LINCOLN, Neb. (KMTV) — On Friday, Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson announced that the state will receive $100 million to counteract the opioid crisis that has ravaged the nation. Funds will begin to be distributed in July.
The funds come as the final approval of a $26 billion agreement with three of the US's top pharmaceutical distributors, which are Johnson & Johnson, Cardinal, and McKesson. All of Nebraska's 93 counties, plus 16 municipalities, signed on to the agreement along with thousands of local governments across the nation in all 50 states plus two US territories.
The Office of the Attorney General of Nebraska said in its press release that it is the second-largest multistate agreement in U.S. history, second only to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.
“The Nebraska Coalition to End Opioid Misuse has been working and are actively preparing to provide these settlement funds to be used to bring treatment to those suffering from opioid addiction—funds intended to be used to bring healing and hope,” stated Attorney General Doug Peterson in the press release.
Nebraska's funds from the opioid agreement will be distributed over a period of 18 years, with the stipulation that 85% must go to the Nebraska Opioid Recovery Fund. All of the funds are intended to be disbursed to treatment options, prevention and other "evidence-based strategies to abate opioid use disorder and any co-occurring substance use disorder or mental health conditions throughout Nebraska."
The agreement is the result of three years of negotiations and includes further plans to systematically reduce opioid abuse by creating a central database to monitor opioid distributions and prevent the lobbying and promotion of opioids.
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