The opioid marketing lawsuit settlement that’s up in the air isn’t the one Ottawa opted in on earlier this week. A judge says the deal with Purdue Pharma gives too much protection to the business owner family that profited from addiction. The Ottawa City Council went with the Johnson and Johnson group, from which $26 billion will be distributed to local governments in 42 states. City Attorney Timothy Cantlin says it’s not a done deal yet either.
States and thousands of local governments sued the opioid makers, claiming they deceptively marketed the pain relievers as safe and minimally addictive. The money is to compensate for the costs of crime, addiction treatment, and other problems the opioid epidemic caused.