Drug giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has agreed to stop selling opioid drugs in the United States following a $230 million settlement with the state of New York.
In a statement, New York Attorney General Letitia James' office said the agreement prohibits J&J from promoting opioids through any means. J&J is also now barred from lobbying the products at the federal, state or local level.
J&J stopped marketing its opioid products in the U.S. back in 2015, and as of 2020 has fully discontinued its business of selling them at all here in America.
Part of the settlement also forces J&J to resolve all opioids-related legal claims with allocated payments over the next nine years. The company could also be forced to pay $30 million more in the first year if the state's executive chamber signs into law new legislation establishing an opioid settlement fund.
Opioid pharmaceuticals have killed at least 500,000 people in the United States over the past several decades. The settlement follows many years of lawsuits filed by states, cities and counties against opioid manufacturers like J&J.
Flagrant overprescribing of the drugs caused millions of Americans to become addicted. Many others became seriously injured or are now dead because of that addiction.
"The opioid epidemic has wreaked havoc on countless communities across New York state and the rest of the nation, leaving millions still addicted to dangerous and deadly opioids," James indicated in a statement.
"Johnson & Johnson helped fuel this fire, but today they're committing to leaving the opioid business – not only in New York, but across the entire country. Opioids will no longer be manufactured or sold in the United States by J&J."
J&J claims no "wrongdoing" despite settlement payout
In addition to J&J, drug giants Purdue Pharma, Mallinckrodt LLC, Endo Health Solutions, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, and Allergan Finance LLC are all scheduled to have their day in court as well.
Each of these companies is accused of doing the same thing as J&J in terms of their marketing and distribution of opioids.
In a statement, J&J clarified that it "is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing by the company" and is "consistent with the terms of the previously announced $5 billion all-in settlement agreement in principle for the resolution of opioid lawsuits and claims by states, cities, counties and tribal governments."
J&J has been in hot water before, having been charged with illegally pushing deadly pharmaceuticals on sick and elderly nursing home residents.
The company was found to have paid kickbacks to Omnicare to promote drugs like Floxin, Levaquin, Risperdal, Ultram, Duragesic, Procrit, and Aciphex when they were not needed, all to enhance its "performance" goals.
Now, J&J is pushing injections for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) that are known to cause deadly blood clots. This is simply the latest iteration of J&J's illicit drug and vaccine racket, which always pays out more in profits than the measly costs of later settlements for injuries and deaths.
Concerning its Chinese Virus injection, J&J made the news after one man's skin started peeling off not long after getting the jab.
The company also became a target of the Catholic lobby after it was determined that its Wuhan Flu shots contain ingredients derived from aborted baby body parts, which violate the religion's tenets regarding the sanctity of life.
"Johnson & Johnson is 100% guilty, as are their bankster and Wall Street backers," wrote one of our own in response to another case involving J&J's talc baby powder causing cancer.
Big Pharma corruption and greed has cost untold billions of people their lives. To keep up with the latest, visit Corruption.news.
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