LISTEN: Some Georgia counties are being invited to get their share of Kroger’s $1.2 billion dollar multi-district settlement over the franchises participation in the opioid addiction crisis. GPB's Sofi Gratas reports.

Some Georgia counties are being invited to get their share of Kroger’s $1.2 billion multi-district settlement over the franchise's participation in the opioid addiction crisis. The money is said to be distributed over 11 years. 

The grocery-store chain agreed to a settlement last September. Along with Georgia, 32 other states and the District of Columbia will also be getting money. 

So, how will this all be broken down? 

According to a spokesperson for the state attorney general’s office, $55.1 million from the settlement with Kroger will be split between the state’s general fund and the Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust for regional distribution. 

Total, the share for the state and local governments listed as plaintiffs in the suit is roughly $73.5 million, Murray said. 

The Abatement Trust is already working on distributing funds from other major settlements statewide. As of May, the trust had received over 300 applications for settlement money to fund local projects in things such as research, harm reduction and addiction recovery, according to records attained from the trust. 

 

Who might recieve these new funds?

Last Tuesday, the Macon-Bibb County Mayor and Commission said they intend to request some portion of money from the settlement. Commission members agreed unanimously to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the state that promises the county will use whatever settlement money it receives for “the mitigation of harms.” 

As County Attorney Michael McNeil explained, each plaintiff that signs that MOU agrees to certain terms, with a deadline on Aug. 12. There are 107 plaintiffs in the suit from Georgia, a combination of city and county governments. 

“It’s sort of like a grant program,” McNeil said. “It has to be used in ways that mitigate the effects of the opioid epidemic, things like buying naloxone or training people on responding to opioid overdoses.” 

That’s how the other settlements have worked, too. 

“This is a fight we've been fighting for 30 years,” McNeil said. 

Macon was the first city in Georgia to establish a drug court in 1994. Today, that model offers alternatives to incarceration for people with drug-related charges across the state. 

“We don't know exactly how many dollars we're going to get, but we're going to get something and we're going to put it to good use, and we're going to find a way to help people,” McNeil said. 

Macon-Bibb could get at least $1 million over 11 years, assuming all plaintiffs also request funds. 

But it can take years for money to trickle down. 

“They make the payments to the court, the court makes the payments to the states, and then the states make the payments to the locals, as I understand it,” McNeil said. 

Spokesperson for the North Central Public Health District, Michael Hokanson, confirmed that the agency subdivision hasn’t received any funds associated with opioid settlements even three years after the first major settlement was reached. 

So far, Cobb County is the only other county reported to be signing the MOU in order to request funds from the Kroger settlement. A full list of local government and county participants won’t be available until all documents are processed, according to the state Attorney General's office. 

Tags: Health  health  opioid  opioid crisis  opioid settlement funds  kroger  Macon Bibb  Macon  Cobb County  Georgia