West Virginia has begun distributing payments from a fund created as a result of settlements made in lawsuits related to opioid use. The state has the highest rate of drug overdose deaths in the United States.

On Thursday, the Kanawha County Commission announced the receipt of a $2.9 million check. They will convene at their next meeting on January 11 to determine how to allocate the funds. Recently, the Mercer County Commission also received $1.9 million.

The allocation is a component of a previously agreed upon memorandum between state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and legal representatives for cities and counties in West Virginia. As stated in the agreement, the committee managing approximately $1 billion will disperse slightly less than three-quarters of the settlement funds, with a quarter being allocated directly to local communities and 3% being held in trust.

The Kanawha County Commission was informed by Morrisey that his office and the state auditor’s office have collaborated to guarantee appropriate use of the settlement funds. The entirety of the funds must be allocated towards addressing the opioid crisis, whether through initiatives like addiction treatment, recovery and prevention programs, or by providing support to law enforcement in their anti-drug efforts.

The state will receive payments from its settlement agreements on a staggered basis until at least 2036. The West Virginia First Foundation is projected to receive approximately $367 million within the next five years.

In the last four years, various entities such as drug makers, distributors, and pharmacies have agreed to pay a combined total of over $50 billion to governments in settlements. While some of these settlements have been on a national level, West Virginia has been proactive in pursuing its own lawsuits and has successfully reached more than twelve settlements.

The state announced a $68 million agreement in May with Kroger, the final defendant in a lawsuit that also involved Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, and Rite Aid. Walgreens settled for $83 million, Walmart for over $65 million, CVS for $82.5 million, and Rite Aid for a maximum of $30 million.

In September, the University of Charleston School of Pharmacy began receiving supplies of naloxone, the overdose-reversal medication, as part of the 2022 agreement between the state and Teva.