On Friday, Attorney General Phil Weiser announced the final approval of $17.3 billion in national opioid agreements with drug makers Teva and Allergan and pharmacies CVS and Walgreens.
Following state sign-on and subdivision sign-on periods, the companies committed to the deal and will start releasing funds to a national administrator later this summer. Money is expected to start flowing to state and local governments by the end of 2023.
Colorado will receive approximately $270 million over 15 years from these recent settlements, which is in addition to the approximately $400 million Colorado has begun receiving from prior opioid settlements.
Boulder County will receive approximately $17.1 million from the settlements over the next 18 years, according to the Regional Fund dashboard. Longmont is to receive $589,389 of that, which is part of the regional allocations for all of Boulder County.
“Holding the companies that created and fueled the opioid crisis responsible continues to be a top priority for me and my team,” Weiser said. “Just like with previous settlements secured by our department and other attorneys general across the country, this money will go directly towards supporting the people and communities in Colorado who continue to battle the harms of drug addiction and misuse.”
The settlement also prohibits Teva from engaging in opioid marketing and requires the company to ensure systems are in place to prevent drug misuse. Allergan is required to stop selling opioids for the next 10 years.
CVS and Walgreens have agreed to monitor, report and share data about suspicious activity related to opioid prescriptions. These provisions in the settlement are meant to ensure a crisis like this does not happen again.
