Lakewood To Sign Off On $26 Billion Opioid Settlement

LAKEWOOD, OH — Lakewood will sign off on settling a sweeping lawsuit against three opioid distributors, city council decided Tuesday during an emergency meeting.

Ohio, along with other states and communities, is considering settling a lawsuit against three distributors of opioids — McKesson, Amerisource Bergen, and Cardinal Health — accusing them of contributing to the overdose pandemic in the state. Before the settlement is approved, all parties must agree to the settlement, including Lakewood.

Lakewood is one of several cities that signed onto the lawsuit in March 2020 through the OneOhio consortium.

"I think about all the emergency runs our first responders have had to go on, and all the Narcan we've had to administer, to say nothing of all the lives lost because of all the irresponsibility" said Council President Dan O'Malley during the emergency meeting. "It will never be enough, but there may be some degree of justice here."

Added together, all of the named companies would pay $26 billion under the terms of the settlement. Ohio would receive approximately $800 million of that, and payments to individual cities and counties would begin in early 2022, according to city council documents.

Any funds received by Lakewood would need to be used for programs related to combating the opioid epidemic, like treatment programs, prevention strategies, substance abuse decrease, and related programs, according to Lakewood Law Director Brian Corrigan.

"I think this is a very good settlement," Corrigan said during Tuesday's council meeting.

Read more: Massive Opioid Settlement: Ohio Agrees To $26 Billion Settlement

The settlement is the result of an investigation led by several attorneys general, including Ohio's Dave Yost, into whether opioid distributors ignored questions about suspicious drug orders and whether Johnson & Johnson misled patients and doctors about the addictive nature of opioid-based drugs. The agreement ends the investigations and litigation against the companies, Yost said.

"We recognize the opioid crisis is a tremendously complex public health issue, and we have deep sympathy for everyone affected. This settlement will directly support state and local efforts to make meaningful progress in addressing the opioid crisis in the United States," said Michael Ullmann, executive vice president, general counsel, Johnson & Johnson.