Opioid Settlement Nets Another $56 Million For Milwaukee County

By Isiah Holmes, Wisconsin Examiner

April 24, 2023

Milwaukee County has agreed to enter into a second, historic opioid settlement as part of one of three ongoing federal lawsuits. The $56 million settlement comes on the heels of another, $72 million settlement finalized in late 2021. Altogether, the funds represent a total recovery of $128 million for Milwaukee County. After attorney’s fees the net recovery will be $101 million, the largest amount recovered by any local government in Wisconsin’s history.

County Executive David Crowley praised the Office of Corporation Counsel for its crucial work holding “bad actors” accountable for seeding the opioid crisis.

“The opioid epidemic reaches communities of all kinds. The harm brought by the epidemic crosses all socio-economic, demographic and age ranges — there is no type of person who succumbs to opioid addiction.” Crowley said.

He added that “these dollars have the potential to be transformative for our community, especially at a time when we’ve seen the opioid problem and the suffering of county residents not just continue but intensify. Milwaukee County is committed to doing all we can to make the best use of these funds and get life-saving resources into the community.”

Milwaukee County recovered $56.8 million in 2021 from opioid distributors Cardinal, McKesson, AmericsourceBergen. A manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, was also included in the settlement. More than a year of negotiations with the attorney general, governor, the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee, every litigating local government in Wisconsin and national representatives shaped the settlement’s outcome.

“In my 20 years of practicing law, I’ve never seen anything like the facts in these cases. These were bad faith actors who knew these drugs were highly addictive and despite that knowledge they still made decisions to market larger doses and push them on people who didn’t need them knowing the outcomes would be fatal,” said Corporation Counsel Margaret Daun. “We can’t recover the lives lost, but we can recover much-needed funds to treat this blight on our community and save lives.”

Daun said that litigation involving other defendants including the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma L.P. is continuing, and more settlements are likely in the future. The Sackler family owned the company which invented OxyContin, and downplayed the risks of the drug.

“Everyone in our community knows someone affected by the scourge of the opioid epidemic. It’s derailed lives and taken loved ones from us far too soon. The damage continues to hit home in devastating ways. Recently, we saw 17 fatal drug overdoses in just 72 hours. Milwaukee County needs all possible resources to protect people and save lives. That’s why the County Board moved fast to approve this resolution,” said County Board Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson. “The opioid epidemic has left a wave of destruction in communities across the state and we’re now in a better position to fund critical services that will help save lives and stop suffering for residents and their loved ones.”

In 2021, there were 644 fatal drug overdose deaths across Milwaukee County. Those from last year are still being tallied by the medical examiner’s office. Each passing year also adds new dimensions to the overdose crisis. Whereas various forms of the synthetic opioid fentanyl have opened the floodgates for overdose deaths, other drugs like xylazine are becoming more prevalent. Unlike fentanyl, medications used to reverse an overdose like narcan don’t work on xylazine—which is a powerful animal tranquilizer. Drug overdose deaths outpace those caused by homicide, suicide and car accidents combined in Milwaukee County.

Earlier this year, Milwaukee County deployed its first harm reduction vending machine stocked with supplies like fentanyl testing strips and narcan. Community organizations may apply to not only host a vending machine, but also get involved in other harm reduction efforts in the county. The process, facilitated by the Department of Health & Human Services, will continue into the summer when proposal selections will be announced.

Other communities in Wisconsin have also moved to make harm reduction supplies more available. The Beloit School District is considering changing policies to allow narcan to be supplied on school grounds. The move has been compelled by an “increased number of youth overdoses,” according to meeting materials which call the considerations “imperative,” Beloit Daily News reported. It’s unclear, however, exactly how many overdoses have occurred on Beloit school campus grounds.

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