Nashville- Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III today announced an historic $26 billion agreement that will bring desperately needed relief to people across the country struggling with opioid addiction. The agreement is between state and local governments and Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen – the nation’s three major pharmaceutical distributors – and Johnson & Johnson, which manufactured and marketed opioids. The agreement would resolve investigations and litigation over the companies’ roles in creating and fueling the opioid epidemic. The agreement also requires significant industry changes that will help prevent this type of crisis from happening again. State negotiations were led by Attorneys General Josh Stein (NC), Herbert Slatery (TN), and the attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.