FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 1, 2026
Contact: comms@ncdoj.gov
919-538-2809
$7.4 billion national settlement is now in effect; Sacklers permanently barred from selling opioids in the U.S.
RALEIGH — Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced today that a $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family is now legally in effect. North Carolina is expected to receive nearly $150 million for addiction treatment, prevention, and recovery.
The settlement also permanently bars the Sacklers from selling opioids in the United States.
“Purdue and the Sacklers built a business on getting people addicted to opioids. They knew what they were doing, and they did it anyway,” said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. “This settlement bans them from ever selling opioids in this country again, and it puts $150 million into North Carolina for treatment and recovery. It’s the end of a long fight, and it’s the right outcome.”
The North Carolina Department of Justice helped lead the settlement negotiations under both Attorney General Jackson and former Attorney General Josh Stein. Attorneys general launched a multistate investigation of Purdue in 2016. North Carolina sued Purdue in 2018 and several members of the Sackler family in 2019. After Purdue filed for bankruptcy in 2019, attorneys general took the lead role in the bankruptcy proceedings, including renegotiating the deal to obtain more money from the Sacklers after the Supreme Court invalidated the prior settlement in June 2024.
Fifty-five attorneys general representing all eligible U.S. states and territories previously signed onto the settlement. It resolves litigation against Purdue and the Sacklers for producing and aggressively marketing opioids in the United States, fueling the largest drug crisis in the country’s history.
The settlement permanently bars the Sacklers from selling opioids in the U.S. and delivers funds for addiction treatment, prevention, and recovery to communities across the country over the next 15 years.
North Carolina is expected to receive nearly $150 million from the settlement.
Most settlement funds will be distributed in the first three years. The Sacklers are paying more than $1.5 billion today, followed by approximately an additional $500 million in May 2027, $500 million in May 2028, and $400 million in May 2029. Additionally, Purdue is paying approximately $900 million today.
With this settlement, the North Carolina Department of Justice has now secured a total of $1.6 billion in opioid settlement funds for the state, with local governments set to receive $1.3 billion. The Community Opioid Resources Engine (CORE-NC) allows people to see how each local government is using its opioid settlement funds including payment schedules, spending plans, past spending, annual narratives, and local contacts.
The settlement also means that Purdue’s manufacturing operations transfer effective today to Knoa Pharma LLC, which will be overseen by a board of directors who had no connection to Purdue. The settlement prevents Knoa from marketing opioids and provides for an independent monitor to ensure it provides these medicines in the safest possible manner that limits the risk of diversion.
The settlement also provides Purdue and the Sacklers will make public more than 30 million documents related to their opioid business.
Attorney General Jackson is joined in reaching the settlement by Attorneys General of Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
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