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Michigan announces framework for opioid settlement with Walmart

Preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control show the number of people who died of drug overdoses in a single year in the U.S. is at an all-time high.
Tom - Stock.Adobe.Com
Preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control show the number of people who died of drug overdoses in a single year in the U.S. is at an all-time high.

Michigan is taking part in a $3 billion nationwide opioid settlement with Walmart announced this week.

The retail giant faces accusations of helping fuel the opioid crisis by not properly overseeing how the drugs were handled at its pharmacies.

Walmart denies all wrongdoing and points to a paragraph in the settlement framework acknowledging the company sold fewer opioids per store than other major chains.

Still, the settlement could provide Michigan with millions to pay for treatment and recovery services.

It can only take effect if 43 states and enough local governments sign on to the deal.

If those thresholds get met by their respective deadlines…payments could go out over the course of a six-year period.