Title
Receive presentation and vote to adopt a resolution by the County of Chatham to direct the expenditure of $40,000 in opioid settlement funds to support naloxone distribution
Abstract
Action Requested: Receive presentation and vote to adopt a resolution by the County of Chatham to direct the expenditure of $40,000 in opioid settlement funds to support naloxone distribution
Introduction & Background: In July 2021, North Carolina announced a $26 billion agreement with pharmaceutical distributors of opioids to bring resources to communities harmed by the opioid epidemic. The agreement resolves litigation over the role of four companies in creating and fueling the opioid epidemic. Beginning in 2022 and ending in 2038, Chatham County will receive a total of $2.9 million in funding from this settlement, averaging approximately $170,000 per year. A second settlement provides an additional $2.33 million in funding to Chatham County through 2035. The Chatham County Board of Commissioners voted in March 2023 to adopt a resolution to direct the expenditure of opioid settlement dollars from both settlements toward five strategies recommended by the Sheriff's Prevention Partnership on Controlled Substances.
In addition to providing a presentation on the Partnership, this includes a request to authorize expending up to $40,000 of these settlement funds to support naloxone distribution, an approved strategy, through March 2024.
Discussion & Analysis: Funding for this strategy will be used to establish and maintain a Naloxone Education and Distribution Program coordinated by the Chatham County Public Health Department, as recommended by the Sheriff's Prevention Partnership on Controlled Substances. Per Exhibit A of the memorandum of agreement, the program will "support programs or organizations that distribute naloxone to persons at risk of overdose or their social networks." According to the Community Opioid Resources Engine for North Carolina (CORE-NC), "Expanding a...
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