Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today announced that 55 attorneys general, representing all eligible states and US territories, agreed to sign on to a $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family. The Sackler family has also informed the attorneys general of its plan to proceed with the settlement, which would resolve litigation against Purdue and the Sacklers for their role in creating and worsening the opioid crisis across the country. The District will receive over $21 million from this settlement over the next two years.
“Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family knew full well how addictive and dangerous their opioid drugs were, yet falsely marketed those drugs as safe. Their deceptive conduct, while generating billions of dollars of corporate profits and shareholder distributions, exacted a massive human toll on communities across the District and country,” said Attorney General Schwalb. “Today, we are holding the Sacklers and their company financially accountable for the central role they played in fueling the opioid epidemic.”
Under the Sacklers’ ownership, Purdue made and aggressively marketed opioid products for decades, fueling the largest drug crisis in the nation’s history. Purdue changed the public’s perception of opioids by deceptively marketing the drugs as safe and aggressively promoting long-term and high-dose usage. The settlement ends the Sacklers’ control of Purdue and their ability to sell opioids in the United States. Communities across the country will directly receive funds over the next 15 years to support addiction treatment, prevention, and recovery. This settlement in principle is the nation’s largest settlement to date with the companies and individuals responsible for the opioid crisis.
Most of the settlement funds will be distributed in the first three years. The Sacklers will pay $1.5 billion and Purdue will pay roughly $900 million in the first payment, followed by $500 million after one year, an additional $500 million after two years, and $400 million after three years. The District will receive its entire share of the settlement funds—$19.58 million—with the first payment. It is tentatively scheduled to receive approximately $1.5 million in attorneys’ fees the following year.
Like prior opioid settlements, the settlement with Purdue and the Sacklers will involve resolution of legal claims by state and local governments. The local government sign-on and voting solicitation process for this settlement moving forward will be contingent on bankruptcy court approval. A hearing is scheduled on that matter in the coming days.
Including this new settlement, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has obtained monetary settlements for the District totaling nearly $104 million from companies that helped fuel the opioid epidemic—funds that will support opioid overdose prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery.
Attorney General Schwalb is joined in securing this settlement in principle by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Impact of the Opioid Epidemic in DC
Between 2021 and 2024, 1,740 people died from opioid overdoses in the District. This settlement is the latest development in OAG’s broad efforts to address the opioid crisis, hold those responsible for it accountable, and secure relief for affected District residents. To date, OAG has secured nearly $104 million for the District via settlements with drug manufacturers, distributors, and others for their roles in creating and profiting from the crisis.
The District’s Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission was established in 2022 to make recommendations for how to best use the anticipated $104 million in settlement funds to address the harm caused by the opioid epidemic. After five years of rising annual opioid fatalities in DC, opioid deaths fell in 2024, when there were 344 opioid-related fatal overdoses—down from 516 the previous year. In the first two months of 2025, there were 41 fatal opioid overdoses, a 27% decrease year-to-date from the prior year.