As the opioid overdose epidemic continues to ravage the United States, approximately 3,000 state and local governments have sued opioid manufacturers and distributors for compensation for opioid-related harms. These lawsuits have resulted in major structured settlements to certain states and local governments, presenting an opportunity to fund a public health approach to abating the epidemic. National experts partnered in 2021 to develop model state legislation that directs state use of opioid litigation proceeds to fund evidence-based substance use disorder prevention, treatment, recovery, or harm reduction programming, infrastructure, evidence-informed pilots, and establish a council to administer and direct the fund among other components.
This dataset is cross-sectional and displays key features of laws that direct the use of opioid litigation proceeds across all 50 states and the District of Columbia in effect as of August 1, 2022. These data can be used to assess states’ progress in enacting the Opioid Litigation Proceeds Model Act, identify gaps in existing state laws, and demonstrate the utility of policy surveillance methods for assessing adherence and diffusion of model legislation. The United States record in the dataset represents the elements of the model state legislation previously referenced.
The data were developed by the Center for Public Health Law Research at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law in partnership with the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association with funding from the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Executive Office of the President. Points of view or opinions expressed related to this dataset are those of the researchers and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the Office of National Drug Control Policy or the United States Government.
This project was funded by a grant from the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Neither the Office of National Drug Control Policy, nor any other federal instrumentality operate, control, or are responsible for or necessarily endorse this project (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided).
