Denver, CO – Attorney General, Phil Weiser (D-CO), is involved in a $48 billion settlement discussion with Cardinal Health, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, Johnson & Johnson, and Teva. Colorado is also involved in its own case against Purdue Pharma.
The negotiated settlement will pay $22 billion in cash over eighteen years, and provide $26 billion for treatment medications over ten years. Colorado’s portion of the multi-billion dollar settlement is not yet specified. All 50 states are involved in the settlement.
“If this settlement is finalized, it will provide much needed resources for addiction and treatment services,” Weiser said in a written statement.
From: For months Colorado has quietly been in talks for another multibillion-dollar opioid settlement, by Jesse Paul
An influx of cash aimed at curbing the opioid epidemic in Colorado is good news. How the Democrats in the legislature likely plan to spend it is another matter entirely.
Back in July, Weiser signed onto a lawsuit in Philadelphia, backing a non-profit against the federal government. The case involved the “crackhouse statute” of the Controlled Substances Act. The statute makes it illegal to operate a facility for the manufacture, sale, or use of a controlled substance. A federal judge ruled in early October that the non-profit is not violating federal law.
This ruling, coupled with the potential funding windfall, is bad news for Colorado. It will embolden Democrats like Brittany Pettersen (D-Jefferson) who want to build heroin injection centers in the state.
Taxpayers strongly opposed plans for taxpayer-funded heroin injection centers during the legislative session. We expect they will strongly oppose enabling the use of deadly controlled substances in future sessions as well.
Expect to see heroin injection centers on the Democrat agenda in 2020.
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What’s next, supervised brothels? Um sir, you’re doing it wrong. When it comes to substance abuse, prohibition is the problem. If people want to throw their life away, let them. The cost of doing so should not fall on the taxpayers dime. The opioid epidemic… As doctors move to switch pain management patients to loony bin jim ssri anti depressant medicines instead. You know, the school shooter pills? Unlimited refills! I’d rather have opioids floating around. Be careful what you wish for.