Walgreens to pay state $102 million to settle opioid claims

Attorney General Daniel Cameron said Wednesday that Walgreens and its subsidiaries hves agreed to pay a $102 million settlement to the state for business practices that worsened the opioid epidemic.

Walgreens will pay the money over 15 years, and has agreed to monitor, report, and share data about suspicious activity related to opioid prescriptions, under the settlement in Boone Circuit Court.

“This settlement has been a long time coming,” Cameron said in a press release. “And while nothing can truly fix what the opioid epidemic has stolen from us, this money is a glimmer of hope for Kentucky—real dollars for real recovery.”

Under state law, half of opioid settlements with drug manufacturers, distributors and retailers go to cities and counties, and half go to the state, where the money is spent by a commission staffed by the Office of the Attorney General. Cameron, who lost the governor's race to Gov. Andy Beshear, will be succeded as attorney general Jan. 1 by another Republican, former U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman.

Beshear filed the lawsuit against Walgreens when he was attorney general.