Multnomah County expects a $4.7 million payout as part of a national opioid settlement, officials announced Thursday.
That sum, which will be doled out over nine years, is part of a $7.4 billion settlement reached in January against the Sackler family and their company, Purdue Pharma, for their role in fueling the opioid crisis.
“While no amount of money can ever replace the lives lost or repair the devastation caused, these settlement dollars are a crucial resource to help our community heal,” county Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said in a statement.
The county said it will use the settlement dollars to fund addiction prevention and recovery programs, like recovery beds, substance use disorder treatment and the distribution of naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal medication.
Oregon is expected to get up to $66 million as part of the settlement, spurred after thousands of lawsuits alleged that the prescription painkiller OxyContin, manufactured by Purdue Pharma, caused a widespread opioid addiction crisis in the U.S.
The settlement was negotiated by 15 states, including Oregon. Over half of that money will go to cities and counties to support opioid addiction treatment, prevention and recovery programs, officials have said.
Multnomah County has received around $50 million to date from settlements of lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, distributors and retailers, according to a press release.
“This additional funding is a critical piece of our ongoing response to the opioid crisis that has devastated families and communities across Multnomah County,” Health Department Director Rachael Banks said in a statement.