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All told, drugmakers and distributors will pay over $50 billion to communities harmed by opioids. An investigation finds that only a dozen states are letting the public see how they use the money.

The cash represents an unprecedented opportunity to derail the opioid epidemic. But with countless groups advocating for a share of the pie, the impact could depend heavily on geography and politics.

After years of litigation and investigation against opioid manufacturers, money is coming in. Vermont is slated to receive more than $100 million the cases that have been settled so far, according to the attorney general’s office. That number will go up, because Vermont is slated to receive funds from recent national settlements with four drug makers that combined, total more than $8.5 billion.

The lawsuit accused them of causing a health crisis by distributing 81 million pills over eight years in one West Virginia county ravaged by opioid addiction.

The law enforcement effort comes as opioid overdose rates are again spiking in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont.

A record number of Vermonters � 215 � died of opioid overdoses last year. One of those Vermonters was Matthew Hayes, a 22-year-old from Waterbury.

The state of Vermont reached a grim milestone this month when the Health Department reported that 210 Vermonters died from opioid overdoses in 2021. It is the highest number of fatal opioid overdoses the state has ever recorded.

Vermont could receive millions of dollars under a national settlement reached Thursday with Oxycontin manufacturer Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family. The deal still needs to be approved by a federal judge.

Vermont will receive $64 million under a settlement reached with four U.S. companies � Johnson & Johnson as well as drug wholesalers AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson � over their role in fueling the opioid crisis. The money could start flowing as soon as April.

Attorney General T.J. Donovan’s opposition to the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan. Plus, drought continues, grants to meat processors, and honoring Lucy Terry Prince.