The Attorney General’s Office is set to distribute over $5 million in settlement funds to nearly 40 cities and counties across the state, in an effort to stall and stop the opioid epidemic.
These funds come from the Opioid Distributor Settlement. Participating cities and counties elected to release claims against several major opioid manufacturers in exchange for financial compensation. This approach avoids potentially lengthy legal battles for non-litigating political subdivisions, while still allowing critical funds to be awarded.
Making the money available to communities across the state has been one of Attorney General Drummond’s priorities since taking office last year. In July, Oklahoma received its fourth annual payment and a partial prepayment for year seven of the 18-year payment plan.
“The opioid epidemic continues to harm every region of our state,” Drummond said. “Oklahomans from all walks are threatened by fentanyl and other deadly opioids. Cities and counties that opted to participate in the settlement finally will have the opportunity to fund critical remediation initiatives to fight against this dreadful epidemic.”
Settlement funds can be used for a variety of recovery and treatment programs, including education, prevention, drugs to reverse opioid overdoses and other opioid abatement initiatives.
The cities of Norman, McAlester and Tahlequah are set to receive the largest amount of funding with Norman eligible for more than $1 million, McAlester eligible for more than $350,000 and Tahlequah eligible for more than $261,000.
The final funding breakdown will be determined by the population per capita, the number of opioid overdose deaths and the amount of opioids distributed in each area.
Norman, McAlester and Tahlequah all have meetings scheduled with the Attorney General’s office, and city officials say they are working out how to best spend the funds.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
