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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 2 February 2022
Native American tribes reach $590 million opioid settlement

By GEOFF MULVIHILL and $75 million one the Chero-
FELICIA FONSECA kee Nation and the three
Associated Press distribution companies
Native American tribes reached last year ahead
have reached settlements of a trial.
over the toll of opioids total- The same four companies
ing $590 million with drug- are nearing the final stages
maker Johnson & Johnson of approval of settlements
and the country's three worth $26 billion with state
largest drug distribution and local governments
companies, according to a across the U.S. They have
court filing made Tuesday. until later this month to
The filing in U.S. District decide whether enough
Court in Cleveland lays government entities have
out the broad terms of the signed on to continue in
settlements with Johnson the deal.
& Johnson and distribution The money for tribes will
companies Amerisource- come out of the larger set-
Bergen, Cardinal Health tlements.
and McKesson. Some de- The tribal settlements are
tails are still being hashed part of about $40 billion
out. worth of settlements, pen-
All federally recognized This June 17, 2019, file photo shows 5-mg pills of Oxycodone. alties and fines rung up
tribes in the U.S. will be able Associated Press over the years by compa-
to participate in the settle- nies over their role in opi-
ments, even if they did not treatment services." The newly announced deals are separate from a oids. q
sue over opioids. And there More than 400 tribes and
could be settlements be- intertribal organizations
tween other firms in the in- representing about 80% of
dustry and tribes, many of tribal citizens have sued
which have been hit hard over opioids.
by the overdose crisis. New Brunswick, New Jer-
W. Ron Allen, chair of the sey-based Johnson &
Jamestown K'Klallam Tribe Johnson — whose opioids
in Sequim, Washington, included Duragesic and
called it a big deal for Nucynta but which has
tribes to reach their own stopped selling opioids —
settlement, in contrast with said in a statement Tues-
tobacco industry deals in day that the settlement is
the 1990s that left out Na- not an admission of liability
tive American groups. or wrongdoing. Cardinal,
Allen doesn't expect his based in Columbus, Ohio,
tribe of about 550 people declined to comment, and
to get much from the set- the other distributors did
tlement, but it will help in not immediately respond
its efforts to build a healing to requests for comment.
center that will address opi- Under the deal, Johnson &
oid addiction, he said. Johnson would pay $150
"Every penny counts, so million over two years. Am-
we'll take it and run with it," erisourceBergen, based in
he said. Conshohocken, Pennsyl-
One study cited in the set- vania; McKesson, based
tlement found that Native in Irving, Texas; and Cardi-
Americans have had the nal would contribute $440
highest per capita rate of million in total over seven
opioid overdose of any years.
population group in 2015. Each tribe could decide
"American Indians have whether to participate but
suffered the highest per would be required to use
capita rate of opioid over- the money to deal with the
dose and are more likely opioid epidemic.
than other group in the The deal would take effect
United States to die from when 95% of the tribes with
drug-induced deaths," said lawsuits against the com-
Douglas Yankton, chair panies agree to the settle-
of the Spirit Lake Nation in ment, said Tara Sutton, a
North Dakota, in a state- lawyer whose firm is repre-
ment. "The dollars that will senting 28 tribes.
flow to Tribes under this ini- Settlements are also in the
tial settlement will help fund works between tribes and
crucial, on-reservation, cul- other companies involved
turally appropriate opioid in opioids, Sutton said.