When lawsuits were first being brought against opioid suppliers, there was the opportunity for cities to be part of the litigation. The City of Norman opted not to, but remained eligible for proceeds from Oklahoma’s settlement, because provisions stipulated funds be distributed to non-litigating cities.
In total, Norman will receive $1,164,638 from the settlement. This is the largest amount of money from an attorney general’s grant program going to one city. The amount was calculated using population size and the number of opioid deaths per capita. Larger cities Tulsa and Oklahoma City were excluded because both took part in litigation.
Norman’s City Council will get to decide exactly how to spend the funds, but will have to adhere to a variety of prescribed uses. Those uses include the treatment of opioid use disorder, overprescription and misuse prevention, harm reduction, training, research and first responders support.
Spending regulations also give priority to nine “core strategies:”
- Naloxone/other FDA approved drug to reverse opioid overdose
- Medication assisted treatment distribution and other opioid-related treatment
- Pregnant and postpartum women
- Expand treatment for neonatal abstinence syndrome babies
- Expand warm hand-off programs (direct transfer of overdose individuals from ER to drug treatment programs/facilities) and recover services
- Treatment for incarcerated population
- Prevention programs
- Expand syringe service programs
- Evidence-based data collection and research analyzing the effectiveness of abatement strategies within Oklahoma
These core strategies apply across Oklahoma. Interim Norman City Council Attorney Rick Knighton said the strategies are broad so each city is able to focus on the approaches most needed in their communities.
“The reason that I think we're in this position is because of the devastating effect that the over-prescription or over-utilization of opioid pain medication has had,” Knighton said, “and this settlement recognizes the impact that that has had on municipalities.”
Norman has not yet received any of the money from the settlement, but is one step closer to finally doing so. Once the Attorney General’s Office and the City of Norman finalize an agreement about spending provisions for the funds, the Norman City Council will be tasked with deciding exactly where to put the money.
“We've gotten to the point where there was a settlement agreement, and now we're getting to the point where those funds are actually being sort of delivered to the Attorney General's office, and then the Attorney General's Office is currently in the process of redistributing those funds to entities in Oklahoma that would be entitled to them,” Knighton said.
Municipal staff is ultimately charged with making sure the funds are used within the terms defined in agreement with the Attorney General’s Office.
