The city of Longmont will decide Tuesday night whether or not to join other cities in vying for a portion of $400 million in settlement funds from litigation against pharmaceutical companies that allegedly helped fuel the country’s opioid epidemic.
The city council is being asked to secure the maximum amount of settlement funds by signing off on four documents Tuesday night. One is the Memorandum of Understanding that lays out the allocation of opioid recovery funds in Colorado, according to a city staff report.
At least 95% of participating local governments have to sign onto the settlement agreement to signal to the pharmaceutical companies that the settlements have wide acceptance, the staff report states.
It's unclear how much of the settlement money will get, because it depends on the amount of the final settlement, said Sandi Seader, Longmont assistant city manager, in an email.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser was among a bipartisan group of attorneys general that negotiated to a $26 billion settlement agreement in July with Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen — the nation’s three major pharmaceutical distributors — and Johnson & Johnson, which manufactured and marketed opioids, according to a new release from Weiser’s office.
The agreement would resolve the claims of the states and nearly 4,000 local governments across the country that have filed lawsuits in federal and state courts, the news release states. Ratification of the deal is contingent on a critical mass of states and local governments — 95% — joining in the settlement agreement, the news release states.
“The agreement,” the news release states, “would resolve investigations and litigation over the companies’ roles in creating and fueling the opioid epidemic.”
Colorado gets at least $300 million to address the opioid crisis, which is on top of the previous opioid settlements that will generate almost $100 million for Colorado, Weiser’s news release states.
There is no indication when Longmont would receive its cut of the settlement funds. It’s estimated that Longmont would receive about 14.6% of the Boulder County allocation determined for municipalities, the city staff report states.
A settlement with another company targeted in the litigation — Purdue Pharma — is caught up in its bankruptcy, the staff report states.
.All settlement funds “must be used for ‘Approved Purposes.’ — “a long and broad list that focuses on abatement strategies,” the staff report states. “These strategies emphasize prevention, treatment, and harm reduction.”
City staff members would look at current program funding gaps and make a recommendation to the city council on where to use the funds, Seader said. "But ultimately, it would be their decision," she said.
