They immediately passed a law giving themselves the power to appropriate any future settlement money. When Purdue Pharma settled with the state in March for $270 million, Oklahoma’s attorney general earmarked $200 million for an addiction treatment center. Opioid settlement money has been mismanaged as well. And North Carolina brazenly spent 75% of its settlement money to bolster tobacco production, according to the American Lung Association. States spent just 30% of the money on health care initiatives of any kind, with tobacco control receiving a comparative pittance. A 2007 audit from the Government Accountability Office found that states used 23% of tobacco settlement funds to cover budget deficits. But most states have mismanaged the money. So far, the companies have paid $126 billion. Four tobacco companies settled lawsuits with 46 states. The Master Settlement Agreement of 1998 began a troubling pattern of state governments ignoring the needs of victims. Unfortunately, if recent opioid and tobacco settlements are any indication, victims and their loved ones may never see a dime. It’s critical to direct most of these funds to victims, including innocent newborns. The opioid manufacturers that fueled this ongoing epidemic, including Ox圜ontin maker Purdue Pharma, will soon pay billions of dollars to settle the claims of parents, grandparents and guardians who either lost loved ones or care for children with NAS.
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