Kroger will make payments to the city for the next 11 years to get to the total amount.
This is one of eight settlements available to cities in Ohio through National Opioid Settlement. Other settlements include Johnson and Johnson, Walmart and Walgreens. The total of all settlements is more than $51 billion. The settlement with Kroger was finalized in June and is aimed at supporting impacted communities.
“This $1.2 billion agreement with Kroger marks another step forward in holding each company that played a role in the opioid epidemic accountable and ensuring hard‐hit communities are provided with much-needed resources,” the National Prescription Opiate Litigation wrote in a statement.
There have been more than 1 million drug overdoses in America since 1999 with the majority being related to opioid use, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Butler County has seen a decrease in drug overdose deaths in recent years with a drop from 260 in 2017 to 184 in 2022, according to the Butler County Board of Health. In 2022, opioid-related overdoses made up 84% of all overdose deaths in Ohio with more than 4,000 deaths, according to the Ohio Dept of Health.
Ohio cities have already received funding from opioid settlements through the OneOhio Grant Portal with funds adding up to $7.1 million for Butler County and six other surrounding counties. These funds can be used for programs related to lowering overdose rates. Instead of going directly to a city or town, these funds are given to regions to disperse among local, county and state levels.
Fairfield has received settlements from other companies before this instance and has been able to use the funds for many opioid-related expenses, said Fairfield City Manager Scott Timmer.
“If opioid-related use has created unnecessary wear on an ambulance, we can use the funds to get a new one,” Timmer said.
Timmer said the city is exploring options to route the funds to the best place.
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