson & Johnson earned $ 20.8 million in 2021.

The newly announced deal is different from the $ 75 million deal between Cherokee Nation and the three distribution companies reached before a trial last year.

Four identical companies are approaching the final stages of acceptance $ 26 billion in settlements With U.S. and local governments. They will decide by the end of this month whether enough government bodies have signed up to continue the deal.

This proposed solution did not cover the lawsuits and potential claims of 574 Native American tribes in the U.S. and the peoples of Alaska, which have long had higher drug overdose mortality rates than the state average.

Opioid addiction and death are a national problem in the United States. In Washington, DC, there have been a number of recent overdose deaths due to potential fentanyl that are of concern to local authorities.

MPD, @DEAWashingtonDC, @DBHRecoverDC, and @dcfireems Reporting overdose of narcotics in the district. https://t.co/npibP7uBZG

– DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) January 31, 2022

More than 3,300 lawsuits have been filed, mostly by state, local and tribal governments that want to be held responsible for the opioid epidemic.

The lawsuits accuse distributors of lax controls that allow large amounts of painful addictions to be channeled into illegal channels, and that J&J drug addicts underestimate the risk of addiction when marketing their opioids. Companies deny any wrongdoing.

more than 100,000 people were killed Due to drug overdoses in the US over the 12-month period ending April 2021, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – a nearly 30 percent increase in deaths.

In 2020 there were overdose deaths It rose to 93,000 The COVID-19 pandemic has eclipsed 72,000 drug deaths in the previous year, according to U.S. data.