AG Nessel, Genesee County law enforcement tout historic opioid settlements in Flint - WJRT
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FLINT, Mich. (WJRT) - The state of Michigan is expected to receive close to $800 million over the next 18 years to fight the ongoing opioid epidemic.
The money is part of a historic settlement among the nation's top three pharmaceutical companies for their role in the opioid crisis.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and law enforcement from Genesee County touted the settlement in Flint and what it will mean for the city, county, and state going forward on Monday.
Cardinal, AmerisourceBergen and McKesson pharmaceuticals along with opioid manufacturer Johnson and Johnson will begin making payments to a national administrator the beginning of April.
Counties and local municipalities in Michigan could start seeing payments by the second or third quarter this year.
"I think this will at least be the beginning of our effort to really be able to treat those that are afflicted and to make sure that we're not creating more addicts as a result," said Dana Nessel, Michigan attorney general.
The state is set to receive $776 million over the next 18 years. Half of that will go directly to counties, cities, townships and other municipalities that opted into the settlement.
The other half of the settlement will be appropriated through the state legislature.
The AG is urging lawmakers to act when the state starts receiving its share of the settlement.
"It's not going to help anybody sitting there in a bank account that's controlled by the legislature. We need that money to go to places and to the people that need it the most."
There are a number of ways municipalities will be able to spend their allotted portion of the settlement. That can be through expanded training of Narcan for first responders, schools and other groups, more awareness and media campaigns, prevention programs, or even pumping more money into drug court programs, something that's been very successful in Genesee County.
"If it hadn't been for the opioid addiction -- these folks wouldn't have touched the criminal justice system. These are people who made a mistake. They're not criminals. They just made a mistake and that mistake was caused by their opioid addiction," said David Leyton, Genesee County prosecutor.
The national agreement settles more than 4,000 claims from state and local governments across the country.
It is the second largest multistate agreement in US history, second to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.
source: https://www.abc12.com/news/ag-nessel-genesee-county-law-enforcement-tout-historic-opioid-settlements-in-flint/article_d109c392-9e5b-11ec-9234-47ae429fca95.html
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