Warren County to receive $171,431 in opioid suit settlement

Published 1:40 pm Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Warren County is set to receive more than $170,000 pending the resolution of a settlement with a group of opioid manufacturers.

The Board of Supervisors on Monday approved and authorized Board President Jeff Holland to sign a memorandum of understanding for the Mississippi state and local government opioid litigation.

According to a Nov. 1 letter from the Attorney General’s office, Mississippi as a whole stands to get $200 million under the terms of the settlement with manufacturers Cardinal Health, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Johnson & Johnson.

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The money will be distributed by the state to the cities that have been involved as plaintiffs in the suit, with Warren County receiving $171,431 total. The money is part of a landmark national opioid settlement under negotiation between the four companies and attorneys representing state and local governments.

According to board attorney Blake Teller, the funds are for general use and do not have any requirements.

“It’s unrestricted funds, you can spend it on whatever,” Teller said. “They are going to encourage some items related to drug treatment, that kind of thing, but they will be unrestricted.”

In the lawsuit, Johnson & Johnson is a drug manufacturer, while the other three companies are distributors. The settlement would be paid out over 17 years, according to National Public Radio, which indicated a final deal would be sent to state and local governments that would decide whether to opt-in. The scale of payouts would be linked to the number of jurisdictions that agree to settle lawsuits.