The Cobb Board of Commissioners on Thursday night passed a resolution expressing support for a national opioid settlement with several pharmaceutical companies that could result in $630 million coming to the state of Georgia.
Commissioners adopted the resolution (you can read it here) by a 4-1 vote that would authorize the county to settle litigation against McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health, Inc., AmerisourceBergen Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Janssen Pharmaceutica, Inc.
Voting against the resolution was Commissioner Keli Gambrill, who said that while lawsuits are ongoing, they’re doing nothing to stop opioids from “getting on the streets.”
She also expressed concerns that the county would be accepting settlement funds for programs that, when they run out, would need to be provided by the county.
“This is a very serious issue in our community today,” Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said, “and we are in a position to help our own citizens.
“We can sit and do nothing and think that helps, or we can do something and see how that helps. I would ask us to lean on the latter.”
That settlement includes a memorandum of understanding that would create a dedicated bank account for settlement proceeds. Cobb’s litigation is part of a $26 billion global opioid settlement deal.
A release issued by Cobb County government Friday said the amount of money the county could get is yet to be determined. Local governments in Georgia would get 25 percent of the funding, and the state government would get 75 percent, according to the county release.
Cobb County Attorney William Rowling said most of the funds the county would receive would be used for programs dealing with future impacts of the opioid crisis.
The county release cited Georgia Department of Public Health figures showing a 207 percent increase in opioid-related overdoses between 2010 and 2020.
Cobb has had some of the highest opioids-related deaths in Georgia in recent years, and in January 2023 the county will be the venue for one of several opioids trials. The litigation was filed in 2018 against pharmacy chain defendants that include CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Rite Aid, Kroger and Publix.
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