The opioid crisis has been ravaging the U.S. for decades, costing states millions of dollars in resources and claiming tens of thousands of lives each year. Is the tide about to turn? Over the next 18 years, local, state, and tribal governments will receive a total of $18 billion to be spent on abating the opioid epidemic, The Christian Science Monitor reports. The funds are the product of legal settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors. The money could be a defining tool in efforts to reduce opioid-related deaths if funds are spent wisely. North Carolina was one of 46 states that negotiated the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement in 1998, which required tobacco companies to pay states billions annually to help curb tobacco addiction. However, the MSA is broadly considered a failure. With no settlement language requiring states to spend the funds on reducing tobacco addiction, they began using the money to plug budget holes or meet other needs.
In North Carolina, the heart of America’s tobacco industry and now the state with the 12th-highest rate of opioid deaths, local leaders are hoping to avoid those mistakes with the new opioid settlement funds. Durham County has begun approving uses for the opioid settlement funds, and local officials are optimistic about positive change over the next two decades. The state offers two broad options for how the money can be spent. Option A allows localities to fund “evidence-based, high-impact strategies” drawn up by the state. With Option B, a local government can design its own funding plan. Durham County has chosen Option A for the nearly $22 million expected over two decades. For instance, a program in Durham County that pairs individuals who have recently experienced a drug overdose with survivors was nearing the end of its grant funding. Over $300,000 in settlement funds has been authorized to ensure the continuation of the program. The settlement money will also fund naloxone vending machines, which will distribute a free nasal spray that reverses opioid overdoses, in the county detention center, public health department, and central library.
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