BALTIMORE, Md. — Maryland is set to receive more than $90 million as part of a historic $7.4 billion national settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family that became effective today, Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced.
The landmark agreement caps nearly a decade of multistate investigations and litigation into Purdue’s and the Sacklers’ roles in the aggressive marketing of opioids that fueled the deadliest drug crisis in U.S. history. Maryland joined the multistate investigation in 2016 and filed a Statement of Charges against the company and the Sacklers in 2019. After Purdue filed for bankruptcy in September 2019 amid massive litigation, attorneys general took a leading role in the proceedings.
Maryland was one of nine states that challenged an earlier bankruptcy plan in 2021. The final settlement was negotiated after the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated key provisions of a prior agreement in June 2024. With this resolution, Maryland has now secured more than $747 million in total opioid-related settlement funds.
The new money will flow into the state’s Opioid Restitution Fund to support treatment, prevention and recovery programs for individuals and families affected by the crisis. Most funds will be distributed in the first three years. The Sacklers are paying more than $1.5 billion immediately, followed by approximately $500 million in May 2027, $500 million in May 2028 and $400 million in May 2029. Purdue Pharma is contributing approximately $900 million at this time.
“The opioid crisis has devastated Maryland families and communities, and the Sacklers must be held accountable for the role they played in fueling it,” said Attorney General Brown. “This settlement will support treatment, prevention, and recovery for Marylanders who have suffered for far too long.”
Lt. Governor Aruna Miller highlighted the crisis’s uneven toll.
“The opioid crisis has touched everyone, but has disproportionately impacted Black and Brown Marylanders and low-income families, and has devastated rural communities,” Miller said. “While no settlement can undo that harm, it marks a step toward accountability and healing. These dollars, through our Maryland Opioid Restitution Fund, must reach the communities most impacted and help dismantle the systemic barriers that have fueled this crisis. And we must meet people where they are with compassion and care. No community should have to face this crisis alone.”
Southern Maryland’s Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties, with their mix of rural waterfront communities and small towns, have felt the crisis’s impact through elevated overdose rates and strained local resources. Funds from the settlement are expected to bolster local health departments, community organizations and prevention efforts in the region, where access to treatment can be limited by geography and distance from larger medical centers.
Maryland Special Secretary of Overdose Response Emily Keller added, “Our communities deserved better. Purdue Pharma’s predatory actions unleashed untold devastation in Maryland and across the country. And while no amount of money can bring back the loved ones we have lost, it’s only right that we use these funds to prevent further harm, to expand proven strategies that can reduce overdoses and increase access to life-saving care across the state.”
The settlement permanently bars the Sacklers from selling opioids in the United States. It also transfers Purdue’s manufacturing operations effective today to Knoa Pharma LLC, which will operate under a board of directors with no prior connection to Purdue. An independent monitor will oversee operations to limit the risk of diversion, and the company is prohibited from marketing opioids.
In addition, Purdue and the Sacklers will make public more than 30 million documents related to their opioid business, providing greater transparency into the practices that contributed to the epidemic.
The agreement was signed by all 55 U.S. attorneys general representing eligible states and territories. It resolves litigation over Purdue’s and the Sacklers’ production and marketing of opioids nationwide. The Maryland Opioid Restitution Fund, established in 2019 and administered by the Office of Overdose Response under the Lt. Governor’s Office, awards grants to community organizations and state agencies to deliver essential services.
The resolution marks a significant step in the nationwide effort to address the opioid crisis through the courts while providing sustained resources for recovery in communities like those throughout Southern Maryland.
