Chief Chat: Historic legal settlement with opioid distributors is major step to curbing epidemic | News

The cherokee nation has been plagued by the opioid epidemic for two decades. Hundreds of millions of prescription opioids have been wholesale or retail sold on the Cherokee Nation reservation in recent years. The epidemic affects even our youngest citizens, as many Cherokee babies are born dependent on opioids and all too often have to be placed in our care system. Cherokee families were torn apart before they had a chance to be whole, which jeopardized the future of the Cherokee nation.

Because of this, in 2017 our sovereign government sued the country’s three largest drug distributors – McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen. We recently settled the lawsuit with a $ 75 million settlement agreement, the largest settlement in the history of the Cherokee Nation.

Our lawsuit was one of the first opioid lawsuits in the United States, and it was the first case filed by a Native American nation. It was also the first case in which claims were made against the crisis-contributing retail pharmacy chains – Walmart, Walgreens and CVS. Since then, many other tribal, state and local governments have followed suit with their own litigation against the retail pharmacy chains. The lawsuits against these defendants remain active, and Cherokee Nation intends to continue the trial against them and prepare our case for trial.

But this settlement will immediately begin to save lives. As these funds will be paid out over the next over six years, they will aid our efforts to rescue Cherokees from addiction. This work is needed more than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic. Increasing isolation, health fears, and an economic crisis have all led to heightened anxiety and higher rates of self-medication. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the United States as a whole had the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a 12-month period during the global health crisis.

When the case against the distributors is complete, we can begin the healing process for our tribe and citizens. This settlement will allow Cherokee Nation to increase investment in substance abuse, mental health treatment, and other programs to help our people recover.

We took on this important work even before we settled here. The recently passed Cherokee Nation Public Health and Wellness Fund Act will improve Cherokee access to drug abuse treatment and wellness centers. We are building these facilities across the reserve and expanding part of the WW Hastings Medical Campus into a behavioral health and wellness program center. Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health staff already provide many free resources on drug diversion, overdose prevention, and addiction management.

This opioid epidemic has been wreaking havoc on the Cherokee Nation reservation for too many years. The crisis affected all facets of our society, including our economy, our health system, our schools and our families. I am grateful that through the efforts of our attorney general’s office and staff from across the Cherokee nation, we are bringing justice to our tribe, beginning to repair the damage, and serve as role models for the affected communities in the United States.

Chuck Hoskin Jr. is the chief chief of the Cherokee Nation.