Published On: January 27, 2025Categories: Drugs and Crime, Press Release

HELENA – Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced today Montana is likely to receive over $16 million dollars from a settlement in principle with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family, Purdue’s owners, for the role they played in creating the opioid crisis.

Montana is projected to receive $16.57 million of the total $7.4 billion national settlement. The settlement money will be used for opioid abatement which could include programs like opioid use disorder treatment, providing Narcan to emergency or first responders, and drug treatment courts for defendants with opioid-related substance abuse problems or histories.

“The opioid crisis has taken thousands of lives and destroyed families and communities across the country. The money we get from this settlement will help stop further damage from being done and save lives,” Attorney General Knudsen said. “I will continue to do my part to hold those responsible for the crisis accountable.”

The settlement will resolve allegations that Purdue, under the leadership of the Sackler family, invented, manufactured, and aggressively marketed opioid products for decades, fueling opioid addiction and overdose deaths in Montana and across the country. In addition to the monetary payments, the settlement ends the Sacklers’ control of Purdue and their ability to sell opioids in the United States.

This is the second attempt at a deal with the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma to hold them accountable for their actions. Last summer, the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) rejected the first agreement forcing the parties involved to come back to the negotiating table. As a result, the Sackler family agreed to personally pay for harms they caused. The new agreement also provides Montana with nearly $4 million dollars more than the first agreement.

The opioid epidemic has led to hundreds of prescription overdose deaths in Montana over the last 20 years. These deaths—and the impacts on thousands of Montanans who have struggled with opioid addiction—have created considerable costs for our health care, child welfare, and criminal justice systems. More significant than the dollars and cents in damage to the state, the impact on opioid addition, substance use, and overdose deaths have torn families apart, damaged relationships, and devastated communities.

Attorney General Knudsen has been combatting the opioid crisis in Montana since taking office. In November, he announced a $4 million opioid settlement with Kroger. In September, he announced a program to put life-saving opioid reversal kits in middle and high schools across Montana. In February, he was part of national settlement in which the state received $1 million with Publicis Health to resolve investigations into the global marketing and communications in the prescription opioid crisis.

In 2022, he announced a massive $80 million settlement with the nation’s three major pharmaceutical distributors accountable for their roles in fueling the national opioid epidemic and the harm it has caused. In 2021, Montana received $1.9 million from a settlement with McKinsey & Company, one of the world’s largest consulting firms, regarding the company’s role in working for opioid companies, helping those companies promote their drugs, and profiting from the opioid epidemic.