Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Lacey City Council voted unanimously to join the latest round of a national opioid settlement with drug distributors and pharmacy companies, adding its name to an agreement that nets the city an estimated $5,186.
City Attorney David Schneider presented the item during the council's work session on Tuesday, April 28. He described the defendants as the remaining companies in national opioid litigation.
The six defendants are Associated Pharmacies Inc., J M Smith Corporation, Louisiana Wholesale Drug Company Inc., Morris and Dickson Co., North Carolina Mutual Wholesale Drug Company Inc. and United Natural Foods Inc., which includes subsidiaries SuperValu and Advantage Logistics.
Together, the settlements are valued at roughly $97.6 million. After subtracting $12.1 million in attorney fees and costs, the distributable amount totals $85.5 million. Lacey's share of that figure is projected at $5,186.03.
Unlike prior opioid settlements the city has joined, this one does not involve the state of Washington. As a result, the One Washington Memorandum of Understanding the city holds with the state does not apply. Lacey will retain its own discretion over how to spend the funds, though all money must go toward opioid remediation.
Schneider said the settlement rewards participation by design. The more local governments that join and release their claims, he noted, the greater the overall benefits flowing to communities for opioid remediation.
Council member Maren Turner asked whether joining the agreement would impose any future behavioral guardrails on the defendants.
Schneider said the defendants "certainly shouldn't" engage in the same behavior again, and expressed hope that each had already taken steps to avoid repeating past actions.
But he drew a clear line between that expectation and the agreement's actual terms. What the settlement does, he said, is release the defendants from all claims up to the settlement date. Any act taken after that point, he noted, remains open to litigation.
Deputy Mayor Malcolm Miller returned to the question of legal recourse, asking whether the agreement effectively strips the city of any ability to act against the defendants on its own.
Schneider confirmed it would. By entering the agreement, he said, the city would be giving up its ability to bring any further claims against the defendants for conduct up to the settlement date. He added, however, that it would not be realistic for the City of Lacey to pursue that kind of litigation on its own behalf in the first place.
The participation agreement must be executed by May 4. The council authorized City Manager Rick Walk to sign all necessary documents on the city's behalf.
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TheVirtualOne
$5,186? What a joke! Looking at the headline, one would think this article was worth reading.
Thursday, April 30 Report this
Honestyandrealityguy
Sad. I remember dreaming at the public hearings about 14 years ago here and at SeaTac. Many doctors assured me that if the Democrats changed the law, there would be an opioid problem. The doctors wanted to treat the cause(s) of the pain. Those government officials "assured" us things would be better. Upon passage of the law, many pain doctors left Washington. Sad what politicians do at times.
Thursday, April 30 Report this
HotTractor
And as it turns out, the Democrats had nothing to do with the opioid problem. It was the manufactures, with their programs setup to push opioids. That's why there is a "opioid settlement" What else should have happened was actual jail time, for those responsible.
Sunday, May 3 Report this
ViaLocal
Honestanddelusionalguy has been brainwashed my the MAGA media, so he can't help but scream "Democrats! Democrats!" at any problem he sees and all throughout the night as he's sleeping (i'm guessing)
Monday, May 4 Report this