BATON ROUGE, La. -Â Louisiana officials hope to use millions in settlement money to boost spending on drug courts and substance abuse treatment, which they said would benefit addicts, reduce crime and save taxpayer dollars.
Attorney General Jeff Landry recently announced the state would receive $6.9 million as part of a $573 million settlement with McKinsey & Company, which was accused of profiting from the opioid epidemic. Settlements with other companies blamed for the epidemic that Landry hopes will be resolved within six months could allow Louisiana to increase drug court funding by more than $14 million per year for at least 10-15 years, he said Tuesday.