Attorney General Still Negotiating Florida’s Take of Purdue Settlement
September 13th, 2019 by Jake StofanFlorida, along with nearly two dozen other states and thousands of cities and counties, is on the verge of scoring a major victory in the fight against the opioid crisis.
Earlier this year the Florida Legislature passed a law allowing the Attorney General access to information in the prescription drug monitoring database to aid the lawsuit, but Attorney General Ashley Moody says it hasn’t been easy to get to this point.
“If I could liken it to landing a 757 on a postage stamp,” said Moody.
A tentative settlement has been reached with one of the nation’s largest opioid manufacturers, Purdue Pharma, known for the now-infamous opioid drug Oxycontin.
The company manufactures about ten percent of the nation’s opioid supply.
The aim of the suit is to hold the company accountable for its roll in the opioid crisis.
“Alleging that this opioid epidemic that kills 17 people a day in Florida is man made and it was the result of actions of those defendants,” said Moody.
The details of the settlement aren’t known, but many sources are reporting it’s likely between $10 and $12 billion.
“We still have many details to iron out. We’re still in those negotiations at this moment, but we’re encouraged by this first step,” said Moody.
Purdue is just one of 12 companies Florida is suing in connection with the opioid crisis, which means this settlement is likely only the beginning.
The other companies include additional manufacturers and distributors Walgreens and CVS.
“And we are still aggressively pursuing the remaining 11 defendants in this case,” said Moody.
It’s still unclear exactly how much Florida is expected to receive from Purdue.
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