The Connecticut AG Commits $300 Million from a $26 Billion Opioid Settlement Toward Treatment, Recovery, and Prevention

Attorney General William Tong doubled down on his pledge to direct Connecticut’s portion of the funds from a $26 billion settlement with the nation’s largest pharmaceutical distributors and drugmaker Johnson & Johnson toward mitigating the opioid epidemic in a letter to lawmakers Tuesday.

“From the very beginning, state Attorneys General have adhered to an overarching principle — that the money we recover from wrongdoers must be directed to “abatement,” i.e., strategies, initiatives and programs that help our states, victims and their families confront and overcome the crisis in opioid abuse and addiction,” Tong wrote in the letter, responding to concerns from Republican state senate leaders about how the funds would be protected and allocated. “To me, this means that we should direct money to treatment, prevention and addiction science.”