San Francisco is set to receive between $8 million and $12 million as part of a nationwide settlement involving the Sackler family, previously associated with Purdue Pharma, a pharmaceutical company that has faced legal scrutiny for its role in the opioid crisis.
This settlement is part of a larger agreement that involves 49 states, Washington, D.C., U.S. territories, tribal governments, and thousands of individuals who have collectively sued the Sacklers and Purdue.
The lawsuits were primarily based on accusations that Purdue aggressively marketed opioids while downplaying the significant risk of addiction, which has led to devastating consequences across the country.
Between 2015 and 2020, San Francisco experienced a staggering nearly 500 percent increase in opioid-related overdoses, underscoring the severity of the crisis in the city.
When the epidemic was well underway, allegations arose that the Sacklers attempted to shield their wealth by transferring vast sums from Purdue to themselves in an effort to evade liability.
This recent settlement is not the first instance of San Francisco receiving compensation related to the opioid epidemic; in 2018, the city attorney took legal action against notable defendants, including Walgreens, opioid manufacturers Allergan and Teva, and other distributors for the creation of a “public nuisance” due to the overabundance of prescription opioids in the city.
Most of the defendants, save for Walgreens, settled with the city for a combined amount of $114 million.
In 2022, a district judge determined that Walgreens could indeed be held liable in this crisis, resulting in approximately $92 million having been paid to the city thus far from a total judgment of $230 million.
The nationwide settlement announced on June 16 allocates $7.4 billion among all participating plaintiffs, with about $6.5 billion coming from the Sacklers and $900 million from Purdue Pharma, which filed for bankruptcy in 2019.
Notably, Oklahoma reached its own settlement in 2019 and did not partake in the current agreement.
For California, up to $440 million will be directed towards efforts combatting the opioid crisis, with the specific distribution determined by factors such as population size, the volume of opioids shipped, addiction rates, and overdose deaths in each state.
San Francisco’s allocation, estimated between $8 million to $12 million from the Sacklers, was presented to the Board of Supervisors by the city attorney’s office in late July.
This figure represents only the contribution from the Sacklers; additional funds may come from Purdue Pharma once its bankruptcy plan is finalized.
The final amount for San Francisco could vary as it will depend on how many other local governments opt in for the collective payout, with a deadline set for September 30.
The payments are structured to arrive over a 15-year period, with a significant portion paid within the initial three years.
As with other opioid settlements, the funds will be directed towards various initiatives aimed at addressing the opioid crisis in San Francisco.
City Attorney David Chiu emphasized, “No settlement can bring back the lives that were lost, but this agreement allows us to hold the Sacklers accountable for their role in the opioid crisis and gives San Francisco additional resources to combat the opioid epidemic.”
He expressed gratitude for the efforts of his legal team, outside counsel, and collaborating jurisdictions across the nation in bringing this settlement to fruition.
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