BERKELEY – The township had joined a class action suit several years ago that is beginning to bring rewards.
The lawsuit claimed certain pharmaceutical companies knew how addictive their drugs were. It also stated that they advertised that the drugs were a good treatment for ailments that they were not made for, and the companies pushed doctors to prescribe them.
Police and medical experts have stated that the current crisis of addiction and overdoses stems in part from people who become addicted to painkillers and then need a stronger fix.
According to the township, the distributors (McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen) are paying up to $21 billion over the course of 18 years, split between all the partners in the suit. Manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson, will pay up to $5 billion over no more than nine years.
Going forward, the settlement also changes the way opioids can be marketed, sold, and distributed.
Of the total settlement amount of $26 billion, approximately $22.7 billion will be doled out to states, counties and municipalities. These entities have to use this money “to remediate and abate the impacts of the opioid crisis.”
This money is to be split between all the governmental entities that took part in the lawsuit. It is unknown at this time how much each town will get, or when this will happen. The settlement was reached in July of 2021 so the fact that towns are required to take the first step about half a year later indicates that this will not be a quick process, but it is already underway. A recent article from the Portland Press Herald reported that Maine will be getting $130 million over the course of 18 years.
In August, Acting Attorney General Andrew Bruck said New Jersey could get $600 million. The attorney general’s office said that the payout is being determined by an agreement among the states using a formula that measures the impact of the crisis on each state using figures such as the number of overdose deaths, the number of residents with substance use disorder, the quantity of opioids delivered, and the population of the state.
The Berkeley Township Council passed a resolution at its most recent meeting to opt in to the settlement.
“We’re pretty excited,” Mayor Carmen Amato said, noting that Berkeley was one of the first local municipalities to join the lawsuit.
“Ultimately, we won’t know how much we will receive,” he said. The money will go to the state and the state will distribute it.
Township Attorney Lauren Staiger said that the money has to go toward specific things in town, as a result of losses from the drug epidemic. Amato said that it could go to the Municipal Alliance, DARE, or a police program.
The settlement comes from civil claims, not criminal.
