For Immediate Release: Monday, January 10, 2022 Contact: Nazneen Ahmed (919) 716-0060 All 100 North Carolina Counties Sign On to $26 Billion Opioid Agreement North Carolina Stands to Receive the Maximum of $750 Million for Opioid Treatment and Recovery Resources (RALEIGH) Attorney General Josh Stein, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, and the North Carolina League of Municipalities today announced a major milestone – all 100 North Carolina counties and 45 largest municipalities have signed on to the $26 billion multistate agreement with the nation’s three major pharmaceutical distributors – Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen – and Johnson & Johnson over the companies’ role in creating and fueling the nationwide opioid crisis. Fifty-one states and territories have signed onto this agreement since it was announced in July. As a result of these local governments signing on, North Carolina now stands to receive its full share of nearly $750 million when the deal is finalized. Additional support to encourage North Carolina governments to sign on was provided by: - Buncombe County Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara
- Burke County Commissioner Johnnie Carswell
- Rockingham County Commissioner Reece Pyrtle (Former Commissioner)
- Orange County Commissioner Sally Greene
- Martin County Commissioner Ronnie Smith
- Catawba County-Special Counsel Debra Bechtel
- Forsyth County Attorney Gordon Watkins
- Person County-Special Counsel Ron Aycock
- Moore County Attorney Misty Leland
- Guilford County Attorney Mark Payne (Retired)
- Graham County Manager Becky Garland (Former Manager)
- Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio
- Nash County Manager Zee Lamb (Retired)
- New Hanover County Manager Coudriet
- Dare County Manager Bobby Outten
More on the agreement with local governments in North Carolina is available here. Potential amounts for each NC county here: https://www.morepowerfulnc.org/opioid-settlements/distributor-jj-settlements/settlement-amounts-for-local-north-carolina-governments/ The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC), NC Department of Justice and NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) have partnered on a semi-monthly webinar series that provides information and resources on evidence-based, high-impact strategies that local governments may pursue to address the opioid epidemic utilizing funds from the national litigation settlement. The audience for this webinar series is for county leadership and their invited partners. The second webinar for the Strategies to Address the Opioid Epidemic series occurred on January 24th. Archived webinar recording Slide deck (PDF) Other online resources: January 10 Overview and Orientation webinar: Archived recording | slide deck (PDF) Opioid Verdict Puts Health Systems Next in Line for Lawsuits https://news.bloomberglaw.com/pharma-and-life-sciences/opioid-verdict-puts-health-systems-next-in-line-for-lawsuits?mkt_tok=ODUwLVRBQS01MTEAAAGBXUZl_T7FVnK5FS2FlMaN6bncEGHxZZedgWOPePKsZ6ydKhC4MZvGy1rPfdqJ3MquDrjTvlnmyjOuzGIt7ZTCNP9J4DGpU58jFuGNCm2p_-12 “The opioid class actions have moved from drug manufacturers to distributors to pharmacies by moving away from intentional deception” and to those that failed “to do more in response to red flags,” said Harry Nelson, founder at health and life sciences law firm Nelson Hardiman LLP. “We may see plaintiff lawyers zero in on health systems or large, managed care medical groups for the same issue—tolerating and not doing enough to curb the problem,” . | 
