Johnson & Johnson $123M Settlement Heads to WA to Combat Opioid Epidemic

63 people have died of drug overdoses so far this year in Yakima County but money is on the way to the state to help fight the ongoing opioid crisis. Johnson & Johnson is making a lump sum payment of $123 million to Washington state as part of an opioid settlement.

YAKIMA, GRANDVIEW AND SUNNYSIDE WILL GET SETTLEMENT MONEY

Attorney General Bob Ferguson says the money will be split evenly between state, city, and county governments with thousands of dollars coming to Yakima County.
In May the Yakima City Council talked about using the funding that's expected to arrive later this summer. The funding will come from the Johnson and Johnson settlement as well as other suits totaling $650 million. The money is not only coming to Yakima but also Sunnyside and Grandview. City councils are now deciding how to use the funding.

PROGRAMS AND NARCAN AVAILABILITY WILL INCREASE

The money will be used for programs and services to help save lives including purchasing more Naloxone or Narcan available in vending machines in Yakima and Toppenish.
J&J is one of several companies paying for its role in the opioid crisis, with a total of $1.3 billion coming to the state. Local governments can decide how to spend settlement their money, but it must be used to combat the opioid and fentanyl epidemics.

LIFE SAVING NALOXONE IS ALREADY AVAILABLE IN VENDING MACHINES

Naloxone is available at area pharmacies as well as in vending machines located in Toppenish and Yakima.  The district has partnered with OIC of Yakima (Opportunities Industrialization Center) on Fruitvale Blvd. and Yakamart on Fort Road in Toppenish to place the machines in those locations. The vending machines are also available at the Yakima Health District offices.

DON'T WORRY ABOUT HELPING OTHERS IN NEED

If you help someone local authorities say don't be concerned because the state's Good Samaritan Law protects anyone "who seeks medical assistance for a drug overdose against drug possession charges and protects anyone who administers naloxone."

THE NUMBER OF OVERDOSE DEATHS ARE GROWING

Yakima County Coroner Jim Curtice says the 63 people who have died of overdoses in Yakima County so far this year surpasses the number of 44 at this same time last year.