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July 22, 2021

Opioid Crisis: States Reach $26 Billion Settlement with J&J and Drug Distributors
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The nation's three largest drug distributors and pharmaceutical giant
Johnson & Johnson have agreed to pay states $26 billion to settle
thousands of lawsuits over their role in the opioid crisis. A bipartisan
group of state attorneys general announced the agreement on Wednesday.
At least two states - Washington and West Virginia - have already
signaled they will not sign on to the settlement. As part of the
agreement, the companies do not have to acknowledge wrongdoing for their
role in the crisis, which has killed over 500,000 people since 1999.


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