SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes, along with 30 other state attorneys general, announced Monday the completion of a $1.37 billion settlement with Kroger over the grocery chain’s role in the opioid crisis. As part of the deal, Utah will receive $45 million to reduce opioids. Those payments are expected to begin next year.

Kroger does business in Utah as Smith’s Food and Drug.

“It is my duty and honor as Utah’s attorney general to defend our communities against the myriad threats, including death and carnage caused by opioid abuse,” Attorney General Reyes said of the settlement. “This recovery, combined with others the Utah AG’s Office has helped lead across America, now exceeds $500 million in settlement funds. These dollars will help break many trapped in the cycle of addiction and prevent another generation of Utahns from becoming addicted to opioids in the first place.”

Utah Attorney General Reyes filed the lawsuit in state court in 2022, alleging that Kroger was the largest purchaser and distributor of opioids to Utah pharmacies between 2006 and 2014. The company allegedly purchased and dispensed more than 140 million dosage units of oxycodone and hydrocodone during this period. single time interval. This represents more than 15% of the statewide volume of these specific drugs.

Despite this massive volume of opioids dispensed in Utah, the state alleged that Kroger implemented policies that gave pharmacists bonuses and other perks based on the number and speed of filled prescriptions, including prescriptions for controlled substances.

Under the approval of the Utah State Legislature, opioid litigation funds are shared with counties and spent on treatment, recovery, expansion of needed services, prevention and criminal justice initiatives to increase access to recovery for people suffering from addiction and prevent people from . from developing an opioid addiction in the future.