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2026 Op. N.M. Att'y Gen. 1 (2026)

handle is hein.sag/sagnm0112 and id is 1 raw text is: New Mexico Department of Justice January 9, 2026 OPINION OF Opinion No. 2026-01 RAUL TORREZ Attorney General To: State Representative Andrea Reeb Re: Attorney General Opinion - Permissible Use of Opioid Settlement Money Question Is it permissible for Curry County and the City of Clovis to use opioid settlement funds distributed through the New Mexico Opioid Allocation Agreement to partially fund a behavioral health facility that will undoubtedly-but not specifically-provide services to individuals suffering from opioid use disorder? Short Answer Based on the question posed, such use is not permitted. The use of these funds to build a general behavioral health facility is not permitted, even if some of the patients ultimately treated at the facility suffer from opioid use disorder. In order to make use of the funds, a more precise allocation of the funds to address opioid issues is necessary. For instance, it may be permissible to use the funds to pay operational expenses of the facility, in proportion to the percentage of expenses used to treat opioid patients. Background As a consequence of the harms caused by opioid use and abuse, the State of New Mexico, along with other states and political subdivisions, filed a series of lawsuits against pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributers, and retailers. See, e.g., State ex relBalderas, D-101-CV-2017-02541 (N.M. 1St Jud. Dist., filed Sept. 7, 2017). These lawsuits resulted in several very similar settlement agreements with various entities in the pharmaceutical industry. New Mexico entered into agreements with Johnson & Johnson (a/k/a Janssen), Allergan, Teva Pharmaceuticals, the pharmaceutical distributors, and some smaller companies (Settlement Agreements). New Mexico's agreement with Johnson & Johnson (Janssen Settlement Agreement) is representative of these Settlement Agreements. New Mexico Department of Justice 408 Galisteo Street I Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505) 490-4060 1 NMDOJ.GOV