The payout from the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma will go to addiction services and local government programs.
Oregon will receive $66 million for addiction services as part of a major pharmaceutical settlement.
Under the agreement, the Sackler family will pay $6.5 billion and give up control of its company, Purdue Pharma, which itself will pay $900 million. Purdue marketed the prescription drug OxyContin as a treatment for chronic pain, though the drug ultimately contributed to a nationwide addiction crisis.
The settlement was first announced in January after a prior agreement was tossed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a statement this week, Oregon attorney general Dan Rayfield wrote, “Oregon families deserve justice.”
“We will not stop fighting to hold opioid companies accountable for the devastation they’ve caused,” Rayfield writes. “Oregon families deserve justice, and every dollar we recover will go toward healing our communities and building a future free from this crisis.”
Oregon will receive the funds over a nine-year period. Of Oregon’s share, 45% will go to the Opioid Settlement Prevention, Treatment and Recovery Fund established by statute in 2022. The other 55% will be distributed to local opioid addiction programs.
Rayfield said the settlement, which has yet to be finalized, ensures Oregon communities get needed resources like drug treatment and prevention programs. “It’s about helping the communities that have carried the weight of the opioid crisis for too long and making sure the companies that helped cause this damage are held responsible. It means more money for resources for treatment, prevention, and support.”
The Sacklers and Purdue are far from the only interests forced to pay for their role in the opioid crisis. Since 2021, the state has received in total $645 million in opioid payouts from national lawsuits against businesses that profited from opioid addiction.
The AG’s office highlighted the work of Clackamas County, which has allocated funds for a broad array of programs and services involved in addiction treatment.
A retired prosecutor with the Oregon Department of Justice told Oregon Public Broadcasting in May that evidence in the case shows the Sackler family knew of the dangers associated with OxyContin and how it affected society. David Hart said the current settlement was too lenient to the Sackler family, calling them “particularly responsible.”
Oregon saw 1,480 overdose deaths in 2024, according to a legislative report by the Oregon Health Authority. And at least one opioid was identified as a cause of death in 76% of overdoses in 2023, the Oregon Capital Chronicle reported. That year, the nation saw the first decrease in overdose deaths since 2018 while Oregon set a new record.
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