In the last week or so, cities and towns, such as Groton, Norwich and Waterford, in southeastern Connecticut have moved to join a $26 billion national opioid settlement agreement to directly receive a portion of the approximately $300 million allocated to the state. Other towns that have joined the settlement agreement are Montville, Preston and Stonington.

Connecticut and other states and territories reached the agreement last July with manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and distributors Cardinal, McKensson and AmerisourceBergen. They are among various pharmaceutical companies that played a role in downplaying the addictive qualities of opioids, a class of natural and synthetic drugs, and shaping the national opioid crisis.

The three distributors will collectively pay up to $21 billion over a period of 18 years. Johnson & Johnson will pay up to $5 billion over nine years, with up to $3.7 billion of that paid during the first three years.

State officials are urging all 169 municipalities to join the agreement so that Connecticut receives all $300 million.

Attorney General William Tong said he is confident that all Connecticut towns will sign on by the Jan. 2 deadline and the state will receive the maximum funds.

Of the state's funding, about 70% will go directly to the state, another 15% will serve as direct payments to cities and towns and the last 15% will be managed by the state to benefit victims of the crisis and communities and to cover related legal fees.

As of Monday, all but 12 Connecticut municipalities had signed on, for a 93% overall participation rate, Connecticut Public Radio reported.

Language in the agreement also explicitly states that no less than 85% of the state's $300 million will be used exclusively for "Opioid Remediation" such as the funding of naloxone, a medication that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose; medication-assisted addiction treatment; prevention programs; education and more.

Waterford's Board of Selectmen met Tuesday night and approved the town's participation in the settlement.

"We have to acknowledge the fact that our community has a problem and it needs support by all towns to help in this crisis," said First Selectman Rob Brule.

According to the state Department of Public Health, there were 1,378 confirmed drug overdose deaths in 2020, an increase of 14.6% from 2019. As of June 2021, New London County had the highest drug overdose death rate among all the counties.

Brule said with funding, Waterford potentially could take a comprehensive look at recovery measures, support groups and partnerships with nonprofits in the area, depending on how much the town receives.

The Groton Town Council on Dec. 14 unanimously voted to have Town Manager John Burt sign the necessary forms to join the opioid distribution settlement.

Burt said there's no plans at this time for how to use the funds, since the town does not know how much it could potentially receive. "If it is a significant amount, my thought is that a committee would be formed to explore how to use the funds," he said. "I'm just hoping the funds can be successfully used to help people who have addiction issues to recover and get their lives back on track."

Towns will not know how much they'll directly receive until the Jan. 2 deadline has passed and the state is certain of the amount it will receive.

At its Monday night meeting, the Norwich City Council moved to opt in to the $26 billion settlement agreement.

Mayor Peter Nystrom said he does not have high expectations, considering the state will receive 70% of the funds and the payments to municipalities are spread out periodically. He said any restitution to the taxpayers rests with legislators to transfer funds from what the state is receiving to municipalities.

He said opioids have been over-prescribed in Norwich and many of the city's families have been affected.

"We can never make up for the losses of families," Nystrom said. "Truly, the loss is the cost of lives."

New London has not entered into the currently proposed settlement agreement but is likely to.

City attorney Jeffrey Londregan said he believes the attorney general is getting all 169 towns on board with the settlement, which ultimately will mean more money to the state of Connecticut and hopefully to the city of New London through the global settlement.

Other pending lawsuits

Cities like Norwich and New London have more than one lawsuit settlement to deal with. In 2018, the cities filed individual lawsuits and are part of a class-action lawsuit against Purdue Pharma L.P., producer of OxyContin, a highly addictive prescription painkiller.

Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy in 2019 to protect itself from thousands of lawsuits. A $4.5 billion bankruptcy settlement was reached in July but continues to be fought in court.

In an update to New London's City Council last week, Londregan said the city remains in weekly communications with its law firm for updates on proposed settlements.

Norwich Mayor Nystrom said that litigation could take years.

Local name among the lawsuits

Among the long list of individuals in the class-action lawsuit against Purdue Pharma is the name of local advocate Lisa Cote Johns' son, Christopher Patrick Johns.

Jones lost her son to addiction at the age of 33 in 2014.

It all started when he was prescribed OxyContin by his doctor on multiple occasions in his youth, unaware that he was becoming dependent on the medication.

Although the process is timely and costly, Johns said she wanted to do it for her son.

"I don't care about the money," she said. "I just wanted his name known and attached to the lawsuit."

Since the loss of her son, the Uncasville resident has played a vital role spreading awareness of opioid addiction and recovery, traveling across the state to speak at forums and events, all the while attempting to recover from her own trauma and grief.

In light of the settlements, Johns said she wants the money to go toward long treatment programs and other holistic approaches, as not everyone recovers from addiction in the same way.

"When I lost my son, my world turned upside down," she said. "It was never the same and I'm glad because it gave me the strength to move forward, find the brokenness in our systems and look for solutions."

Day Staff Writers Kimberly Drelich and Greg Smith contributed to this article.

j.vazquez@theday.com