Auburn will receive money as part of state’s opioid lawsuit settlement

Auburn is one of 125 eligible local governments that signed on to state Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s resolution with four companies that produced or sold opioids.

The city of Auburn will receive from Washington state an estimated $1,051,470.46 over the next 17 years as part of the latest opioid lawsuit settlement, according to the state attorney general’s office.

Auburn is one of 125 eligible local governments that signed on to state Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s resolution with four companies that produced or sold opioids. The resolution will bring $371.8 million to Washington state, and the payments start flowing this year, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.

The four resolutions are with:

CVS: $110.7 million to the state over 10 years

Walgreens: $120.3 million to the state over 15 years

Teva: $90.8 million to the state over the next 13 years

Allergan: $50 million to the state over the next seven years

Half of the money from these resolutions will be paid to eligible Washington cities like Auburn and counties, with the first payment to be made before the end of the year, according to the AG’s office. The remainder of the money goes to the state. All of this money must be used to fund opioid remediation.

“These resources are flowing to every corner of the state to address the fentanyl crisis and improve treatment options,” Ferguson said. “This will save lives and make our communities safer.”

As part of the resolutions, Allergan will stop selling opioids for a decade and Teva cannot market opioids. CVS and Walgreens will tightly monitor opioid prescriptions and prevent patients from seeking multiple prescriptions, according to the office.

When the Auburn Reporter reached out to the mayor’s office and to the city attorney’s office for information about what the city intended to do with the settlement money, Mayor Nancy Backus declined to provide information for this article and the attorney’s office did not return repeated phone calls.