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Will the Sackler family finally begin paying out a multibillion settlement to cities, states, tribes, and individuals reeling from the opioid epidemic? The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Monday in a case that could decide. And Americans who lost loved ones to overdoses are not all in agreement on the desired outcome, partly because of a big catch: The Sacklers, whose company Purdue Pharma aggressively marketed OxyContin since the 1990s, have only agreed to pay if they are shielded from future lawsuits. The Supreme Court must rule on whether the law allows such a deal.
The case has created a tough situation for families who are eager for the funds to be distributed for drug treatment and other services, but who also want the Sacklers to face justice for the company’s role peddling addictive prescriptions. “NO ONE wants to see the Sacklers pay the full price more than me,” Cheryl Juaire, a grieving parent from Massachusetts who supports the payout, wrote to the court, according to the New York Times: “I lost TWO SONS as a result of their actions. But the only thing that will make my personal tragedy worse is to know that........