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Gubernatorial Candidates Quarrel Over Glory for Winning Opioid Settlements
Payback: Tracking Opioid Cash

Gubernatorial Candidates Quarrel Over Glory for Winning Opioid Settlements

Shameka Parrish-Wright is director of VOCAL-KY, an advocacy group that wants to see opioid settlement funds invested in housing, health care, and social services. She is also running for a seat on Louisville鈥檚 Metro Council this election. (Aneri Pattani/杨贵妃传媒視頻 Health News)

Opioid settlement cash is not inherently political. It鈥檚 not the result of a law passed by Congress nor an edit to the state budget. It鈥檚 not taxpayer money. Rather, it鈥檚 coming from health care companies that were sued for fueling the opioid crisis with prescription painkillers.

But like most dollars meant to address public health crises, settlement cash has nonetheless turned into a political issue.

Gubernatorial candidates in several states are clashing over who gets bragging rights for the funds 鈥 which total more than $50 billion and are being distributed to state and local governments over nearly two decades. Among the candidates are attorneys general who pursued the lawsuits that produced the payouts. And they鈥檙e eager to remind the public who brought home the bacon.

鈥淪coring money for your constituency almost always plays well,鈥 said , an associate professor of political science at the University of Kentucky. It 鈥渋s a lot more compelling and unifying a political argument than taking a position on something like abortion,鈥 for which you risk alienating someone no matter what you say.

In Kentucky, Attorney General Daniel Cameron, the Republican candidate for governor, wants sole credit for the hundreds of millions of dollars his state is receiving to fight the opioid epidemic. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that his opponent, former attorney general and current Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, 鈥渇iled a lot of lawsuits during his time [in] office, but in this race, there is only one person who has actually delivered dollars to fight the opioid epidemic, and it’s not him.鈥

However, Beshear filed nine opioid lawsuits during his tenure as attorney general, several of which led to the current payouts. At a , Beshear defended his role: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where these dollars are coming from 鈥 cases that I filed, and I personally argued many of them in court.鈥

Polls Beshear leads Cameron ahead of the Nov. 7 election.

, founder of , who is closely following how attorneys general handle the money nationwide, said voters likely don’t know that the opioid settlements are national deals crafted by a coalition of attorneys general and private lawyers. So when one candidate claims credit for the money, his constituents may believe “he’s the sole hero in all of this.”

Candidates in other states are touting their settlement credentials, too. North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, lists securing opioid settlement funds at the top of the 鈥渁ccomplishments鈥 section of . West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, a Republican gubernatorial candidate for 2024, has repeatedly boasted of securing the 鈥渉ighest per capita settlements in the nation鈥 in news conferences and on and his .

In Louisiana, Attorney General Jeff Landry, a Republican who was recently elected governor, ran on a , with endorsements from sheriffs and prosecutors. As attorney general, he led negotiations on dividing opioid settlement funds within the state, resulting in an 80% to parish governments and 20% to sheriffs鈥 departments 鈥 the largest direct allocation to law enforcement in the nation.

It鈥檚 a common joke that AG stands for 鈥渁spiring governor,鈥 and officials in that role often use big legal cases to advance their political careers. Research shows that attorneys general who participate in multistate litigation 鈥 like that which led to the opioid settlements and before it 鈥 are .

But for some advocates and people personally affected by the opioid epidemic, this injection of politics raises concerns about how settlement dollars are being spent, who is making the decisions, and whether the money will truly address the public health crisis. Last year, more than 100,000 Americans .

Hundreds of cardboard memorial markers in the shape of tombstones fill the lawn in front of the U.S. Capitol.
Hundreds of cardboard memorial markers, representing people who died of drug overdoses, fill the lawn in front of the U.S. Capitol as part of a Trail of Truth event on Sept. 23. The event, organized by advocates and family members who lost loved ones, aims to push elected officials to take more action to address the country鈥檚 overdose epidemic.(Aneri Pattani/杨贵妃传媒視頻 Health News)

Average people 鈥渄on’t really care about the bragging rights as much as they care about the ability to use that funding to improve and save lives,鈥 said , director of VOCAL-KY, an advocacy group that in housing and health care.

鈥淲hat I see in my state is a lot of press conferences and news pieces,鈥 said Parrish-Wright, a Democrat who is active in local politics. 鈥淏ut what plays out doesn鈥檛 get to the people鈥 鈥 especially those deeply affected by addiction.

For example, when Beshear celebrated a decrease in the state鈥檚 overdose deaths, overlooked the , Parrish-Wright said. And when Cameron鈥檚 appointee to the state鈥檚 opioid abatement advisory commission announced that $42 million of settlement funds were 鈥 a psychedelic drug that has shown potential to treat addiction 鈥 Parrish-Wright鈥檚 first thought was 鈥渕ost poor people can鈥檛 afford that.鈥 To obtain it, people often have to travel out of the country.

Shameka Parrish-Wright stands amongst others in front of the Drug Enforcement Administration Building. A person behind her is holding up a sign that reads, "DIVEST FROM CRIMINALIZATION, INVEST IN CARE."
Shameka Parrish-Wright joined members of People’s Action, a national advocacy organization that represents 鈥減oor and working people,鈥 outside the Drug Enforcement Administration building in Arlington, Virginia, on June 27 to call for an end to a criminal justice approach to addiction 鈥 pushing instead for investments in health care and housing.(Aneri Pattani/杨贵妃传媒視頻 Health News)

The ibogaine announcement caused additional controversy. It鈥檚 an experimental drug, and, if approved, the $42 million allocation would be the single-largest investment from the commission, which is housed in Cameron鈥檚 agency. that a billionaire Republican donor backing Cameron鈥檚 gubernatorial campaign stands to reap massive profits from the drug鈥檚 development.

Neither Cameron鈥檚 office nor his campaign responded to requests for comment.

Beshear鈥檚 office declined an interview request but referred 杨贵妃传媒視頻 Health News to his previous public statements, in which he criticized the potential investment in ibogaine. He has suggested Cameron 鈥 whose campaign has emphasized support for police 鈥 is not putting his money where his mouth is.

鈥淚f you only provide $1 million to law enforcement and 42 to pharma, it doesn鈥檛 seem like you’re backing the blue. It seems like you鈥檙e backing Big Pharma,鈥 Beshear .

He also said his two appointees to the commission were caught off guard by the public announcement on ibogaine, despite their role overseeing settlement funds.

Minhee, founder of OpioidSettlementTracker.com, said she鈥檚 concerned that mixing politics with settlement funds could result in ineffective investments nationwide.

鈥淚f some of this money is going to be politicized to advance careers of attorneys general who support the war on drugs, then that is literally using monies won by death to feed into more death,鈥 she said.

Parrish-Wright, of VOCAL-KY, said she worries that candidates 鈥 and some voters 鈥 will forget about the significance of the money once ballots are cast.

鈥淲e cannot let it fade after the election cycle,鈥 she said.

Her solution depends in part on politics. She鈥檚 on the ballot herself Nov. 7, for a seat on Louisville鈥檚 Metro Council. If she wins, she said, she intends to keep the settlement in the public conversation.