LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – State officials have announced the timeline of when Arkansas will receive their share of $216 million in the $26 billion opioid agreement announced in 2021.
Upon finalization of the agreement, companies Cardinal, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and Johnson & Johnson will begin releasing funds to a national administrator on April 2, according to a release from Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. Those funds will then be allocated to state and local governments during the second quarter of 2022.
In October 2021, Rutledge announced the Arkansas Opioids Memorandum of Understanding agreement, detailing that the funds will be used to support treatment, recovery, harm reduction, and other strategies to address the opioid epidemic.
According to state officials, this agreement is the second largest multistate agreement in U.S. history with 52 states and territories signing on.
In addition to providing the funds, Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen will have specific requirements including reporting and preventing the shipping of suspicious opioid orders and terminating customer pharmacies’ ability to receive shipments.
Johnson & Johnson will also have requirements in addition to this agreement, including to stop selling opioids and not fund or provide grants to third parties for the purpose of promoting opioids.
To view additional data regarding the impact that the opioid epidemic has had on Arkansas, visit the Arkansas Opioid Response Dashboard.
