{"id":21318,"date":"2022-03-04T05:29:21","date_gmt":"2022-03-04T10:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=21318"},"modified":"2022-03-04T05:29:21","modified_gmt":"2022-03-04T10:29:21","slug":"sackler-family-to-pay-6bn-for-role-in-us-opioid-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2022\/03\/04\/sackler-family-to-pay-6bn-for-role-in-us-opioid-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Sackler family to pay $6bn for role in US opioid crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The wealthy Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, is set to pay $6bn (\u00a34.5bn) for its role in America’s opioid epidemic under a new deal.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The sum is nearly $1.7bn more than a previous settlement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Purdue, which filed for bankruptcy in 2019 amid thousands of lawsuits, made drugs like OxyContin, and is blamed for fuelling the opioid crisis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Addiction to both legal and illegal opioid painkillers has been a serious, ongoing problem in the US.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The country saw nearly half a million deaths from overdoses between 1999 and 2019, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Biden pledged to make fighting what he called “the opioid epidemic” a top priority.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In 2020, Purdue pleaded guilty to criminal charges over its marketing of OxyContin, a painkiller it knew was addictive and being widely abused.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Some of the Sackler family have denied wrongdoing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A previous settlement against them, reached in September 2021, was appealed by eight US states.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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As part of the new deal, the family is protected from all current and future civil claims. But the deal does not protect them from potential criminal cases.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The $6bn settlement will largely be used to fund opioid treatment and prevention programmes in various states.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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