How America killed 500.000 of its citizens; "Johnson & Johnson" is mentioned

How America killed 500.000 of its citizens; "Johnson & Johnson" is mentioned

That settlement is 590 million dollars worth. In addition to the significant monetary value, the settlement could be remembered by the fact that 574 indigenous tribes were recognized as a separate subject in the lawsuit, world media write, Radio Free Europe reports.

But that settlement means something else - it is essentially clear that American companies have influenced the spread of the epidemic of drink addiction among Indians.

An agreement was reached with the company "Johnson & Johnson" as well as with the three largest American companies for the distribution of drugs, all because of the epidemic of addiction and opioid overdose among Indians, writes the Times.

More than 400 tribes and organizations took part in the lawsuit, representing about 80 percent of the citizens who belong to the indigenous tribes, but, as the paper points out, all recognized tribes in the United States will have the right to receive money from the settlements. Representatives of the tribe claim that the funds will be directed to programs for the treatment and prevention of addiction.

Johnson & Johnson and distributors McEson, Amerisors Bergen and Cardinal Health offered last year to pay $ 26 billion to settle similar claims by states and local governments.

"Johnson and Johnson"

Due to the opioid crisis, which, the paper emphasizes, is associated with more than 500.000 deaths in the United States in two decades, about 40 billion dollars worth of settlements and fines have been reached for American companies.

According to the agreement announced on February 1, the funds will be paid to the tribes faster than the federal states, the Wall Street Journal points out, adding that in thousands of lawsuits, the state, local governments and indigenous tribes claimed that the pharmaceutical industry played a significant role in fueling the opioid epidemic.

The company "Johnson & Johnson", which states that the settlement is not an admission of guilt, and agreed to pay the tribes 150 million dollars over two years, compared to up to five billion dollars to the states over a period of nine years.

Drug distributors will pay more than $ 439.9 million over seven years. That, the American paper adds, is separate from the $ 75 million settlement reached between distributors and the Cherokee people.

What the tribes claim?

According to an analysis by the Washington Post, from 2006 to 2014, Native Americans were almost 50 percent more likely to die from opioid overdoses than non-Natives.

The tribes claim that they were bombarded with highly addictive painkillers produced by "Johnson & Johnson" and delivered by distributors despite clear signs of abuse and death. The companies deny their guilt, claiming that they complied with federal drug laws.

If the majority of indigenous tribes sign the settlement, it will be noticed not only by its height, but also by the recognition of a total of 574 tribes as a separate litigation entity, the New York Times points out.

The agreement, announced at the Cleveland District Court, the seat of the opioid dispute in the USA, will be able to be realized after it is signed by the vast majority of tribes that filed the lawsuit, after which the money will be allocated to all tribes.

Indigenous tribal voices have, according to the New York Times, traditionally been excluded or diminished in earlier national settlements involving states, such as the well-known settlement with large tobacco companies in the 1990s, when a tribal court blocked the lawsuit.

Tribal lawyers say they are now determined not to repeat the bitter outcome of a lawsuit with major tobacco companies in an opioid lawsuit, while Judge Dan Aaron Polster, who presides over thousands of opioid cases at Cleveland Federal District Court, insisted tribes have equal rights to initiate their own cases, independent of the state.

According to the 2018 census, 6.8 million people identify themselves as Alaskan Indians or Indigenous people, which is 2.1 percent of the US population. Slightly less than half live in or near tribal countries and, as the New York paper points out, probably meet the conditions for receiving tribal services such as health care.