Fifteen states including New York and Massachusetts have reached agreement with Purdue Pharma to settle some of the opioid lawsuits against the maker of prescription painkiller OxyContin, opening the way to $4.5 billion deal. The lawsuits are among thousands across the country against opioid makers, drug distributors and pharmacy chains for their role in the opioid epidemic. Nine other states—including California and the District of Columbia—that are suing Purdue continue to oppose the agreement, holding out for more money from the company, which is currently in bankruptcy proceedings. The deal was struck after Purdue agreed to an additional $50 million from members of the founding Sackler family, who are believed to worth more than $11 billion, as well as the release of millions of documents to be used in some 3,000 opioid-related lawsuits brought by cities, counties, states, and tribes. Several of those cases are currently at trial, including the first jury trial in New York.
Meanwhile, drug overdose deaths are on the rise last year in the Washington, D.C., area, with Black residents disproportionately effected. Health officials blame the increase—from 281 in 2019 to 411 last year—on fentanyl-laced heroin, marijuana and cocaine. More than four out of five individuals who die of overdose in the city are Black, according to city officials.
And finally, the governor of Rhode Island has signed into law a bill calling for a pilot project for controversial safe consumption sites in the state, where drug users can get receive medical care and clean needles. Several cities including San Francisco and Philadelphia have tried to open such harm reduction facilities, but were eventually stopped by Justice Department authorities. It’s not clear how the Biden administration would respond, although the president has indicated he generally supports harm reduction strategies. Safe sites do reduce fatalities, crime, and the spread of infectious diseases, but so far do not have a mandatory treatment component that makes them less effective.