In March 2022, the State of New Jersey reached agreement on a national lawsuit against four companies for their role in the opioid crisis. These lawsuits hold prescription opioid manufacturers, distributors, and retailers accountable for their rolein creating and fueling the opioid epidemic.

New Jersey will receive at least one-billion dollars over the course of 18 years beginning in 2022 from a federal opioid settlement. The state will receive fully half of these monies, the other half will be provided directly to participating local and municipal government agencies (municipalities with populations over 10,000 and all 21 New Jersey counties).

The funds will be divided between state and local municipalities, and used for programs that focus on treatment,
prevention, and other strategies to combat the opioid epidemic. They will also be spent on strategies to reduce the opioid epidemic’s ongoing harms to residents and communities.

The settlement consists of various agreements with the following: Johnson & Johnson, distributors (McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen), Malinckrodt PLC, Allergan, CVS, Teva, Walgreens, and Walmart.

These steps are a part of the Administration’s ongoing efforts to combat the opioid crisis. Under Governor Murphy’s leadership, New Jersey has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars towards addressing the opioid crisis, including creating over 30 evidence-based programs across eight departments, in addition to other initiatives.

Current Efforts include:

• Signing harm reduction and syringe decriminalization legislation into law, which has allowed agencies to expand harm reduction services throughout the state.
• Expanding the Medication-Assisted Treatment Initiative (MATI) to all seven of the state’s current harm reduction centers.
• Operating statewide naloxone distribution programs -- including Naloxone365 -- where individuals can receive naloxone freely and anonymously at participating pharmacies. Learn more at stopoverdoses.nj.gov
• Awarding contracts and grants to help opioid treatment providers expand access to mobile treatment programs and gain cultural competency training, help community organizations create recovery centers for people with substance use disorders, and help mental health providers treat individuals with co-occurring substance use disorders.
• Launching a pilot program to assist children and families affected by addiction.
• Expanding access to substance use disorder/opioid addiction treatment resources by making them available online and in American Sign Language.