Will Colorado get extra funding from opioid settlements?

Colorado could soon receive millions of dollars from opioid legal settlements, but what will they go towards?

Since 2000, the opioid crisis has claimed the lives of more than 5000 Coloradan citizens.

Alex Caldwell, Colorado Health Institute’s director, warned about an impending conflict; there will be disputes over how to spend the funds, should Colorado get them.

Caldwell has released a report, sharing valuable insights of people working in the field about where the funds should go.

Most of the two dozen experts polled want the funds to go towards drug addiction treatment.

In a hypothetical scenario, they would allocate 41% of the funds towards treatment programs, 22% to prevention, 14% to harm reduction (syringe exchanges and similar), and the final 1% to miscellaneous programs.

In Colorado, 70% of people who need opioid addiction treatment are still without help.

On the other hand, the state has made several efforts to address the issue in recent years – specifically, to expand treatment capacity.

According to industry research, medication-assisted treatment may be the best way to treat opioid addiction, and Colorado is working to make that easier.

The grant money will go towards establishing mobile treatment clinics.

Some hospitals, such as Denver Health, have stepped in to help and will assist patients with related transportation and housing challenges as well as ensuring that they adhere to treatment.