Advocates seek more say in how opioid settlements are spent
As billions of dollars in opioid lawsuit settlements are starting to flow to governments, families and advocates impacted by the opioid crisis are pushing for a meaningful say in how the money will be used
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The tattoos on Billie Stafford’s hands — inspired by street art and full of references to her work helping prevent drug-related deaths — have become an indelible memorial to the friend who inked them and the opioid crisis that killed him in April.
As a panel starts considering how to distribute Ohio’s share of multimillion-dollar legal settlements with drugmakers and distributors over the toll of opioids, Stafford is concerned that most of the members don’t bring that same burden of personal loss to their spending recommendations.
“They don’t have to come and write 20 names on a (memorial) wall because everyone’s dying,” said Stafford, whose friend David Seymour died of an overdose and who co-founded a group that supports people addicted to opioids and their loved ones.
Across the U.S., people in recovery and families of those who died from overdoses fear they won’t be heard on the state-level panels recommending or deciding on the use of big pieces of proposed and finalized settlements, which are worth more than $40 billion, according to an Associated Press tally.
