By Savannah Eller | The Gazette
With the processing of new settlements, El Paso and Teller counties are expected to receive about $75 million to combat opioid addiction and deaths over the next 18 years — an increase to estimates when the counties created a joint council to disburse funds.
Last year, the Region 16 Opioid Abatement Council figures had the overall total closer to $66 million awarded by 2038. The funding boost is meant to sustain community programs addressing different facets of the opioid epidemic.
“The vast majority has either not been allocated or not been received,” said Erik Stone, Teller County commissioner and council vice chair.
The estimate reflects updates in the nationwide legal process to hold major drug manufacturers financially accountable through payments to states, said Amanda Grant, El Paso County deputy chief financial officer.
Prescription opioids were involved in a peak of 17,029 deaths nationwide in 2017, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. In 2023, overall overdose deaths.
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