Whitley County making plans for $729,649 opioid settlement

Whitley County is currently in the process of deciding exactly what to do with its share of a multi-million opioid settlement, which so far has totaled $729,649.

“I think every family has been affected by it over the years. We are just hopeful we can take what resources we are given through this settlement and try to help correct some of the problems and steer as many as we can to a better future,” said Whitley County Judge-Executive Pat White Jr.

“We are proud that we were able to achieve that settlement. There is a chance that there will even be some more funds coming.”

White noted that the money is designed to help abate the nuisance created by the over distribution of opioids, and is limited by a court decision to those types of purposes.

White said that a fiscal court committee recently came up with four areas to use the money.

One is to increase enforcement through the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department. Part of the money might be used to hire a full-time officer to work on narcotics cases.

“We want to do some education programs for prevention to try and keep the kids from going down some of those wrong paths and for some counseling at the schools,” White said.

“Also, we have been meeting with some groups about the potential of a rehabilitation facility here to help people, who have fallen into the traps of drug abuse. We want to help people turn their lives around and get back to being productive members of society.”

The money comes from a $26 billion settlement with drug maker Johnson & Johnson and the nation’s three top drug distributors, Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen and McKesson Corp. Kentucky’s share of the settlement was $478 million, with half the money going to the state and the other half going to local governments. The state’s allotment will be distributed by the Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission, housed in the attorney general’s office, according to Kentucky Health News.

Knox County received $365,203 in settlement funds last year. Laurel County received $425,739, McCreary County received $139,141, and Bell County received $296,522, according to estimates by the Kentucky Association of Counties.

White said that there may be some more funds coming over the next 18 years, but he is not sure about those amounts.

He also noted that some of the state’s funding might come back to the counties in the form of grants, but he doesn’t have any details on grant programs yet.