North Carolina will receive almost $150 million to address the opioid epidemic.
Attorney General Jeff Jackson says the funds are part of a nationwide settlement between every attorney general, OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma and the company's previous owners, the Sackler family.
Jackson says that combined with previous opioid settlements, North Carolina will receive more than $1.5 billion for opioid treatment programs.
"We’re now up to 1.6 billion dollars that will be coming to North Carolina. The vast majority of it will be hitting in the next three years, and the vast majority of that is designed by the terms of the agreement to go downstream into local communities to help fight addiction and break the cycle of addiction," Jackson said.
Local governments still need to sign onto the agreement to ensure that North Carolina receives its full share, but Jackson says he is optimistic that will happen.