Woodbury Joins Opioid Settlements Worth Up To $296M For MN

WOODBURY, MN — Woodbury is one of more than 200 local governments across Minnesota that have signed on to participate in a $26 billion nationwide settlement with an opioid manufacturer and distributors.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison joined the 11-figure settlement in July, with the state able to claim up to $296 million over 18 years as part of the agreements to end lawsuits against opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and the three major distributors in the U.S. — Cardinal Health, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen.

“No amount of money will ever be enough to make up for the damage and destruction caused by these companies, but these historic agreements are at least a measure of accountability, if not justice,” Ellison said Dec. 8 in a letter to elected officials throughout Minnesota.

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States had to sign onto the settlement agreements by mid-August, while local governments in participating states had until Jan. 2 to join.

Tribal nations are negotiating separate settlements with Johnson & Johnson and the three distributors, according to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.

The Woodbury City Council adopted a resolution to join the settlements at a 13-minute special meeting Dec. 16.

City Attorney Scott Riggs told council members that a final amount for Woodbury has not yet been determined and that it will take “some time” for funds to be paid out, according to minutes from the meeting.

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The Washington County Board of Commissioners also voted in December to join the settlements. The board said it will use the county’s settlement money to support social service agencies through the Opiate Epidemic Response Fund.

Payments could be received as soon as April, county officials said.

Under the terms of the settlement, the three distributors must pay up to $21 billion over 18 years, according to the Minnesota Attorney General's Office. Johnson & Johnson will pay up to $5 billion over nine years, with up to 75 percent of that to be paid during the first three years of the agreement.

Most of the money is earmarked for opioid treatment and prevention in states that joined the settlements.

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Participating cities and counties could split up to $222 million of Minnesota’s settlement funds, with the state to spend the remaining money on opioid abatement, according to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.

Almost 5,500 Minnesotans died from opioid overdoses from 2000-2020, according to the Department of Health.

Opioid-related deaths in Minnesota reached an all-time high — 678 — in 2020, a 59 percent increase from the 427 deaths recorded in 2019, public health data shows.