TITLE
Title
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF KROGER OPIOID SETTLEMENT AND APPROVING THE SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS
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SPONSOR
Sponsor
County Attorney Leslie-Fite / County Manager Michael Halford
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BACKGROUND
Background
A new national opioid settlement has been reached with Kroger Co. Guilford County is being asked along with all other counties in the state of North Carolina to consider and approve a resolution to participate in any settlement funding. County resolutions are due no later than August 12, 2024 in order to be eligible to participate. The total Kroger settlement is $1.2 Billion dollars; whereby if approved Guilford county could be eligible to receive an amount up to $1,151,611 (maximum eligible amount) of the settlement.
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RESOLUTION
Resolution
RESOLUTION BY THE COUNTY OF GUILFORD
AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF KROGER OPIOID SETTLEMENT AND APPROVING THE SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS
WHEREAS, the opioid overdose epidemic has taken the lives of more than 37,000 North Carolinians since 2000; and
WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded the opioid overdose crisis, increasing levels of drug misuse, addiction, and overdose death; and
WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the total economic burden of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement; and
WHEREAS, Guilford County and certain counties and municipalities in North Carolina joined with thousands of local governments across the country to file lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, pharmaceutical distribution companies, and chain drug stores to hold those companies accountable for their misconduct; and
WHEREAS, a settlement has been reached in litigation against the Kroger Co. (“Kroger”) as well as its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, and directors named in th...
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