The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma has accepted a $75 million settlement with opioid manufacturers McKesson, Amerisourcebergen and Cardinal Health.
The case filed in federal court in 2017 alleged that opioid related overdoses more than doubled in the Cherokee Nation over an eleven year period. Cherokee health officials say the huge quantities of opioids distributed during that same time period led to a significant burden on the tribe's healthcare system.
Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. says the money will be invested in mental health and substance abuse programs.
"And so we have to make whole some those damages as best we can-money expended that we wouldn't have had to expend," said Hoskin.
The Cherokee Nation is still seeking damages from some opioid distributors including Walmart, CVS and Walgreens.
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