Camden County awarded $32 million from J&J, three others in opioid suit
Last year, 290 people died from drug overdoses in Camden County — an improvement over 2019, when 329 people suffered fatal overdoses, but still a devastating statistic that doesn't begin to reflect the families left behind or the pain suffered by the people still struggling with addiction.
About 93 percent of those who suffered fatal overdoses had opioids in their system, a recent county survey found.
Efforts to help those suffering from opioid addiction get their lives back are getting a boost, thanks to a $641 million settlement between the State of New Jersey and drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson, as well as three pharmaceutical distributors: McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen.
The funds from the 2018 suit, one of several against pharmaceutical companies accused of downplaying the addictive properties of the drugs and misleading doctors and consumers about potential dangers, will be funneled to counties and municipalities for their mitigation efforts.
Camden County's share of the settlement totals $32 million, officials announced Tuesday, with the money earmarked for treatment, education and harm reduction.
A commission will oversee disbursement of the funds over the course of 20 years, with representatives from the prosecutor's office, a treatment provider, a person in recovery, a county representative and a treasurer, based on conditions set forth by the state in the settlement.
“This settlement is a step in the right direction and brings some level of accountability to the companies that provided the spark that set the fire to one of the largest public health crises in the last 100 years that continues to grow by the day,” Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr., who also serves as the liaison to the Camden County Addiction Awareness Task Force, said in a statement.
Cappelli added that the funds “will allow us to start properly funding an infrastructure that will assist our community in addressing and intervening with residents that are suffering under the strain of opioid use disorder."
Those efforts include making medically assisted treatment more accessible, adding case managers to municipal courts to help people accused of drug-related crimes and adding more peer recovery specialists and social service providers.
"Today is a bright spot for the counties that have suffered disparately from the flood of opioids into our region. Nevertheless, it does nothing to bring back the thousands of poor souls that have been a victim of this crisis over the last 10 years,” Cappelli added.
The county cited a National Institute for Drug Abuse report that said 2020 saw the largest increase in fatal overdoses since 1999 and a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that found approximately 57,000 people died from synthetic opioids (predominantly fentanyl) last year, compared with around 13,000 people who died from heroin overdoses.
Phaedra Trethan has been a reporter and editor in South Jersey since 2007 and has covered Camden and surrounding areas since 2015, concentrating on issues relating to quality of life and social justice for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. She's called South Jersey home since 1971. Contact her with feedback, news tips or questions at ptrethan@gannettnj.com, on Twitter @By_Phaedra, or by phone at 856.486-2417.
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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Camden County getting $32 million from Johnson & Johnson, others in opioid lawsuit
