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Medford to Receive Over $830K as Part of State Attorney General’s Lawsuit Against Opioid Manufacturers

Medford to Receive Over $830K as Part of State Attorney General’s Lawsuit Against Opioid Manufacturers

Settlement will be used to address recovery and prevention challenges for opioid use

(MEDFORD) – The City of Medford will receive over $830,000 from a settlement of a statewide class action lawsuit filed by Attorney General Maura Healy against opioid distributors and manufacturers. Paid out over an 18-year period, the administration will use these funds to mitigate the effects of addiction, focusing on prevention, intervention, and supporting those in recovery.

In total, the lawsuit will award $500 million in payments from the distributors with 40 percent of the settlement distributed to various cities and towns in Massachusetts affected by the opioid epidemic. The other 60 percent will be allocated to the statewide Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund, which will be expended to mitigate the impacts of the opioid epidemic, including expanded access to prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery options.

“The opioid crisis has caused immense pain throughout our state and led to so many challenges and hardships for families,” Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn said. “It is my hope that with this settlement we will be able to increase our support services and provide more treatment options as well as prevention information to aid people dealing with substance use and its ramifications.”

Medford will use the settlement funds to reduce the impact of the opioid crisis through increased prevention programming, harm reduction offerings, access to treatment, and access to recovery programs. Under the direction of Medford’s Health Department and Office and Outreach and Prevention, plans and programs will be implemented with community stakeholders’ input, including people with lived experience. The City is awaiting additional guidance from the state on how to begin the process of allocating the funds from the settlement. The community will be involved in where to invest settlement funds and will help guide the city’s strategy and priorities for how to best mitigate the effects of opioid use.

“The proliferation of opioid prescriptions has caused irreparable harm to many families in Medford,” said Prevention and Outreach Manager Penny Funaiole. “The funds from this settlement will go a long way toward treating substance use and getting the necessary resources and tools into the hands of the people who need it most.”

For more information on the Medford Health Department’s Office of Prevention and Outreach, please contact 781-475-5646 or alagambina@medford-ma.gov.

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  • Health Department