Remember when we introduced you to the Sacklers? One of America’s wealthiest families that owns Purdue Pharma and was responsible for pushing opioid painkillers and lying about how they were non-addictive and safe? Well. They’re going for some serious Black Friday discounts on the pain and tragedy they’ve caused in our communities.
If you agree we deserve better, opens in a new windowsign & share our petition today.
Since September, Purdue Pharma has filed for bankruptcy and is settling out of court with most of the 2,700 states, local jurisdictions, and tribes suing them for fueling the opioid overdose crisis that has taken the lives of over 700,000 Americans over the last two decades (1). As part of the settlement deal, the Sackler family, owners of Purdue, offered to pay $10-12 billion of Purdue’s money split among all of the jurisdictions, sell their privately-owned European pharmaceutical company Mundipharma, give ownership of Purdue Pharma to a public trust, and allocate future OxyContin profits to go toward expanding treatment (2). Sound like a lot? It’s not. This is split over 1,350 jurisdictions who are agreeing to settle out of court – meaning less than $8 million going to each of them.
The most striking part of the proposed deal is their offer of only $3 billion over seven years, out of the more than $12 billion, of the family’s personal wealth that they have pocketed from Purdue. Half of those suing the Sacklers say that this is not nearly enough compensation for all of the devastation wrought on families and our economy, including New Jersey Attorney General Grewal (3). To add insult to injury, the Sacklers have been spending millions for years deflecting blame for their actions, and instead are blaming Americans who use their drugs for becoming addicted (4).
opens in a new windowClick here to sign & share our petition. We deserve a fair payout AND we must ensure that any money NJ wins in this unprecedented court case or settlement goes directly toward expanding access to evidence-based interventions such as Medically Assisted Treatment, especially for folks who are on Medicaid or are uninsured.
References:
(1) Purdue Pharma Accused of Fueling Opioid Crisis
(2) Judge Orders Pause in Opioid Litigation Against Purdue Pharma
(3) NJ is a Hard ‘No” On Proposed Purdue Pharma Opioid Lawsuit Settlement
(4) Inside Purdue Pharma Media Playbook: How It Planted the Opioid Anti-Story
by Eva Mancini