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Onslow County votes to join national opioid settlements totaling $10.7 billion
Summary
The Onslow County Board of Commissioners voted to approve participation in three national opioid settlements — including Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family and nine smaller manufacturers — with distributions to counties to follow the state's allocation formula.
Onslow County commissioners voted Sept. 3 to approve the county’s participation in three national opioid settlements that together total about $10.7 billion in cash and treatment support.
Charles Ellis, an attorney representing municipalities in the litigation, told the board the settlements include a $1.5 billion payment from Purdue Pharma, $6.5 billion from the Sackler family and $1.2 billion from nine smaller manufacturers. Ellis said the sums include cash paid through the state and a portion earmarked as addiction-treatment medication that will be distributed to public hospitals under a state committee’s guidance.
The county’s participation authorizes Onslow to sign the bankruptcy plan and related settlement documents that route funds through the state. Ellis said the state attorney general and other counties have agreed to the settlements and that the distribution formula is the same previously used: payments to counties are based on population and measurements of opioid distribution into each county.
A motion to approve Onslow County’s participation in the proposed settlement was offered and seconded; commissioners voted in favor by voice vote and the motion carried.
A member of the public asked the board to consider a workshop to speed and smooth disbursement of settlement funds to local programs; county staff said the county can include an update and discussion in a future workshop so newer board members can review earlier distributions and current plans.
Why it matters: Counties will receive funds that must be used for opioid abatement and prevention under the state distribution process. The approvals on Sept. 3 allow Onslow County to be part of the statewide settlement implementation once the bankruptcy court and state approvals are final.
Details and next steps: Ellis said roughly $845 million of the smaller manufacturers’ settlement will be cash distributed like the Purdue and Sackler payments, and roughly $345 million will be medications for addiction treatment. The county’s share and schedule will be set after the state and bankruptcy processes are finalized and the state committee assigns the medication distribution to public hospitals. The board did not adopt any new spending plan at the Sept. 3 meeting and did not direct a specific timeline for local allocation beyond recommending a workshop to review distribution and use.
Provenance: Topic introduced when Charles Ellis presented the settlements (transcript approx. 00:02:58–00:07:05) and discussion/motion occurred immediately afterward (approx. 00:09:02–00:09:20).
