Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner (Larry Krasner) has filed a lawsuit with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office over a $26 billion national settlement proposal with three opioid distributors and manufacturers Johnson & Johnson.

Krasner said the lawsuit was filed to prevent Attorney General Josh Shapiro from interfering in any case brought by the District Attorney’s Office against opioid defendants.city Prosecute opioid defendants He said that in 2018, and that the issue has been litigated for more than two years.

“We were forced to file a lawsuit against the AG office [Thursday] It is important to make it clear that the people of Philadelphia, their rights, their elections, and the decisions made by the elected officials in Philadelphia are important,” Krasner Say.

“Cities and municipalities in other states are taking these companies to court. They are winning, and they have won more money that must be paid quickly and guaranteed.”

Krasner lashed out Proposed settlement As “deeply disturbing” and “unacceptable”. He criticized the attorney general’s office for allowing opioid defendants to “evade real responsibility.”

Krasner also accused Shapiro’s office of trying to “see Philadelphia as a colony with no institutions to seek justice and security on its own.”

Krasner said that as part of the settlement, Philadelphia will receive $5-8 million per year for 18 years. However, he warned that the city may not be able to receive the arrears in time or in full, if any.

The 10-year transaction includes three major pharmaceutical distributors-Cardinal, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen-and manufacturer Johnson & Johnson. The agreement will resolve more than 4,000 lawsuits filed by state and local governments.

From 2006 to 2014, distributors shipped more than 518 million prescription drugs to Philadelphia. Washington post.

The states have 30 days to sign the agreement. Local governments have a maximum of 150 days to join. The highest amount will flow to where the state and local governments unite to support the agreement.

With the full participation of local governments, Pennsylvania will receive the highest payment of approximately $1 billion. The funds will be used for treatment plans and relief for affected families.

“No amount of money or sanctions can correct these mistakes,” Shapiro said on Wednesday. “But this reconciliation measure implements control measures, which will greatly help ensure that this does not happen again, and the funds that will flow into Pennsylvania will help provide and expand life-saving treatment within our Commonwealth. choose.”

The number of deaths from opioid overdose in the United States soared to a record 93,000 in 2020, an increase of 30% each year, and the popularity of the synthetic opioid fentanyl has accelerated this growth. In Pennsylvania, between 2017 and 2020, opioid overdose killed more than 16,800 people, including 5,172 deaths last year.

In Philadelphia, due to the rise of fentanyl, about 85% of the city’s opioid-related drug overdose caused deaths in 2020. According to the District Attorney’s Office, an average of three residents die from opioid overdose every day.