The state of Connecticut is set to receive $11 million from the landmark $26 billion opioid distributor settlement, the office of Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced.
In total, the state will receive about $300 million over the next 18 years from the settlement with opioid distributors Cardinal, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and manufacturer Johnson & Johnson.
Officials said the money will go toward evidence-based strategies to eradicate the opioid epidemic in the Nutmeg State. That, officials said, includes funds directed toward opioid abatement, including expanding access to opioid use disorder prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery.
There will be a ceremony in Waterbury marking the announcement Monday, which will be attended by Tong, Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary, several legislators, Waterbury police and fire officials, and several parents who lost loved ones to opioids.
Recently approved state establishes an Opioid Settlement Fund that will be administered by the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee with assistance from the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. The committee must be formed by October, officials said. The money the state receives from the settlement must be deposited into the fund and can only be used to address the opioid crisis.
