BALTIMORE, MD (Thursday, October 3, 2024) — Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott and the City of Baltimore today announced the terms of the settlement reached last month with Walgreens to resolve the City’s claims against the company for its role in fueling the opioid epidemic in Baltimore.
Per the agreement, Walgreens will pay $45 million by the end of this calendar year and the remainder by December 31, 2025. The City will be using the entirety of the settlement for opioid remediation, with $2 million for the Maryland Peer Advisory Council, $1 million for We Our Us, $1 million for On Our Own of Maryland, $1 million for the Maryland Coalition of Families, $15 million for the city to establish comprehensive outreach services that operate 24/7, $5 million for 988 education and outreach, and $10 million for Baltimore Comprehensive Overdose Response to End the Epidemic (BCORE). The remainder of the money received by the City will be managed in accordance with Mayor Scott's August 2024 executive order.
The City’s settlement with Walgreens is one of six that it has obtained stemming from its ongoing lawsuit against opioid distributors and manufacturers that caused the worst opioid epidemic in the nation. It followed settlements with Allergan and CVS for $45 million each, Teva for $80 million, and Cardinal Health for $152.5 million, bringing the total of announced recoveries from opioid defendants to $402.5 million. The City also settled with manufacturer Johnson & Johnson, under terms to be announced at a later date. The trial against the remaining defendants—distributors McKesson and AmerisourceBergen—began last month and is ongoing in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City.
The case is Mayor & City Council of Baltimore v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al., 24-C-18-000515 in the Circuit Court of Maryland for Baltimore City.
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