Nevada rejects $26B multistate opioid pact, to seek own deal
By KEN RITTER
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada has joined a small number of states rejecting a $26 billion multistate settlement reached last month with an opioid drug maker and distributors, and will seek separate compensation for what state Attorney General Aaron Ford calls the tragedy of the opioid crisis. Most states have signed on to the deal. But Ford characterized the $282 million that Nevada would receive from three U.S. drug distribution companies and drug maker Johnson & Johnson as inadequate for local jurisdictions to address the damage done. He reported that the 484 opioid-related deaths in Nevada in 2020 represented a 40% increase from 2019.