RESOLUTION - Approving MOA between NC and Local Gov RE Opioid Litigation 8-2-21

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op Ns * A RESOLUTION BY THE COUNTY OF LEE APPROVING THE MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA) BETWEEN THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ON PROCEEDS RELATING TO THE SETTLEMENT OF OPIOID LITIGATION WHEREAS, as of 2019, the opioid epidemic had taken the lives of more than 16,500 North Carolinians, torn families apart, and ravaged communities from the mountains to the coast; and WHEREAS,the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded the opioid crisis, increasing levels of drug misuse, addiction, and overdose death; and WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the total "economic burden" of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement; and WHEREAS, the citizens of Lee County have been negatively affected by the influx of opioids into our community with emergency medical services responding to overdose calls, first responders providing Narcan to overdose victims and unforutnatly, many opioid-related criminal charges of individuals; and WHEREAS, certain counties and municipalities in North Carolina joined with thousands of local governments across the country to file lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and pharmaceutical distribution companies and hold those companies accountable for their misconduct; and WHEREAS, representatives of local North Carolina governments, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, and the North Carolina Department of Justice have negotiated and prepared a Memorandum of Agreement(MOA) to provide for the equitable distribution of any proceeds from a settlement of national opioid litigation to the State of North Carolina and to individual local governments; and WHEREAS, Local Governments and the State of North Carolina anticipate a settlement in the national opioid litigation to be forthcoming; and WHEREAS,by signing onto the MOA, the state and local governments maximize North Carolina's share of opioid settlement funds to ensure the needed resources reach communities, once a negotiation is finalized, as quickly, effectively, and directly as possible; and WHEREAS, it is advantageous to all North Carolinians for local governments, including Lee County and its citizens, to sign onto the MOA and demonstrate solidarity in response to the opioid epidemic, and to maximize the share of opioid settlement funds received both in the state and this county to help abate the harm; and