The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
A Town Hall meeting to discuss how the Township will use it’s share of the $1 billion opioid settlement money is set for 7 p.m. December 18 in the Franklin Township Council Chamber, 475 DeMott Lane.
Township officials are inviting residents to come and give their opinions on how the money should be used to fight opioid addiction.
Special guests attending the Town Hall will be Mayor Phil Kramer, Councilwoman Kimberly Francois, Councilman Alex Kharazi, Public Safety Director Quovella Maeweather,and Township Manager Bob Vornlocker.
According to calculations provided by the state, Franklin is in line to receive more than $1.6 million through 2038.
New Jersey is among the states receiving the allocation as a result of entering “into major multi-state litigation and settlements that involve the opioid industry,” according to the State web site. “These settlements hold opioid manufacturers, distributors, and retailers accountable for their role in creating and fueling the opioid epidemic and for aggressively marketing prescription opioids while downplaying their risks to healthcare providers and the public.”
State officials announced in March 2022 that it would receive an initial payment of $641 million from “Johnson & Johnson, which manufactured opioids, and the country’s three largest pharmaceutical distributors – McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen,” according to the web site.
“The Attorney General in June 2022 further announced New Jersey would receive approximately $30 million in additional settlement funds from global pharmaceutical maker Mallinckrodt PLC,” according to the web site. “In August, he announced a multistate agreement in principle with opioid maker Endo International PLC and its lenders that would provide up to $450 million to participating states and local governments.”
“New Jersey in January 2023 announced that the state joined nationwide settlement agreements with pharmacy chains CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart, and drug makers Teva Pharmaceuticals and Allergan, to resolve claims involving their alleged roles in fomenting the country’s opioid crisis,” according to the web site.
“Funds made available through these agreements are scheduled to be paid through 2038 and are designed to fund state and local programs focused on treatment, prevention, and other strategies to combat the opioid epidemic,” according to the web site.
Half of the money will go to the state and half will go to counties and towns, according to the web site.
The money will be targeted “for programs that focus on treatment, prevention, and other strategies to combat the opioid epidemic,” according to the web site. It will “also be spent on strategies to reduce the opioid epidemic’s ongoing harms to residents and communities.”
According to a chart on the State web site, Franklin is entitled to 0.3236022203 percent of the $500,000,000 going to New Jersey towns and counties by 2038.
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