West Virginia Lawmakers Ask Attorney General for Control of $37M Opioid Settlment

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A group of West Virginia lawmakers want control of a recent $37 million opioid settlement with the drug distributor McKesson.

Members of the House of Delegates on Monday asked the attorney general to let the legislature to divvy up the money so it can be used for opioid treatment programs, rather than on administrative costs.

West Virginia settled its lawsuit with McKesson in May. The state had accused the company of shipping millions of suspicious painkiller orders to the state as it was being ravaged by the opioid epidemic. McKesson has denied any wrongdoing.

A spokesman for Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s says his office looks forward to working with the legislature and the governor to return the McKesson money to the state to “attack the drug epidemic holistically.”