LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Walmart has agreed to give Kentucky tens of millions of dollars for its role in furthering the opioid epidemic, according to Attorney General Daniel Cameron.
On Dec. 21, Cameron announced the state entered a more than $53 million agreement with the national retailer.
“The Commonwealth is among the states hardest hit by this scourge," he said. "I’m pleased that Walmart has come to the table to help fund our efforts to end the opioid crisis.”
Cameron goes on to say this settlement is meant to help Kentuckians who have been harmed by the opioid pandemic.
The attorney general says the multi-million dollar agreement "resolves allegations that the company contributed to the opioid epidemic by failing to implement appropriate policies, procedures, and controls relating to the dispensing of opioids at its stores."
Half of the funds are to be distributed to local governments and the other half to the Commonwealth. Once this settlement is final, Kentucky will stand to receive over $531 million total from companies for their role in the opioid epidemic.
Last year, U.S. opioid overdose deaths climbed to over 80,000, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report.
2,250 of the people who died from overdose deaths were Kentuckians, according to the Kentucky Office of Drug Control. 90% of deaths from overdoses in the Commonwealth were related to opioids.
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