RENO, Nevada (July 27, 2021) — The Washoe County Board of County Commissioners held a special meeting today to approve an agreement related to the allocation of settlement money from a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, distributors and dispensers of opioid-based drugs.
Opioid abuse has cost the county in numerous ways, most notably in the deaths and destruction of lives of those addicted to opioids. Washoe County joined the State of Nevada and other cities in the state to sue corporate defendants involved in manufacturing and distributing opioid drugs.
Today’s decision by the Board was to enter into an agreement with the State of Nevada and other local governments to distribute the monetary recovery from the various lawsuits dealing with the opioid crisis. The agreement consolidates the bargaining power of the governmental entities involved in ongoing opioid litigation.
Chair Bob Lucey said, “This board recognized when the opioid issue first came to light, and took a cohesive step forward to combat this. The opioid epidemic has been rampant here in Washoe County. We have witnessed it for many years, how challenging it’s been. What is important is that we continue to fight for this type of money to rectify the challenges this epidemic has had on our community.”
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