GOSHEN COUNTY – The Goshen County Commissioners signed a resolution this week agreeing to the terms of the OneWyo Opioid Settlement on behalf of the county.

The Wyoming Attorney General’s office reports the year 2020 saw nearly 93,000 Americans die from opioid addictions, more than any year previous and more than those who died from gun violence or car crashes in a single year.

On July 21, 2021, a coalition of attorneys general announced a $26 billion agreement with manufacturer Johnson and Johnson and distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson. The Wyoming AG’s office and several municipalities have since entered into the OneWyo Opioid Settlement Agreement, where each will be awarded a portion of the $26 billion.

The state of Wyoming is set to receive a total of $36 million from the distributors and $8.3 million from Johnson and Johnson. All counties and every city with more than 10,000 residents were able to sign on to the agreement, the deadline having been Jan. 2. The deadline has been extended for some counties, as they were only able to meet and discuss the agreement in the past week.

As of the writing of this article, 29 of 33 municipalities within Wyoming have signed on. Nationwide, approximately 40 states agreed to the settlement terms, also accepting portions of the $26 billion to be distributed based on population size and effects of the opioid epidemic.

Assuming all 33 qualifying municipalities opt in to the agreement, Goshen County will receive a 1.64% share of the funds provided to Wyoming, totaling approximately $249,000. The defendants in the lawsuit will pay the agreed amounts over the period of several years.

No plan is set in stone as to where exactly the money will go and how it will be used in Goshen County, and likely will not be for some time, but there are stipulations set forth in the terms of the settlement as to how it can be used. The money is specifically for addiction recovery and other healing measures to fight the effects of opioid addictions within communities.

“All finances that run through the government are held to the standard of the fiscal responsibility,” Goshen County Clerk Cindy Kenyon said about the auditing process in place to ensure funds such as these are used properly. “We take that very seriously here in Goshen County.”

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have lost family members and loved ones. Others have regained their relationships only after much heartbreak and professional help. Goshen County has not been immune to this epidemic.

“This has been a long time coming,” Kenyon said. “Hopefully, this gets things turned around in the right direction.”