Maine to get more money to battle opioid crisis

Maine may obtain greater than $66 million in extra opioid settlement funds, because of current agreements reached with CVS, Walgreens and Walmart.

A multistate coalition of attorneys common finalized agreements with the pharmacy chains, in accordance with a Monday press launch from Maine Lawyer Normal Aaron Frey.

“Our communities have suffered tremendously,” Frey stated within the launch. “These pharmacies should be held to account for his or her position, together with opioid producers and distributors, within the devastation opioids have prompted in Maine and throughout the nation.”

From January by way of October, there have been an estimated 565 deadly overdoses in Maine, in accordance with the Maine Drug Information Hub. In 2021, 631 Mainers died of a deadly overdose, the overwhelming majority of which have been tied to fentanyl.

Frey stated the settlement funds might be utilized in Maine for remedy, prevention and restoration efforts.

Precisely how a lot Maine will obtain relies upon, partly, if municipalities signal on.

The cash might be paid out over a number of years, with Walmart’s portion valued at $2.7 billion, Walgreens at $5.7 billion and CVS at $5 billion, in accordance with Frey’s workplace.

The settlements require the pharmacies on the three firms to observe, report and share information about suspicious exercise associated to opioid prescriptions.

Beforehand, the state introduced that it’ll obtain about $130 million as a part of authorized settlements with opioid producers and distributors.