San Mateo County will receive an additional $3.3 million from the Sackler family as part of ongoing litigation related to opioid abuses, officials announced this week.
The funds will be distributed over several years and add to the roughly $1.5 million already received from the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy estate, bringing the county’s total opioid settlement funding, including non-Sackler related settlements, to about $49 million.
The money received is the result of multiple lawsuits by more than 600 cities, counties, and Native American tribes nationwide, which accused Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers of fueling the opioid crisis through misleading marketing of the painkiller OxyContin and sought damages to help communities address its impacts.
San Mateo County said it was among the first to join legal action and opposed the family’s attempt to gain broad personal immunity from future lawsuits.
According to a county statement, in June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court nixed a proposed settlement that would have granted sweeping immunity to the Sackler family. After further negotiations, a $7.4 billion final settlement was reached in January among the Sacklers, Purdue Pharma, states, and other counties.
“These cases have always been about honoring the people harmed; those we’ve lost, those still struggling, and the families who have carried so much pain,” said Assistant County Attorney David Silberman.
County Counsel John Nibbelin added, “While no litigation outcome can undo the devastating consequences of the opioid crisis, this resolution ensures accountability and directs resources to the communities that have borne the impact.”
County officials said the funds will go toward prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery initiatives aimed at saving lives and supporting residents struggling with addiction. Colleen Chawla, San Mateo County Health chief, said the funding “helps ensure those responsible contribute to the solutions our community needs” and will support life-saving services with “compassion, equity, and accountability.”
Previous opioid settlement funds have already expanded addiction treatment in county jails, increased resources at San Mateo Medical Center, and supported transitional housing and recovery services at the Redwood City Navigation Center, among other initiatives.
San Mateo County recorded 12.5 opioid overdoses per 100,000 residents in 2023, according to data from the California Department of Health Services. That rate was higher than Santa Clara County at 11.0 but lower than Contra Costa County at 16.6 and Alameda County at 21.8.
In the Bay Area, the opioid crisis was most pronounced in San Francisco, which reported 54.8 overdoses per 100,000, the third-highest rate in the state. Alpine County, near the Nevada border, had the highest statewide overdose rate at 151.2 per 100,000, according to the state data.