December 13, 2022 3:00 a.m.

On Monday, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, along with many of her AG colleagues across the country, announced a national agreement with CVS and Walgreens for the pharmacies conduct in fueling the opioid epidemic.

A release said Walgreens operates the second largest pharmacy store chain in the United States, behind CVS. Under the agreements, CVS will pay $5 billion and Walgreens will pay $5.7 billion, totaling $10.7 billion. A certain number of states will need to sign onto the agreements for the full amount to be distributed.

This now makes three settlements with a national pharmacy chain in the last month. A $3 billion settlement with Walmart was announced in November. In that settlement, all states have until the end of 2022 to join, which Oregon has already done.

The release said in addition to the financial settlement, CVS and Walgreens have agreed to court-ordered injunctive relief which will help ensure a crisis like this does not happen again.

Additional information on the settlements are linked: https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/spotlight-opioid-abuse/