In agreement with CVS and Walgreens, Guam will receive settlement funds regarding the opioid crisis that the companies contributed to by failing to properly oversee the dispensing of opioids.
For Guam, this means the island will receive over $4M over time from CVS and Walgreens agreements.
In an interview on Newstalk K57 with Patti Arroyo, Attorney General Leevin Camacho says that this is the 7th and 8th settlement that Guam is receiving.
The AG adds that states and territories have a program to help avoid opioid overdose such as limiting how much can be purchased in a day or being able to purchase medication with a prescription only due to how easily opioid addiction can happen. The attorney general says that users can get addicted as quickly as the 4th day of use.
Camacho says, “We have a prescription drug monitoring program. Certain things have to be put in place. So in addition to the money, there’s a big part of this… there’s always changes or practices these businesses will have to make when it comes to opioids to prevent it from getting any worse.”
According to the Attorney General, in Guam, fentanyl is an opioid that can possibly take over, “She (head of the DEA) just said fentanyl is going to be the next big thing. There’s two Mexican cartels that are working with Chinese companies to pump the market full of fentanyl and they’re lacing all kinds of products.”
Patti Arroyo, host of Mornings with Patti replied, “If you want to see what it looks like, it’s no joke. Take a look at that (Kensington Avenue). And if that comes to Guam as rapidly as it can and takes a hold of us. You are going to see a lot of your friends and their kids, or you know, somebody because like you said, it’s easy to be addicted to.”
Currently, Guam has $2.6M in opioid recovery trust and legislation has been drafted to allow Narcan, which reverses opioid overdose to be allowed for first responders, law enforcement, and peer groups to be able to train to use Narcan.
Contact Jannette Samson | E-mail: jannette@spbguam.com | Phone: 671-689-2842
