The Kroger Co. has agreed to pay West Virginia $68 million to settle claims that it fueled the opioid epidemic through lax oversight of its pill sales, bringing the state’s years-long litigation over the opioid crisis to a close.
The deal, announced Thursday by West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, comes a month before the grocery store had been set to go to trial against the state. All other companies sued by the state over opioids had already settled.
“This is an important day for West Virginia,” Morrisey said. “This is a day of healing.”
Morrisey also touted the state’s framework for spending the funds on fighting the opioid epidemic, in which 72.5 percent will go to a newly created foundation, overseen by a board chosen by the governor and by local governments. Most of the remainder will go to local governments….