New Jersey entered into major multistate litigation and settlements that involve the opioid industry. These settlements hold opioid manufacturers, distributors, and retailers accountable for their role in creating and fueling the opioid epidemic and for aggressively marketing prescription opioids while downplaying their risks to healthcare providers and the public.

New Jersey announced in March 2022 that it will receive an initial $641 million from settlements with Johnson & Johnson, which manufactured opioids, and the country’s three largest pharmaceutical distributors – McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen.

The Attorney General in June 2022 further announced New Jersey would receive approximately $30 million in additional settlement funds from global pharmaceutical maker Mallinckrodt PLC. In August, he announced a multistate agreement in principle with opioid maker Endo International PLC and its lenders that would provide up to $450 million to participating states and local governments.   

New Jersey in January 2023 announced that the state joined nationwide settlement agreements with pharmacy chains CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart, and drug makers Teva Pharmaceuticals and Allergan, to resolve claims involving their alleged roles in fomenting the country’s opioid crisis.

Funds made available through these agreements are scheduled to be paid through 2038 and are designed to fund state and local programs focused on treatment, prevention, and other strategies to combat the opioid epidemic.

Almost all of the funds will be divided evenly - with 50 percent going to the state and 50 percent going to eligible counties and municipalities, also known as subdivisions - and spent on strategies to reduce the opioid epidemic’s ongoing harms to residents and communities. 

The following resources offer more information:

• National Opioids Settlement
• Distributor Master Settlement Agreement
• Janssen Settlement Agreement

New Jersey will receive at least $1 billion over 18 payments through 2038 as part of several national opioid settlements.  The state will receive fully half of these monies; the other half will be provided directly to 262 participating eligible county and local governments (municipalities with populations more than 10,000 and all 21 New Jersey counties).  These county and local governments are referred to as subdivisions. 

The funds will be divided between state and local municipalities, and used for programs that focus on treatment, prevention, and other strategies to combat the opioid epidemic. They will also be spent on strategies to reduce the opioid epidemic’s ongoing harms to residents and communities. 

New Jersey anticipates receiving additional opioid settlement funds from other lawsuits, however; the timing, amount, and allowable uses of these funds are currently unknown.

New Jersey and qualifying municipalities and counties started receiving opioid settlement payments in 2022. Payments occur with varying degrees of annual amounts based on the different settlement agreements. All payments are scheduled to end in 2038.

These funds must be used for opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery strategies that are listed in the settlement agreements. They may not be used for other purposes. Allowable uses include, but are not limited to:

• Treatment of opioid use disorder
• Recovery supports
• Prevention
• Harm reduction
• Education and awareness
• Evidence-based data collection and research; and
• Serving specialty populations (pregnant and postpartum persons; justice-involved; underserved)

The New Jersey Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund Advisory Council will help advise the state on how the funds are used. The Council began meeting monthly in February 2023.

The Department of Human Services is the designated lead agency for the state for purposes of directing the disbursement and allocation of the state’s share of any monies that are allocated to or otherwise received by the state as a result of a national opioid litigation resolution. They are also responsible for monitoring the use of monies disbursed to counties or municipalities under a national opioid litigation resolution.

In New Jersey, 262 subdivisions (counties and municipalities) are participating in the agreements.  This includes all 21 counties. The complete list can be found here: Eligible & Participating Counties and Municipalities

As part of the agreements, 50 percent of the proceeds will go directly to the state and 50 percent to the participating eligible subdivisions.

County departments, divisions, or agencies that include the County Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Director will serve as the lead agency responsible for county abatement funds and reporting responsibilities (See State Subdivision Agreement, C.3).

No amount of such monies shall be used to reimburse the state or any of its counties or municipalities for past expenditures.

Each county is required to establish a council to provide input, advice, and recommendations on the disbursement of settlement monies. A “County Advisory Council” must include:

• A public member who possesses an expertise in substance use disorder treatment or prevention;
• A public member who is a representative of a provider of behavioral health or substance use disorder treatment in the community;
• A public member who has personal experience with substance use addiction issues;
• The county prosecutor, or a designee; and
• An individual with the subdivision who is authorized to appropriate funds on behalf of the governing body, or designee.

The National Opioid Settlement provided an allocation formula based on population and public health metrics to determine how much funding each eligible subdivision would receive. Eligible & Participating Counties and Municipalities

The National Opioid Settlement developed a model to determine how to allocate settlement funds to states and subdivision jurisdictions. The model was intended to allocate settlement funds proportionately to where the opioid crisis has caused harm.

The allocation model used the following national data points, adjusting for population:

1. The amount of opioids shipped to the state;
2. The number of opioid-related deaths that occurred in the state; and
3. The number of people who suffered opioid use disorder in the state

Additional adjustments were made to reflect the severity of impact because the oversupply of opioids had more damaging effects in some jurisdictions than in others.

