CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey announced Tuesday that future opioid settlement recoveries will no longer flow through the private nonprofit created to distribute the monies, instead directing those funds to direct state and local control.
Change from foundation to government control
McCuskey said his office is moving away from the distribution model established by the “West Virginia First” memorandum of understanding, which created the West Virginia First Foundation to handle almost $1 billion in opioid settlement proceeds. Under the new directive, future recoveries will be managed by the West Virginia Legislature at the state level and by mayors and county commissioners at the local level.
The foundation, which represents an agreement between the state and local governments reached in 2023, includes all 55 counties and more than 220 cities. It was poised to receive settlement dollars from litigation against pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors linked to the state’s opioid crisis.
Background on settlements and foundation
Pharmaceutical companies and retailers including Johnson & Johnson, Teva, Walgreens, CVS, Kroger, Walmart, Allergan and Rite Aid agreed to a combined settlement of about $940 million with the state and local governments. The West Virginia First MOU created a formula for distribution, allocating a share to cities and counties and a smaller portion to the Attorney General’s office.
| Item | Amount / Allocation |
|---|---|
| Total settlement referenced | $940 million |
| Portion designated to cities and counties (MOU) | 24.5% |
| Portion designated to Attorney General (MOU) | 3% |
Reason and timing cited by McCuskey
McCuskey said the West Virginia First Foundation has already begun spending the roughly $800 million it will receive from earlier settlements and that the organization now has the resources to continue its mission. The attorney general framed the move as a next step that allows state and local governments to directly manage future funds.
“The Foundation, which has already begun spending the nearly $800 million it will receive from the earlier settlements, now has the necessary resources to fulfill its important mission,” McCuskey said. “Now is the time to allow the State and local government to do the same.”
Local officials and past agreements
Representatives of the cities and counties involved in opioid litigation, together with former Attorney General Patrick Morrisey — now governor — participated in the 2023 memorandum creating the West Virginia First Foundation. That agreement was designed to centralize distribution of settlement funds across jurisdictions and set a formula for allocations.
Under McCuskey’s directive, lawmakers in Charleston would oversee the state’s portion of any future recoveries, while individual municipal and county leaders would manage local shares. The shift places distribution decisions with elected government officials rather than the nonprofit foundation that had been empowered to allocate the majority of funds under the MOU.
Implications and next steps
The change raises questions about how future dollars will be budgeted and tracked at both the state and local levels. Local leaders and lawmakers will need to coordinate to establish processes for receiving, prioritizing and auditing funds tied to opioid abatement, prevention and treatment efforts.
- Who manages future funds: West Virginia Legislature and local elected officials.
- Foundation status: Still holds and is spending about $800 million from earlier settlements.
- Settlement total referenced: Approximately $940 million from multiple companies and retailers.
Officials with the West Virginia First Foundation and some local governments have not been quoted in the announcement published Tuesday. Questions remain about how rapidly the shift will be implemented and what oversight will accompany direct state and local control of future settlement recoveries.
This story will be updated as lawmakers, local officials and the foundation provide further details or responses to the attorney general’s directive.
