MONTAGUE — Ahead of a Jan. 2 deadline, the Montague Selectboard has endorsed the town’s participation in a $26 billion resolution with opioid distributors and manufacturers.
The settlement, announced by Attorney General Maura Healey on July 21, would have Massachusetts “receive more than $500 million,” according to a statement from Healey’s office. The agreement includes Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen — the nation’s largest drug distributors — and Johnson & Johnson, which manufactured and marketed opioids.
The three distributors will collectively pay up to $21 billion over 18 years, while Johnson & Johnson will pay up to $5 billion over nine years, with up to $3.7 billion paid during the first three years.
The agreement, according to the Attorney General’s Office, would resolve investigations and litigation over the companies’ roles in creating and fueling the opioid epidemic. In addition to Massachusetts, state negotiations were led by the attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas.
During a meeting earlier this week, Selectboard Clerk Matt Lord said, however, that “there is no expectation that Montague would ever receive any money.” He later added that if Montague were to be allocated funding, the town would likely work collaboratively with the Attorney General’s Office to create a spending plan. Healey’s office, he said, would have the final say in how money may be spent by the town.
Regardless of being unsure about payoff, Lord said, participation would be low-risk and high-reward, considering the town is unlikely to take any individual action against the opioid companies.
On Nov. 22, similar thinking led Gill to sign onto the settlement during its Selectboard meeting.
“Any money would be more money than we have received, and be able to put toward any of the opioid epidemic programs,” Gill Town Administrator Ray Purington said at the meeting.
“We’ve had some discussion about this in executive session in the Selectboard to discuss whether or not we want to participate,” Lord said of Montague’s decision. “At the end of those discussions, we felt it was worthwhile to bring this information to the public. … I personally will add that I think this participation makes sense.”
Lord said the agreement involves having Montague “waive any further action it would take against those parties.” It wouldn’t prevent private parties, whether they be businesses or individuals, in Montague from taking action against opioid companies themselves, however.
The notice from the Attorney General’s Office states this resolution “also requires significant industry changes that will help prevent this type of crisis from ever happening again,” adding that the state is working on an “Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund, to ensure that funds are spent on harm reduction, treatment and prevention.”
“I promised the people of Massachusetts that the opioid crisis would be a top priority, that we would hold the bad actors accountable, and that the billion-dollar companies who got rich off the suffering in our communities would pay,” Healey said in the statement. “This money will benefit every city and town in every part of our state.”
Selectboard Chair Rich Kuklewicz or Town Administrator Steve Ellis is anticipated to formally sign onto the settlement by the start of 2022.
“We are writing to remind you that the deadline for sign-ons is Jan. 2, 2022,” Healey’s office wrote in an email to the town, “though we recommend that you complete and submit the participation forms by mid-December to avoid holiday delays and ensure your municipality’s participation is properly recorded.”
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.