Ohio Attorney General provides update on opioid settlement

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio Attorney General, Dave Yost held a press conference via Zoom Friday morning at 10:00 a.m. in which he updated Ohioans on the opioid settlement.
Yost said 95% of the population represented by the litigating subdivisions in Ohio on board for the settlement. As of Friday morning, Ohio is at 86% of population on board.
"That's not enough. Candidly, I'm not even sure that 95% is going to get there. The distributors might even ask for something north of that, but certainly 95% of the population is the bare minimum. That's what we have to have to get in the door," Yost said.
Yost clarified that there is no deal yet, and Ohio needs everyone on board in order to have a deal.
"We're in a position where a few governments can hold out and nix the deal for the entire state, and that would be a real tragedy," Yost said.
Yost went on to add that there is now a button on the Ohio Attorney General's website labeled "Who's in," which visitors can click on to see if their community is on board with the settlement or not.
Yost went on to discuss what would happen if a deal is not met. Yost says the State of Ohio has a trial date in Madison County set in September, but the local subdivisions will not have a trial date.
"If this deal falls apart, you're going to be picking over last year's carcass for a few gleanings in bankruptcy court. There's not a better deal, but there are a lot of worse deals out there," Yost said.
Yost ended the conference saying the state has until Friday, Aug. 20 at 5:00 to have a deal settled before the state has to go to trial.
To see which communities are in on the settlement so far, visit the Ohio Attorney General's website and click on "Litigating entities."