COUNCIL MEMBERS MULL BEST USES FOR $40M S.D. GETTING FROM OPIOID LAWSUIT
Harm reduction, wider availability of naloxone, prevention at top of list
San Diego is getting a $40 million cut of a settlement in a nationwide federal lawsuit targeting prescription opioid drug makers and distributors.
The payouts will be made over 18 years, but the first $4.4 million is in hand. Now comes the question of how that money should be spent to address the deadly crisis.
On Wednesday, San Diego City Councilmembers Marni von Wilpert and Councilmember Raul Campillo sat down with stakeholders in the local fight against opioid addiction to get their take. The talks were behind closed doors, but after the roundtable, von Wilpert and Campillo shared their takeaways.
“Harm reduction is working,” von Wilpert said. “We have to do more of it.”
Harm reduction methods can include providing medications that can reverse overdoses, street-level counseling and addiction services, as well as reducing the stigma that can be associated with drug addiction.
She said she wants to see more collaboration among agencies and organizations responding to the crisis, and wants to see naloxone — which can counter the effects of an opioid overdose — become easier for people to obtain and have on hand. She also said efforts to prevent opioid abuse should increase.
“People don’t understand that they are getting in one single pill a fatal dose of fentanyl,” von Wilpert said. “Most people are being poisoned. They’re not even seeking fentanyl. Our youth don’t understand what fentanyl is. Our parents don’t know how to talk to their kids about.”
Campillo said it’s a medical problem, with a need to find medications, therapies and services to treat addiction. He said it’s an education issue, to help people understand the mechanics and effects of addiction. It’s also a workforce issue, with a need to pay people better wages.
The specifics of how much money should go where will be worked out over the next few weeks, and will become line items in the proposed city budget.