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Opioid settlement bills will soon go to governor's desk

Lorenzo Gritti for NPR

The Legislature is poised to send bills to Governor Gretchen Whitmer that would clear the way for Michigan to get its share of the national opioid lawsuit settlement.

The state is in line to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in the deal made with drug companies that manufacture and market oxycontin and other opioids.

The state House and the state Senate are expected to adopt final versions of bills that accept the settlement terms including requiring that the money is spent on things like addiction treatment and overdose prevention and not diverted to other purposes.

Democratic Representative Christine Morse is one of the sponsors.

“This legislation brings justice, healing and recovery to the state of Michigan.”

There were nearly 3 thousand overdose deaths in Michigan last year.

Rick Pluta is Senior Capitol Correspondent for the Michigan Public Radio Network.