Settlement payments from opioid sellers, manufacturers trickle into South Dakota

Local governments signing onto another round of National Prescription Opiates Litigation

South Dakota governments are set to receive millions from pharmaceutical drug providers in coming years as they battle the repercussions of opioid addiction in their communities.

Minnehaha County has signed onto another round of settlements under the National Prescription Opiates Litigation, a series of class action lawsuits being leveled against a pharmaceutical industry alleged to have engaged in practices of over-prescribing opioids.

The city of Sioux Falls is also expected to join the 2023 National Opioid Settlement Participation Agreements with Allergan and Teva, CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart, with a final decision coming before an April 18 deadline to participate.

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And while the eventual payouts for individual cities, counties and states that participate in the latest litigation isn’t established yet, a series of settlements previously entered into by local jurisdictions in South Dakota have hundreds of thousands of dollars already trickling into their coffers.