Here’s how Colorado plans to distribute $400 million in opioid settlement funds

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser connected Thursday unveiled a model with section leaders from crossed the authorities for distributing much than $400 cardinal successful colony funds from the nation’s largest cause companies to code the deadly opioid epidemic.

The memorandum of knowing betwixt Weiser and section Colorado officials comes a period aft the lawyer wide announced that Colorado would person $300 million arsenic portion of a $26 cardinal multi-state colony with cause giants AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, McKesson and Johnson & Johnson.

That money, coupled with $100 cardinal from erstwhile settlements with Purdue Pharma and different drugmakers, volition beryllium distributed crossed the authorities to adhd detox centers, attraction facilities and cause abatement programs.

“Our committedness contiguous is towards healing, towards helping communities crossed our authorities bash amended and dainty this disorder,” Weiser said during a greeting quality conference.

Sixty percent of the wealth volition beryllium dispersed crossed 19 regions passim Colorado, wherever determination collaboratives volition person their ain governing boards, comprised of section nationalist officials, to measure their needs.

The remaining dollars volition spell to section governments (20%), the lawyer general’s bureau (10%) and for infrastructure (10%) to assistance physique facilities for attraction and betterment services.

The funds volition beryllium particularly important for agrarian Colorado.

Byron Pelton, a Logan County commissioner, said his 10-county portion connected the Eastern Plains has 1 intelligence wellness center. For idiosyncratic who needs assistance successful Yuma, helium said, the nearest detox installation is successful Greeley, much than 120 miles away.

“We bash not person the capable resources oregon services needed to combat substance maltreatment disorders,” helium said Thursday. “This wealth from this colony volition spell a agelong mode to assistance agrarian Colorado. This wealth is cardinal to bring families backmost unneurotic by reuniting children with their parents and helping to heal our communities who desperately request help.”

This statement was 18 months successful the making, Weiser said, and has small precedent successful Colorado.

It stands successful stark opposition to the mode wealth was distributed from baccy companies successful 1998, erstwhile billions of dollars flowed into authorities legislative coffers, alternatively than section jurisdictions for attraction purposes, said Denver City Attorney Kristin Bronson.

Denver has acold much attraction and substance usage resources than agrarian Colorado counties, she said, but that lone means much radical are flooding into the metropolis to get help.

“We’ve taken connected the occupation for the full region,” she said.

Over the past 20 years, much than 7,600 Coloradans died from accidental opioid overdoses, authorities information shows.

While the immense bulk of states person signed connected to this settlement, astatine slightest six person not yet agreed to the deal, Reuters reported Tuesday.

In summation to the $26 cardinal successful colony money, nether the deal, Johnson & Johnson would not nutrient immoderate opioids for astatine slightest a decade, and would halt lobbying activities related to opioids.

In addition, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson would person to stock prescribing accusation nether a caller strategy intended to halt the avalanches of pills that arrived successful immoderate regions astir a decennary ago.

An Associated Press tally recovered determination person been astatine slightest $40 cardinal successful completed oregon projected settlements, penalties and fines betwixt governments and the makers of opioids since 2007, not including 1 betwixt the national authorities and OxyContin shaper Purdue Pharma successful which astir of the $8.3 cardinal would beryllium waived.

Purdue is trying to scope a deal done bankruptcy tribunal that could beryllium worthy $10 cardinal implicit time.

Opioids — including some medicine drugs and amerciable ones similar heroin and illicitly produced fentanyl — person been linked to much than 500,000 deaths successful the U.S. since 2000. The fig of cases reached a record precocious of 93,000 successful 2020.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.