Springfield seeks to join potential opioid settlement

Springfield is seeking to join potential opioid settlement. FILE

Springfield is seeking to join potential opioid settlement. FILE

The city of Springfield has accepted a memorandum of understanding with the goal of joining other municipalities in Ohio in receiving money that will come from a potentially huge settlement with the pharmaceutical industry.

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It is part of what has been called the “One Ohio” agreement that would allocate certain percentages of the settlement money to each of the local governments involved. The number of opioid deaths suffered by a community would be among criteria for determining its share, according to the Associated Press.

As of last month, there were about 3,000 lawsuits over the toll that opioids, including both powerful prescription painkillers and illegal drugs, have had in communities across the country, the Associated Press reported.

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In Ohio, local governments who wish to participate in potential opioid settlement have until Friday to submit their memorandum of understandings with the state. However, by doing so, it does not mean that those communities are plaintiffs in the case, said Jill Allen, the law director for the City of Springfield.