AG highlights local efforts to fight the opioid epidemic

{Photo Credit: Clarence Hargrave/Davidson Local}

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein visited Davidson County on Wednesday to highlight local efforts to fight the opioid epidemic and to discuss the county’s $12.5 million allocation of the state's opioid settlement funds.

Stein said he has been traveling throughout the state to find out how local governments are planning on using the funds, and to provide different communities ideas to develop programming focused on prevention, treatment, recovery or harm reduction services.

“There are a lot of different options available to Davidson County,” said Stein. “You are developing a strategic plan and that will help you figure out what is the best way to use these funds.... Once you have that strategic plan, you will have your roadmap for how you want to attack the crisis.”

After years of negotiations by Stein and others state’s attorney generals, two nationwide opioid lawsuits were settled against the three of the nation’s largest drug distributors, McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen, and one manufacturer, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and its parent company Johnson & Johnson.

The settlements require that the distributors and J&J pay $26 billion over 18 years, with approximately $22.7 billion available to state and local governments to address the opioid epidemic.

Davidson County is slated to receive $12.5 million out of North Carolina’s $750 million allocation over the next 18 years, with approximately $1.5 million total to be paid in 2022. In North Carolina, 85% of the state opioid settlement funds go to local government, while 15% goes to the state.

"We know that this is a crisis felt at the local level,” said Stein. “You are on the ground floor; you’re the ones that have to deal with it. It is in your jail, it’s your social services, you are the ones that provide treatment and health care options for people. So, we wanted the money to go where it can make the most difference and that is with the counties.”

So far, Davidson County has already received approximately $1 million in settlement funds and has created the Davidson County Opioid Settlement Funds Committee. Davidson County Health Director Lillian Koontz, who is also a member of the local opioid funds committee, said the group is currently gathering information and studying the impact programs have had in other areas before creating a local action plan.

"While some counties are already writing checks, here in Davidson County we have formed a committee that is currently on a listening tour," said Koontz. “Our committee is dedicated to using these funds in a way that allows us to make the most impact on our community and this process will take time. We are intentionally taking time to learn more about programs and other things that are currently in place, particularly focusing on success stories and the data of their current participants.”

Koontz said she understands the difficulty in measuring these results, but Davidson County wants to make sure it is implementing productive programs with the maximum outreach to stop opioid addiction before it starts.

“Our efforts will be collaborative as this crisis affects our entire community. We are again thankful for the resources coming our way and look forward to using these dollars to prevent addictions and help those in our community currently addicted,” said Koontz.

The state has created a website where citizens can get more information on how much money each county is getting and when; how funds are being spent, the results of the programs and other information about the opioid lawsuit settlement. The website is at ncopioidsettlement.org/

Stein said the purpose of bringing these lawsuits against the drug companies and asking for compensation was to address the consequences of the opioid epidemic and the impact that it had on local communities.

"Holding the companies accountable and making them pay $26 billion was an important part of the lawsuit, but fundamentally, we want to save people and help them live better lives. The way you do that is using these funds effectively,” said Stein.