Community Government Health & Wellness
Kroger opioid settlement funds on their way to Gig Harbor, other cities
Most jurisdictions in the West Sound have signed on to a settlement agreement with grocery company Kroger following a lawsuit over its role in the opioid crisis. Others are expected to follow suit.
Health & Wellness Sponsor
Health and Wellness stories are made possible in part by Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, a proud sponsor of Gig Harbor Now.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced the $47.5 million settlement in April. The grocery company, which does business in Washington as QFC and Fred Meyer, illegally and negligently overfilled opioid orders without investigating red flags, his office said in a statement.
Kroger will pay out the funds in installments over the next 11 years. The state and local jurisdictions will use the money to combat the opioid crisis.
Local jurisdictions get half
Half the money goes to the state. Washington’s cities and counties will split the remainder, as long as they sign on to the settlement by an Aug. 12 deadline.
As of July 22, 80 of the state’s 125 local jurisdictions have signed on, according to the Attorney General’s Office. The Gig Harbor City Council voted Monday to join. Others already signed on include Kitsap County and the cities of Port Orchard, Poulsbo and Bainbridge Island.
Washington sued Kroger, Albertsons and Rite Aid in King County Superior Court in December 2022, alleging they failed to prevent the over prescribing of opioids. Suits with the other two companies remain ongoing.
The Kroger agreement is the latest in a series of settlements with companies that contributed to the opioid epidemic. Collectively, they are expected to deliver over $1 billion in abatement funds to Washington.
How Gig Harbor is spending its share
The state Attorney General’s Office has reached agreements with McKinsey, Mallinckrodt and Johnson & Johnson. The office has also settled with three major opioid distributors and five pharmacies or manufacturers.
“My legal team took on some of the largest corporations in the world and held them accountable for their role fueling the opioid epidemic,” Ferguson said in a statement announcing the Kroger suit. “We’ve won more than $1.2 billion that’s going to every community in the state to combat the opioid and fentanyl epidemic by improving treatment options, educating youth and supporting first responders.”
The city of Gig Harbor used its first opioid funding to hire a Housing, Health and Human Service Manager.
Gig Harbor will receive over $445,000 from opioid settlements over the next two decades, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
Conor Wilson is a Murrow News fellow, reporting for Gig Harbor Now and the Bremerton-based newspaper Kitsap Sun, through a program managed by Washington State University.