LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is reminding eligible municipalities to participate in the Walgreens National Opioid Settlement before the September 6 deadline, which is the Wednesday after Labor Day. By participating, eligible local governments will receive direct payments from the Walgreens National Opioids Settlement. The settlement will bring up to $338 million to Michigan governments over 18 years.

“The funds from this settlement cannot ease the pain of those who lost loved ones, but the money can bring much-needed remediation dollars to the many Michigan communities ravaged by the opioid epidemic,” Nessel said. “I again encourage every eligible municipality to register before the deadline to get these hard-fought funds directly into their communities where they can reach the people most in need of help.”

Attorney General Nessel reached the multimillion-dollar settlement with Walgreens in June. She sued Walgreens in the Wayne County Circuit Court for Walgreens’ role in Michigan’s opioid epidemic, alleging that Walgreens created a public nuisance and violated the Drug Dealer Liability Act.

Michigan’s Walgreens settlement requires that Michigan join the Walgreens National Opioids Settlement. The settlement allows 278 local units of government in Michigan – called subdivisions in the settlement agreement – to participate. The Department of Attorney General has a full list of eligible subdivisions on its website.

Eligible subdivisions that have not completed participation forms may email the Department for additional instructions before the September 6 deadline to participate and receive direct payments. Michigan stands to receive up to $338 million over the life of the settlement, which is dependent, in part, on the participation of local governments.

Since taking office, Attorney General Nessel has prioritized combatting the Opioid epidemic. To date, Attorney General Nessel has joined seven other nationwide Opioid settlements, resulting in over $1.5 billion to Michigan governments.