OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has rejected the state’s proposed part of a $26 billion settlement with the nation’s three largest drug distribution companies and drugmaker Johnson & Johnson related to the opioid addiction and overdose crisis. Ferguson said in a news release Wednesday that under the proposal companies who distributed opioids would pay Washington an estimated total of $527.5 million over 18 years but only if all the cities and counties opt in. Ferguson called the offer deficient, saying the amount of money isn’t enough to address the devastation caused by the opioid crisis. Ferguson says he plans to take his lawsuits against McKesson, Cardinal Health and Amerisource Bergen and against Johnson & Johnson to trial.
Washington AG rejects opioids settlement, wants trial
