$45 MILLION WAS
RAIDED FROM
OUR COMMUNITIES

This $45 million is blood money paid to our communities by the drug manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies who caused the opioid crisis. It is supposed to fund frontline programs. Instead, NJ lawmakers gave it to four hospital systems with billion-dollar budgets.

Days since the raid

000

Since June 30, 2025
Updated in real time

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What Happened

A Last-Minute Budget Betrayal

What Happened

Without a public hearing or discussion, NJ legislators quietly inserted a $45 million diversion into the state's $58.8 billion budget, moving opioid settlement money away from harm reduction programs and into four large hospital systems. Governor Murphy signed it.

Why This Betrayal Matters

This money is not general revenue or for filling budget gaps. It is "blood money" paid by drug manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies specifically to address the crisis they created. It belongs to the people most impacted by the crisis, not to offset costs at hospitals.

What the Money Was For

The NJ Opioid Recovery and Remediation Advisory Council spent 15 months hearing testimony from hundreds of people to build a five-year strategic plan. That plan called for investing in grassroots harm reduction, housing, legal services, naloxone distribution, and wrap-around support. Not in the strategic plan? $45 million for hospitals.

How Much Each Hospital is Receiving

$15M RWJBarnabas Health

$15M Cooper University Hospital

$10M Hackensack University Medical Center

$5M Atlantic Health System

Timeline of the Raid

15+ Months Before · 2023–2025

The NJ Opioid Recovery and Remediation Advisory Council gathers testimony from hundreds of community members and builds a five-year strategic plan for how to spend settlement money. Hospital funding is not included.

June 29–30, 2025

With no public hearing or community input, NJ legislators raid $45 million from the opioid settlement money and divert it to four hospital systems. Harm reduction advocates stage a die-in in the Statehouse hallway. The budget passes anyway.

July 2025

NJ Attorney General Matt Platkin calls the diversion "a slap in the face to every family that lost a loved one."[1] NJ Opioid Recovery and Remediation Advisory Council members wrote an open letter demanding that the raid be reversed and the funds be protected moving forward. Six of eleven council members sign on.[2]

Late 2025

A legislative attempt spearheaded by Senators Vitale, Singleton, Diegnan, Turner, and Singer (Bill S4792), and Assemblymembers Murphy and Dunn (Bill A6165) to restore the money stalls at the end of the year. Advocates continue organizing. New Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill takes office in January 2026.

Early 2026

The Senate (Bill S3017) and Assembly (Bill A4180) bills are quickly reintroduced, but have not yet been signed into law.

Today —

Currently, the NJ budget moves $45 million back into the opioid settlement fund, but without protections. This means it could be raided again.

What We Demand

Restore the Money.
Be Transparent.
Protect It Forever.

These aren't asks. These are the minimum obligations New Jersey lawmakers owe to communities who have already lost so much.

The full $45 million is restored to the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund, and spent on its original purpose: evidence-based harm reduction, treatment, housing, and recovery supports that save lives.

Full transparency on opioid settlement money spending across state, county, and municipal levels in New Jersey.

Protections must be established by law so that settlement money cannot be raided again. The opioid advisory council's recommendations must be honored, not bypassed.

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