KINGMAN – Some major pharmaceutical companies across the nation have so far agreed to pay about $45-billion to states and their political subdivisions to resolve litigation alleging culpability for the opioid addiction epidemic. $1.1-billion of that is earmarked for Arizona and its counties and municipalities.
The numbers were provided by Finance Director Tina Moline in her July 16 report to the Kingman City Council. She said Kingman has only distributed a small amount of the $500,000 received so far.
“There is no real way to know exactly how much Kingman will ultimately receive, but if we were to receive every penny of every single settlement agreement that has been entered into thus far, we could receive up to $2.7-million over the course of 18 years,” Moline said. “Based on what we’ve collected so far, however, we know that it’s going to be less. We’re looking at it thinking we’re going to collect about $1.9 to $2-million.”
Recipients are required to use the funds for opioid abatement strategies focused on prevention, treatment and recovery. Moline said city leaders support establishing a grant program to allocate funds to those who are already working on drug issues in the community such as MSTEPP, Revive and Jacob’s Ladder.
Moline said the money can also be used to provide drug related training to police and fire personnel, placing overdose revival Narcan units in the lobbies of public facilities and to fund awareness and prevention events like Walk Away From Drugs. She also spoke of the possibility of hiring a motivational speaker to rotate through local schools periodically to promote drug awareness within the youth community.
Dave Hawkins
