The Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, the company that produces OxyContin, increased their settlement proposal from $4.3 to $6 billion.
After 20 years and over 500,000 deaths lost to the opioid crisis, the Sackler family is being held accountable for their destructive role.
However, under the new settlement proposal, additional money was not allotted to the families and victims of the crisis. Advocate and author Ryan Hampton said,
The government’s pot will continue to get larger as additional settlement negotiations may continue, yet there’s no increase for direct payments to families and survivors. It’s dead wrong and unjust.
Purdue filed for bankruptcy in 2019 in an attempt to avert thousands of lawsuits stemming from the company’s opioid marketing schemes.
If the settlement is made, the Sackler family will be protected from future opioid-related lawsuits.
According to the Associated Press,
The offer of extra cash was detailed in a report filed Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court by a federal mediator who asked the court to let her have until the end of the month to broker a new settlement.
Depending on the profits made from selling their pharmaceutical companies, the Sackler family will pay out the settlement within 18 years.
Six Billion? If used correctly, that would go a long way toward rehab for those directly affected. But, I have not heard much about the money being used for this purpose.
Having had a son who became addicted, I know that current rehab facilities are costly, and do not house their patients long enough to help insure positive outcomes.
This money would help revamp the entire system, and update treatment to the latest standards needed.
They should be thrown in prison and all assets seized.