Editorial: Westmoreland County should focus on doling out opioid settlement dollars it has before eyeing next lawsuit

Westmoreland County is planning to file another opioid lawsuit.

The county — like communities across the nation — has been pursuing those who made money off the opioid epidemic for years. It’s the kind of opportunity not seen since the tobacco settlement of 1998, when states were able to take the four largest cigarette manufacturers to court and recoup money for the cost of a public health crisis.

With the opioid epidemic, government entities have a similar chance to tip the scales on drug addiction. It’s something that hasn’t been possible with other drugs. There is no Big Meth or Big Cocaine to write checks. But with opioids, one of the major issues has been prescription drugs leading to street drugs. Big Pharma has culpability there.

Pennsylvania and myriad counties have settled with several pharmaceutical companies. Westmoreland is getting a $22 million share of a $26 billion national settlement.

The lawsuit now on the table would involve not those who manufactured the drugs but those who distributed them. County solicitor Melissa Guidy confirmed Friday that steps have been taken on a suit naming national retailers CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens and Walmart as defendants.

This is a logical next step for the county. It is comparable to suing not just the driver of a car in a fatal crash but also others responsible such as the manufacturer of a defective tire that contributed to the accident.

Hundreds of people have died of fatal overdoses in Westmoreland County, and the county has spent millions of dollars on law enforcement, drug treatment, social services and more in connection with the tidal wave of addiction that made prescription retailers millions of dollars.

However, let’s hope county commissioners can work out the distribution of the settlement it is already receiving before a new suit gets close to conclusion.

The commissioners are still working on how that will happen with the $3 million to be received this year in the first payouts. The county has to share the funding with Greensburg, Lower Burrell, Murrysville, New Ken­­sington, Derry, Hempfield, Mt. Pleasant, North Huntingdon, Penn, Rostraver and Unity.

An initial plan called for a committee with representatives from all 11 municipalities to meet with the county for that decision, which will now be done privately with the Drug Overdose Task Force.

The totality of money from the multiple lawsuits and the striking gravity of the drug problem demand that the problem be considered in depth, not just from the perspective of filing papers in court. The county should make plans for a fair and equitable distribution of settlement money — and stick to it.