Idahoans have the chance to set priorities for the upcoming year on how the state spends money from its Opioid Settlement Fund.
The most recent set of recommendations from the Idaho Behavioral Health Council prioritized prevention programs, treatment and recovery, along with workforce development.
“We want to make sure that the council is being representative of those that are involved, family members, you know, anybody who is taking the time to do this, we want to make sure that we're really listening and that's how decisions are being made,” said Ross Edmunds, who co-chairs the council.
Idaho has received about $73 million so far from pharmaceutical companies accused of fueling the country’s opioid crisis.
State and local governments each receive 40% of those funds, while public health districts are given the remaining 20%.
Edmunds said a ruling from the state attorney general’s office requires them to only use the funds for opioid-related projects.
“There certainly have been requests for programming that is across substance use disorders … but we’ve really tried to limit this and say this is specifically and focused exclusively on opioids,” he said.
Residents have until June 5th to submit their feedback to the council. Edmunds says the group hopes to vote on recommendations later that month.
State legislators will have the final say on how to spend the money during the upcoming session next January.
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