The attorneys general of 18 states have agreed to a $3.1 billion settlement with Walmart over the retailer’s alleged role in the national opioid abuse epidemic.
“The opioid epidemic has had devastating impacts on millions of Americans, and we are hopeful that we will reach a final agreement on all terms to ensure that Walmart is held responsible for their role in it,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement on Thursday announcing the settlement.
Texas is expected to receive $168 million of the settlement amount. This is part of a larger case that has named CVS and Walgreens, along with numerous drugmakers like Allergan and Johnson & Johnson. Paxton said he has secured $2.4 billion to date for Texans from companies “that caused the opioid crisis.”
CVS and Walgreens announced last month that they will each pay $5 billion, NPR reported.
An estimated 500,000 people have died in the United States due to opioids during the past two decades.
DRUG OVERDOSES AMONG TEENS HAVE DOUBLED IN TWO YEARS
By settling the cases, retailers will resolve all pending lawsuits brought by local and state governments that they overprescribed medications, employed pharmacists with inadequate training, or did not have an acceptable supply of overdose reversal medication for sale, according to the settlement.
Walmart said in a Nov. 15 statement on its website that the company disputes the allegations.
“Walmart believes the settlement framework is in the best interest of all parties and will provide significant aid to communities across the country in the fight against the opioid crisis, with aid reaching state and local governments faster than any other nationwide opioid settlement to date,” the statement said.
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Other states that have worked with Texas on settlements include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.
