S.F. to receive $8 to 12 million from opioid lawsuit payout

"San Francisco will receive $8 to 12 million as part of a nationwide settlement with the Sackler family, which, until recently, owned the pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma. The Sacklers and Purdue were sued by 49 states, Washington, D.C., U.S. territories, tribal governments, and thousands of individuals for aggressively marketing opioids as pain management drugs while downplaying the considerable risk that patients would become addicted to those drugs in a relatively short period of time."

"According to the city attorney's office, San Francisco saw a nearly 500 percent increase in opioid-related overdoses between 2015 and 2020. Once the opioid epidemic was well underway, the lawsuit argued, the Sacklers attempted to shield their personal fortunes from lawsuits by transferring hundreds of millions of dollars from Purdue Pharma to themselves. The settlement is not the first time San Francisco has received money from entities that appear to have profited off the opioid epidemic."

"The June 2025 settlement with the Sacklers splits $7.4 billion dollars between all the plaintiffs. About $6.5 billion will be paid out by the Sacklers and $900 million by Purdue Pharma, which filed for bankruptcy in 2019. Oklahoma reached its own settlement with Purdue and the Sacklers in 2019 and was not included. Up to $440 million will be directed to California, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on June 16."

San Francisco will receive $8 to $12 million from a nationwide settlement with the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma tied to opioid harms. The Sacklers and Purdue were sued by 49 states, Washington, D.C., U.S. territories, tribal governments, and thousands of individuals for aggressively marketing opioids while downplaying addiction risks. San Francisco recorded a nearly 500 percent increase in opioid-related overdoses between 2015 and 2020. The lawsuit alleged that the Sacklers transferred hundreds of millions of dollars from Purdue to shield personal fortunes. Prior local settlements with manufacturers and distributors yielded about $114 million, and Walgreens has paid roughly $92 million so far.

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