Durham County Plans Opioid Funds Update Meeting
What’s happened with funds received by Durham County from the national opioid settlement? That’s the topic of a meeting planned June 24 in the commissioners’ chambers from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
The annual community meeting provides a follow-up to the 2023 input session and online survey.
According to the North Carolina Opioid Settlement website dashboard, Durham is set to receive $20,958,139 in funds between 2022 and 2038. Nearly $3.2 million was disbursed during the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
In July 2021, a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general announced the national settlement, a $26 billion agreement that’s expected to help communities hurt by the opioid epidemic. The funds can only be used to address the opioid epidemic and support treatment, recovery, harm reduction, and other life-saving programs and services.
Additionally, the agreement resolves litigation over the role of four companies in creating and fueling the opioid epidemic: McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen Corp., and Johnson & Johnson. The agreement also requires significant industry changes that will help prevent this type of crisis from happening again.
A memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the state and local government directs how opioid settlement funds are distributed and used throughout North Carolina. To maximize funds flowing to North Carolina communities on the front lines of the opioid epidemic, the MOA allocates 15% of settlement funds to the state and sends the remaining 85% to North Carolina’s 100 counties and 17 municipalities.
The meeting on June 24 will be on the second floor at 200 E. Main St. in downtown Durham.
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