Kroger Agrees to $1.37 Billion Opioid Settlement With 30 States

A Kroger store in Novi, Mich., in this file photo. Ed Pevos/Ann Arbor News via AP

A bipartisan coalition of 30 attorneys general has announced a $1.37 billion settlement agreement with the grocery store chain Kroger for its alleged role in contributing to the opioid crisis.

On Nov. 4, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said the state will receive up to $42.9 million for “opioid abatement”—including programs to prevent opioid abuse—from Kroger, which operates 116 stores in the state.

“Today’s settlement with Kroger represents another significant step in Tennessee’s fight against the opioid epidemic,” Skrmetti said in a statement. “By holding accountable those who contributed to this epidemic, Tennessee will obtain settlement funds to address the harms inflicted by opioid abuse on families and communities across the State.”

Kroger has also agreed to injunctive relief requiring its pharmacies to share data on opioid prescriptions when suspicious activity has been identified.

Kroger didn’t respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment by publication time.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said the state will receive almost $70 million for opioid abatement.

“Our work addressing the opioid crisis remains a top priority,” Weiser said. “A core part of that work is holding accountable entities like Kroger that fail to act to protect Coloradans and bringing back funds to Colorado. With the funds coming from this settlement, we will be able to save lives.”

Kroger operates 149 subsidiaries in the state under the names City Market and King Soopers.

Weiser leads the Colorado Opioid Abatement Council, a government board that oversees regional councils to ensure that the opioid settlement funds are appropriately distributed.

The attorney general’s office said the state has received $110 million in settlement funds as of July 2024, with 90 percent of the funds “distributed to regions and local governments for opioid response, prevention, education, harm reduction and infrastructure programs.”

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said the Palmetto state will receive around $18 million for opioid abatement.

“No amount of money can make up for the lives we’ve lost to the opioid crisis, but the money from this settlement, along with the other settlements we’ve announced, will go to treat people who are addicted to opioids,” Wilson said.

Kroger operates 44 stores in the state under its own name and Harris Teeter.

Utah, Virginia, and North Carolina are among the other states to receive settlement abatement.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been three waves of opioid overdose deaths in recent U.S. history.

In the first wave, there was an increase in prescription opioids that began in 1999. In the second wave beginning in 2010, heroin contributed to the majority of overdose deaths.

In the third wave that began in 2013, there were sharp increases in overdose deaths attributed to the synthetic opioid fentanyl.

From 1999 to 2021, nearly 645,000 people died from opioid overdose in the United States.