AG Yost pushes more local governments to join opioid settlement

Attorney General Dave Yost wants to give Ohio’s local governments more time to join the state in pursuing a unified legal settlement with the drug industry over the deadly toll from opioids (Source: “Yost: Give local governments more time to join in pursuing ‘all Ohio’ opioid settlement,” Columbus Dispatch, March 4, 2020).

Today (March 6) is the deadline for cities, counties, villages and townships to join the “all Ohio” effort, but Yost said Wednesday that “today, we don’t have enough to get to the table” in a bid to leverage a settlement with pharmaceutical companies and distributors.

Gov. Mike DeWine said the deadline was set by local government lawyers as a “target goal” and “is not really our deadline.” He added, “We’re certainly open to discussion ... What I would simply say is, we need to move on.”

Potential settlement funds would be distributed on the basis of opioid deaths per capita and other criteria, with 30% routed to local governments and 15% to Yost’s office. The money must be spent to battle opioid addiction and fund treatment and also can be used to cover past costs.

The remaining 55% of the money would endow a nonprofit foundation that would have 25 board members, including four state legislators. The foundation would fight opioid abuse and provide treatment funds, with the intent of banking the upfront cash and distributing regional grants from earnings.