Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced Tuesday that the state and local governments will receive nearly $41 million in a nationwide $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma.
The settlement, which was reached along with 54 other attorneys general in each U.S. state plus American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, resolved litigation against Purdue and the Sackler family, who owns Purdue, for their role in distributing opioids that allegedly helped fuel a nationwide addiction epidemic.
The state government, along with Mississippi’s municipal governments, will receive $40,958,248.92 distributed over the next 15 years.
“In Mississippi, the opioid epidemic has killed so many of our loved ones. These are loved mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors,” Fitch said in a statement. “This settlement is a step toward holding those who are accountable for the role they played in this epidemic and toward healing Mississippi. Together, we can address the harm already done and prevent more senseless deaths.”
According to Fitch’s office, the settlement was reached by way of Purdue and the Sacklers acknowledging their role in contributing to the epidemic with rampant production and “aggressive marketing of opioids” that spanned decades.
As part of the settlement, the Sacklers’ will also no longer own Purdue or being able to sell opioids in the U.S.
