Kroger will pay $110 million to settle a lawsuit with the state of Kentucky, as confirmed by Attorney General Russell Coleman. This lawsuit accused the national grocery chain of significantly contributing to the opioid epidemic by distributing approximately 444 million doses of opioids across the state from 2006 to 2019, or about 11% of all opioid pills sold during that period. The settlement was announced on Thursday; it is intended to help combat the drug crisis that has affected many Kentucky communities, which have some of the highest overdose rates in the nation.

“This massive grocery chain that asked for our trust and our business allowed the fire of addiction to spread across the commonwealth, leaving pain and leaving so much brokenness in its aftermath,” Coleman stated, emphasizing the profound impact the opioid crisis has had on the population [The Hill]. The state's decision to pursue a separate lawsuit from a broader agreement involving Kroger and other states turned out to be lucrative, with Coleman noting that Kentucky would have received about $66.6 million had it participated in the previous settlement.

Kroger expressed its hope that these funds will be effectively utilized to address opioid addiction in Kentucky. However, the company did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement, describing allegations that it lacked adequate oversight in its pharmacies as “patently false” [Reuters].

In accordance with the settlement agreement, half of the funds will go directly to individual Kentucky cities and counties, while the remaining funds will be overseen by the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission. The commission is responsible for distributing the funds to support local addiction recovery and prevention efforts. The settlement reflects ongoing challenges in combating the opioid crisis, with Kentucky ranking seventh in the U.S. for drug overdose mortality rates, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As states nationwide confront the fallout from the opioid epidemic, settlements like this one represent a substantial, albeit partial, remedy to a public health crisis linked to so many lost lives and devastated communities across America [AP News].