The Opioid Task Force was formed in 2017 and is compromised of elected officials, government leaders, healthcare professionals, community activists, and others. The task force has the goal of combatting the opioid crisis through collaboration and innovation.
In 2022, the Opioid Task Force formed the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee with the task of giving counsel on how to use settlement funds. The Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee released a roadmap for opioid settlement investments in January 2024.
Attorney General Derek Brown sees opioids as a significant issue in the state. He plans to provide resources to help counties, especially in rural areas, deal with this problem. The Utah Opioid Task Force serves as a vital coalition of federal, state, and local leaders, stakeholders, subject matter experts, and community leaders working in all our communities to prevent and address the opioid crisis.
The Office has been at the forefront of national and state-level negotiations and litigation against opioid manufacturers and distributors responsible for fueling the opioid crisis. Working alongside the Utah Department of Commerce, the Office has taken aggressive legal action to hold companies accountable.
To learn more about opioid abuse, please use these resources:
Our attorneys traveled across the country on behalf of Utah families to negotiate a settlement with Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, and eight other manufacturers to hold them accountable for helping unleash the scourge of opioids across the country. Working in partnership with other attorneys general and the Utah Department of Commerce, this year we secured a landmark $7.4 billion nationwide settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family. Utah will receive $55 million.
In 2025, we reached more than $600 million in funds ordered to go to Utah from when we started our litigation. In addition to settling with the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma for $55 million, Utah settled with eight opioid manufacturers for $6 million.
