Washington state reaches a nearly $150 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson over opioid crisis

By MANUEL VALDES and HALLIE GOLDEN
Associated Press

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington state attorney general has announced a $149.5 million settlement agreement with drugmaker Johnson & Johnson, more than four years after the state sued the company over its role in the opioid addiction crisis. Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s announcement Wednesday comes as opioid overdose deaths have risen across the state, with 2,048 in 2022. That’s more than twice as many deaths as there were in 2019. Under the deal, the state and local governments would have to spend $123.3 million to address the opioid crisis, including on substance abuse treatment, expanded access to overdose-reversal drugs and services that support pregnant women on substances.