Fifty Pennsylvania Counties, including Mercer and Lawrence, have agreed to join an opioid settlement that would bring more than $1 billion to the state, with up to $232 million expected this year.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro has announced that the $26 billion global settlement with Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen—the nation’s three major pharmaceutical distributors—and Johnson & Johnson also requires significant industry changes designed to help prevent an opioid crisis from happening again.

“Pennsylvania lost 5,172 lives to overdoses in the last year alone, which is 14 Pennsylvanians a day. This settlement is going to provide resources to jumpstart programs that will change lives and impact families across our Commonwealth who are struggling to find treatment and help for those suffering from substance abuse. These funds will be earmarked to offer and expand life-saving treatment options, prioritizing the areas that have been most affected by this crisis,” said Shapiro.

While it is up to local governments to decide where the funds will be allocated, the settlement stipulates that the funding must be used to combat the opioid crisis.

A list of approved opioid remediation uses can be found here.

The remaining 17 counties and multiple subdivisions have until next month to sign on.

“Continuing litigation is incredibly risky, as we’ve seen in Oklahoma where a $465 million judgement was overturned by the state Supreme Court after being on appeal for years, and in California where a number of counties and cities lost their case after seven years in court,” said Shapiro. “We can’t afford to wait – we need these funds flowing into our communities now. We know no dollar amount will bring back all that we have lost, but this settlement will give communities the money to save lives now.”