Minnesota Gets $59 Million in Purdue Pharma Settlement, but Black-Led Organizations Say the Work Is Far From Done
Contributing writer Alaysia Lane reports on Minnesota's additional $59 million in opioid settlement funding from Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family, and on the persistent gaps in care facing Black communities, including a 68% drop in residential treatment providers since 2017 and continued racial disparities in overdose deaths, as told through the work of African American Survivor Services.
Minnesota will receive an additional $59 million in opioid settlement funding as part of a nationwide $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family, bringing the state’s total recovery to approximately $633 million.
Attorney General Keith Ellison announced the settlement on May 1, stating, “No amount of money can ever make up for the death, devastation, and destruction opioid companies caused in every corner of Minnesota.
Nevertheless, it’s been critically important to hold them accountable, and no company more so than Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family members that controlled it.”
Under a 2022 Minnesota law, all settlement funds must be used for opioid treatment, prevention and recovery. By a 2021 agreement initiated by Ellison’s office, 75% of the funding goes to cities and counties, while 25% goes to the state.
Jeremy Drucker, director of Minnesota’s Office of Addiction and Recovery, said most settlement decisions are made locally, with counties and cities determining spending through grant processes.
“The spirit of the agreement is that local communities know best,” Drucker said.
Drucker said Minnesota receives funds over multiple years rather than all at once, with the projected total exceeding $600 million over roughly 18 years. He said spending focuses on the “continuum of care,” including prevention, treatment, harm reduction and long-term recovery services.
Still, providers and community organizations say questions remain about whether funds are reaching communities most impacted.
Despite increased funding, Minnesota has seen a 68% drop in residential treatment providers since 2017, and 24 counties still lack a provider.
For organizations like African American Survivor Services, the crisis is tied to homelessness, incarceration, trauma and longstanding racial disparities in care.
“We are a Black-led, survivor-led organization,” said Ivan Nelson, who works in peer recovery support and community outreach. “Everyone employed by us has a history of those types of traumas or disorders.”
Founded in 2020, African American Survivor Services provides peer support, education and referrals for people facing substance use disorders, mental health challenges, domestic violence and reentry after incarceration. It serves Minneapolis, St. Paul and surrounding counties, often working with unhoused residents and people navigating multiple crises at once.
Nelson said the drug supply has continued shifting.
“First it was heroin and prescription pain medication, then fentanyl, then xylazine,” he said. “Now, it’s nitazenes.”
He said the rise of synthetic opioids and their low cost has made treatment and prevention harder for already-strained organizations.
Nelson said major barriers remain, especially in Black communities and among people leaving incarceration.
“One of the greatest barriers is lack of health insurance,” he said, especially for people exiting jail or experiencing homelessness.
Nelson said many Black Minnesotans still struggle to find culturally responsive treatment.
State data emphasizes these disparities: American Indians in Minnesota were seven times more likely to die from a drug overdose in 2024 than white residents, while African Americans were three times more likely.
Drucker said overdose deaths declined statewide in 2024, including among disproportionately impacted populations, but disparities remain.
Nelson acknowledged support from Hennepin County and the Minnesota Department of Health’s Office of African American Health, saying those partnerships helped expand outreach and naloxone distribution efforts into underserved communities. Yet sustainability remains a concern.
“We’re trusted messengers in the community,” Nelson said. “But if funding stalls, resources dry up.”
African American Survivor Services currently partners with Hennepin County on outreach and overdose prevention. Nelson said such programs have helped reduce deaths, but state investment still falls short of community needs.
“When you invest in us, you invest in the community,” he said.
Julie Bauch, Hennepin County’s senior strategist for opioid response, said the county has not yet received funding from the newly announced Purdue Pharma and Sackler family settlement.
Instead, the county has been receiving opioid settlement dollars since 2022 through earlier litigation against pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors and retailers. Bauch said the county is expected to receive about $70 million over 18 years and has received about $27 million so far.
She said funding decisions are guided by overdose and demographic data.
Hennepin County awarded funding to 39 community organizations through its 2024 to 2025 opioid response framework, supporting harm reduction, outreach, treatment access, naloxone distribution and recovery support. Contracts ranged from about $25,000 to more than $700,000.
African American Survivor Services received a $100,000 contract for outreach, education and referrals to treatment services in African American communities.
The county currently manages 31 contracts focused on prevention, treatment, recovery and overdose response. Bauch said organizations are selected based on both services and community ties.
“We rely heavily on trusted messengers, specifically those that are community-based organizations,” she said. “Community knows them, not necessarily as a government worker, but as a community worker.”
Bauch said overdose deaths in Hennepin County declined slightly in 2024 after years of increases fueled largely by fentanyl, though it is unclear if the trend will continue.
She said long-term success depends not only on reducing deaths, but expanding access to medications for opioid use disorder and reducing stigma around addiction.
“The number one reason people don’t seek treatment is because of shame,” Bauch said. “People should not have to suffer alone.”
Nelson said recovery work ultimately depends on treating people with dignity rather than judgment.
“I would love to see the public see them as human beings,” Nelson said. “People deserving of respect, patience, and compassion.”
Alaysia Lane is a multimedia freelance journalist and commerce writer based in Minneapolis.