Greene County, Ohio, commissioners approved a resolution that allowed the county to remain able to get money from drug company Purdue Pharma, the Dayton Daily News reported. Purdue Pharma is being sued, accused of contributing to the opioid crisis that left millions of people nationwide dead from the effects of drug addiction. It has filed for chapter 11. The resolution in Greene County accepts the chapter 11 plan and authorizes county administrator Brandon Huddleson to sign the ballot accepting the plan. Cheri Stout, an attorney for the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office, said that the county and townships involved with the lawsuit all received a recommendation to approve the plan, but the money will not be coming soon. Greene and Montgomery counties are just a few of the Ohio counties involved in the One Ohio agreement, which is an effort to leverage Ohio’s collective might against the drug industry. Local governments representing more than 80 percent of the state’s population signed onto the plan in early 2020, including 73 of 88 counties. The state has two lawsuits, which are pending in Ross and Madison counties. More than 150 Ohio local governments have cases consolidated in U.S. district court before Judge Daniel Polster. Under the One Ohio agreement, 11 percent would be taken off the top for attorneys’ fees and the remaining cash would be divvied up. That results in 30 percent to local governments, 55 percent to a new foundation and 15 percent to the attorney general’s office. More than 2,600 lawsuits have been filed across the U.S. against opioid makers and distributors.