Visit the National Opioid Settlement website for more information about the allocation model.

Yes, counties and municipalities (subdivisions) are also receiving payments at the same pace and time through 2038 from the Subdivision Fund. These payment dates differ for each settlement agreement.

Funds going to both the state and the local governments (subdivisions) must be used for opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery strategies as listed in the judgment. All local allocation decisions are made locally. Counties and municipalities receiving Subdivision Fund allocations are required to report to the Department of Human Services annually by September 1 on how they have allocated funds. The annual reports will be made publicly available.

Refer to Exhibit E (pages 116-130) of the settlement agreement for the full list of how these funds may be used.

In March 2023, Governor Murphy signed into law P.L. 2023 (c. 25) that establishes the New Jersey Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund Advisory Council.

The purpose of the Council is to review proposals, data, and analysis, and engage with stakeholders and community members to develop and provide recommendations to be made publicly available on the allocation and distribution of the state’s share of proceeds from national opioid litigation resolutions.

The Council may also, should it choose to do so, provide information and general recommendations to New Jersey counties and municipalities on allocation and distribution of their share of proceeds.

To effectuate this purpose, the Council shall, to the extent not inconsistent with law:

1. Gather and evaluate data regarding the availability of, gaps in, and barriers to efforts addressing any causes, complications, and impacts of drug use, overdose, substance use disorder prevention and treatment programs and recovery services as well as programs to prevent overdose deaths (in addition to addiction and misuse), to provide wraparound supports, and to expand harm reduction efforts;
2. Solicit feedback, in a manner and method established by the Council, from stakeholders, local providers, advocates, those with lived experience with opioid use, the academic community, and other subject matter experts and evaluators, community groups, and other members of the public regarding the services, programs, and policies needed to prevent, treat, and reduce associated risks of drug use, substance use disorder, including opioid use disorders, and the overdose crisis across the State;
3. Review and evaluate recommendations submitted by the public via the online portal;
4. Evaluate approaches taken by New Jersey and other states in administering proceeds from national opioid litigation resolutions; and
5. Take any other measures deemed appropriate by the Council to inform its recommendations, with the purpose of promoting the equitable and efficient distribution of funds including through evidence-based or evidence-informed practices or strategies.
6. May provide information and general recommendations to New Jersey counties and municipalities on the expenditure of the share of proceeds from national opioid litigation resolutions allocated to those entities and may coordinate with any similarly situated County Advisory Council as determined by the chairperson to be appropriate.
7. Release an annual report summarizing the Council recommendations concerning the state’s expenditure of opioid litigation resolution proceeds, including: the allocation amount, program description, involved community providers, goals of the program, and outcome measures to be used to determine program efficacy.

The composition of the Opioid Advisory Council is incredibly diverse, encompassing individuals from the academic sphere, experts in the field of harm reduction, and from community-based organizations serving people with substance use disorder.

In addition, the Council also includes:

• The Commissioner of the Department of Human Services, or a designee;
• The Commissioner of the Department of Health, or a designee;
• The Commissioner of the Department of Children and Families, or a designee; and
• The Attorney General, or a designee.

The Commissioner of the Department of Human Services serves as Chair.

Learn more about the Opioid Advisory Council here.

The Advisory Council hosted a series of public meetings in May, June and July 2023, which provided community members the opportunity to provide testimony and input. They were held in Camden, Essex and Mercer counties, as well as virtually.  Videos of the virtual sessions can be found here.

Additionally, in fall 2022 members of the public were asked to submit ideas and written comments providing their input on how the funds should be used.  A summary and submitted written testimonies can be found here:

• Portal Findings Grid
• Portal Attached Testimonies

If you would like to submit a letter or statement to the Council, please send it to OpioidSettlement@dhs.nj.gov

At least annually, by September 1 of each year, each subdivision is required to provide to the state a report detailing for the preceding state fiscal year, in the manner and form prescribed by the state:

1. Subdivision Information
   1. Subdivision Contact Information; transfer status of opioid abatement funds; reporting total money amounts received to date and spent to date; reporting total money amount spent on administrative expenses
2. Purpose Statement
   1. Subdivision purpose and goals for abatement spending; reporting all legal requirements are met (i.e., creating and convening county advisory councils)
3. General Subdivision Information
   1. Public Input and feedback strategies efforts
   2. Rationale for prioritizing use of funds in a given reporting year
4. Proposed Program Details
   1. Demographic information including title, agency recipient name, primary problem being addressed and a brief program description; key dates and funding figures; identification of primary spending category in accordance with the settlement agreements; and program rationale and reasoning.

No later than October 1 of each year, the state will publish on this website a report detailing for the preceding fiscal year (1) the amount of the state share received, (2) the allocation of any awards approved (listing the recipient, the amount awarded, the program to be funded, and disbursement terms), and (3) the amounts disbursed on approved allocations.

Reports can be found here.