San Mateo County is set to receive millions of dollars from a settlement with the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma, a drug manufacturing company that fueled the nation’s opioid epidemic.

Purdue Pharma, which was owned by the Sackler family, brought the highly addictive prescription pain killer OxyContin to the market in 1996. From 1999 to 2023, more than 800,000 people in the United States died from opioid overdose, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Continue reading for free

Sign in to read this story and receive the weekly roundup in your inbox.

Or

Terms & Conditions

Success! Your account was created and you’re signed in.
Please visit My Account to manage your account.

Alise is a general assignment reporter with a focus on covering government, elections, housing, crime, courts and entertainment in San Francisco and on the Peninsula. Alise is a Bay Area native from San Carlos. She studied history at University of California, Santa Cruz and first started journalism at Skyline College’s school newspaper in San Bruno. She has interned for Bay City News and for Eesti Rahvusringhääling, or Estonian Public Broadcasting. She has covered everything from the removal of former San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus to the divisive battle over the Great Highway on San Francisco’s west side. Please send her any tips.