DESTIN, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis announced at a Friday morning news conference plans to use $205.7 million toward combating the opioid crisis with about $85 million coming to Jacksonville.
Funds from the opioid settlement agreement will be used to establish the Office of Opioid Recovery, which will oversee treatment and recovery efforts statewide.
In August 2022, DeSantis announced the expansion of Coordinated Opioid Recovery (CORE), a new opioid recovery program that continues the fight to end drug addiction in Florida. With the Opioid Settlement Agreement funding, the CORE network will be expanded to an additional 17 counties.
Since its launch, CORE has serviced and evaluated more than 2,682 people for opioid use disorder, and it has a retention rate of 70% with an average relapse of 2%.
“We want to stop illicit drugs from entering our state, hold dealers accountable, educate Floridians on the dangers and provide treatment that breaks the addiction cycle,” DeSantis said. “Opioid addiction is plaguing our state and nation, and we are seeing more fatalities related to overdose than ever before with fentanyl being trafficked through the southern border. We will use funds from the opioid settlement in the most efficient and effective way possible to end addiction in Florida.”
Funding would be dispersed as follows:
- Establishing the Office of Opioid Recovery – $10.2 Million
- Improving access to treatment and recovery services – $92.5 Million
- Developing educational prevention materials – $39.4 Million
- Expanding the CORE Network – $26.8 Million
- Expanding recovery and peer support services – $25.3 Million
- Pioneering an integrated statewide database – $11.3 Million
Jacksonville City Council Vice President Ron Salem said Jacksonville is expected to receive about $ 85 million over the next 18 years.
“The money is frontloaded where we will get several million up to about $9 million in year one and it gradually goes down over the 18-year period,” Salem said.
“Opioid addiction is plaguing our state and nation, and we are seeing more fatalities related to overdose than ever before with fentanyl being trafficked through the southern border. We will use funds from the opioid settlement in the most efficient and effective way possible to end addiction in Florida,” DeSantis said.
Salem also said the opioid committee is working to put a bill together to present to the city council.
“A committee will be set up with professionals in this area, and they will receive proposals from the community, nonprofits and others and they will reward grants into the community to treat, prevent, interdict and try to solve this terrible crisis,” Salem said.
The funding will also be used to help those in rural areas. A pilot program will be set up to test five on-demand mobile treatment teams that can provide on-site assessments, recovery support services and medications for substance abuse.
Additionally, 186,000 naloxone kits will be distributed to hospitals, county health departments, and community behavioral health settings to plan for naloxone saturation needs.