Walmart has agreed to give Kentucky than $53 million for its role in furthering the opioid epidemic, according to Attorney General Daniel Cameron.
Cameron said Wednesday (12/21) the Commonwealth is among the states hardest hit by this scourge and this settlement is meant to help Kentuckians who have been harmed by the opioid pandemic.
The attorney general says the multi-million dollar agreement resolves allegations that the company contributed to the opioid epidemic by failing to implement appropriate policies, procedures, and controls relating to the dispensing of opioids at its stores.
Half of the funds are to be distributed to local governments and the other half to the Commonwealth. Once this settlement is final, Kentucky will stand to receive over $531 million total from companies for their role in the opioid epidemic.
Last year, U.S. opioid overdose deaths climbed to over 80,000, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report.
According to the Kentucky Office of Drug Control, 2,250 of the people who died from overdose deaths were Kentuckians with 90% of deaths from overdoses in the Commonwealth being related to opioids.
Source: WHAS11
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