What Will Sudbury Do With Opioid Settlement Funds? Forum Will Cover Windfall

SUDBURY, MA — Sudbury will receive more than $4o0,000 over the next decade from various settlements with businesses involved in the sale and distribution of opioids, and the town will soon discuss how the money will be spent with residents.

The state reached settlements in 2021 and 2022 with opioid makers including Johnson & Johnson, Teva and Allergan, and distributors and pharmacies including Walmart, CVS and Walgreens. The state will receive nearly $1 billion from the settlements, and about 40 percent of that will go to municipalities as compensation for the fallout of the ongoing opioid crisis in Massachusetts.

Sudbury will receive $405,137 by the final year of the settlements in 2038, but received over $100,000 as of September, according to state data. The funds must be used for services and initiatives related to preventing overdoses and addiction, including treatment, mental health treatment and recovery.

A forum on the use of settlement funds will take place May 2 at the Goodnow Library starting at 7 p.m. The panel discussion will feature Sudbury Health Director Vivian Zeng, Sudbury social worker Nina Handlers-Lurie and Learn2Cope manager Linda Rosenberg. There will also be a Zoom option for residents to tune in.