Tampa - Thursday May 5, 2022: Attorney General Ashley Moody has announced that Florida has secured more than $680 million from Walgreens over the company’s role in the opioid crisis.
During a news conference in Tampa Thursday morning Moody said the settlement concludes the state’s historic opioid litigation which sought to hold major opioid distributors, manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies accountable for fueling the drug crisis which, Moody said, has led to the loss of 21 lives a day to opioid abuse in Florida alone.
Walgreens $680M settlement follows a four-week court battle over the company’s role. The pharmacy chain store is the 12th and final defendant pursued by the state. In all the state has secured a total of $3 billion as a result of the litigation.
Much of the funds secured from the 12 defendants will go to Florida cities and counties to fund their local abatement efforts over the next two decades. The Florida Attorney General’s Office has set up an online portal for local governments to sign on to the various opioid-related settlements. To learn more, click here.
View the Attorney General's News Conference on YouTube HERE >
“Before taking office, I vowed to seek accountability for the opioid crisis," said Attorney General Moody. "With this final action, I can now say we have successfully accomplished our mission. The more than $3 billion secured through years of determined legal work will go to communities devastated by opioids. Our hope is this money, paid out over the next two decades, will save lives and help Florida families and communities heal.”
A portion of the more than $680 million secured from Walgreens will be sent directly to Florida’s cities and counties. All these proceeds must be spent on opioid abatement, including prevention efforts, treatment or recovery services. Attorney General Moody negotiated an allocation with these localities that ensures settlement proceeds will be spent on curbing the opioid epidemic. More than 240 subdivisions agreed to previous allocation deals as part of signing onto prior terms. The remainder of the monies in the agreement will go to pay fees and costs incurred by the State and by the cities and counties.
To view the Walgreens agreement, click here.
In March, Attorney General Moody announced the securement of more than $870 million for opioid abatement from CVS Health Corporation, CVS Pharmacy, Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. and Allergan PLC. For more information about each of these actions, click here. Prior to the March announcement, Attorney General Moody secured a multibillion-dollar nationwide settlement with McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health, Inc., AmerisourceBergen Corp., and Johnson & Johnson, Inc. Florida will receive more than $1.6 billion, which must be used for remediation. Florida finalized a settlement with McKinsey & Company for $40 million in February 2021.
