Washington reaches $518M settlement with opioid distributors

By GENE JOHNSON
Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — Months into a complex trial over their role in flooding Washington with highly addictive painkillers, the nation’s three largest opioid distributors have agreed to pay the state $518 million. Most of the money will be directed toward easing the addiction epidemic. Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced the deal Tuesday. He says it’s worth tens of millions of dollars more than Washington would have received if it had joined a national settlement reached involving the distributors as well as Johnson & Johnson. The agreement still requires approval from a judge and Washington cities that pursued their own cases against distributors McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Corp.