Opioid-involved overdoses have killed more than half a million people over the past two decades. This public health crisis has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, with some states reporting a 30% increase in opioid overdose deaths. But there is hope for a better future: the forthcoming state opioid settlement could help turn the tide. 

As states are settling their legal cases against opioid manufacturers, pharmaceutical distributors, and pharmacies, they should be investing in evidence-based programs to prevent and treat opioid addiction.

But it is not a given that states will spend the money this way. For example, when states received tobacco settlement funds, only 2-3% of those dollars were spent on nicotine prevention and cessation programs.

We can’t repeat that history. Too many lives are on the line.

Shatterproof is urging states to develop a fair and transparent process for how these settlement dollars will be spent. Contact your state elected officials today, urging them to enact evidence-based guiding principles and develop a transparent process for allocating the opioid settlement dollars.