The city of Tacoma will receive almost $15 million over the next 14 years from a national legal settlement with pharmaceutical companies and distributors after several lawsuits brought forward evidence that the companies contributed to a nationwide opioid epidemic.
Tacoma joined one of the lawsuits in 2017, alleging that pharmaceutical companies that manufacture certain opioids have fueled Tacoma’s homelessness crisis and perpetuated the opioid epidemic. Tacoma is one of several jurisdictions in the state and across the country that are receiving similar funds – Pierce County has already received $6 million since 2022 and will continue to receive about $55 million through 2034.
The funds are part of a nationwide settlement that sought to resolve all similar litigation brought against several pharmaceutical companies, including Cardinal Health and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and its parent company Johnson & Johnson. The companies in total settled for several billions of dollars to be paid out over several years to states and other governing bodies to help tackle the opioid epidemic…