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New York secures more than $500 million from opioid settlement

NY Attorney General Letitia James is surrounded by several elected officials as she announces CNY's share of opioid settlement money in front of the Crouse Health Addiction Treatment Center in Syracuse.
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NY Attorney General Letitia James is surrounded by several elected officials as she announces CNY's share of opioid settlement money in front of the Crouse Health Addiction Treatment Center in Syracuse.

Teva Pharmaceuticals is paying $523 million to the state for the company’s role in fueling the opioid crisis.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement Teva misinformed New Yorkers and did not disclose the high risk of opioid addiction. Teva is paying just over $4 billion to states across the U.S. Money from opioid settlements goes toward drug prevention and treatment programs.

James has secured more than $2 billion during her term to combat the opioid crisis, the largest amount an attorney general has collected.

“Teva knowingly and intentionally misled New Yorkers and the American people about the deadly dangers of opioids, and last year, a jury found them responsible for the devastation and destruction they have caused,” James said in a statement. “You cannot put a price on lives lost, addiction suffered, and families torn apart, but with the more than $2 billion we have now delivered to New Yorkers, we can continue to rebuild and recover.

Scott Willis covers politics, local government, transportation, and arts and culture for WAER. He came to Syracuse from Detroit in 2001, where he began his career in radio as an intern and freelance reporter. Scott is honored and privileged to bring the day’s news and in-depth feature reporting to WAER’s dedicated and generous listeners. You can find him on twitter @swillisWAER and email him at srwillis@syr.edu.