Opioid settlement a 'ding in the crisis' for Tulalip, other tribes
TULALIP — Over a half-dozen Tulalip tribal members die each year of unintentional drug overdoses, leaders say.
Now drug maker Johnson & Johnson and the country’s three largest drug distributors are acknowledging some responsibility in making things right. The Tulalip Tribes could get $1.85 million as part of a $590 million tentative settlement with hundreds of Native American tribes for the toll of the opioid epidemic on their communities.
“The settlement will put — I don’t even know if I’d call it a small dent — a ding in the crisis,” said Tulalip elder and former Tribal Council member Les Parks. “We’re not going to get a lot of relief from Johnson & Johnson. Certainly not enough to offset the damage they had caused.”
The opioid epidemic in Indian country is worse than any other segment of the American population, Lloyd B. Miller, a lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, told The Daily Herald.
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/opioid-settlement-a-ding-in-the-crisis-for-tulalip-other-tribes/
