Use Of Opioid Settlement Money To Be Determined By Special Howard County Council

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — An Opioid Collaborative Community Council has been established in Howard County to help determine how the county should use funds its received through a national settlement agreement with opioid manufacturers. Decisions will be made before June 30.

“Opioid manufacturers created a public health crisis that led to hundreds of fatal and non-fatal overdoes in Howard County. Their product was a scourge on our community,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said. “Now that we have begun to receive money as part of our settlement with some opioid manufacturers, it’s important that our community has input into how those funds can best be used to prevent future opioid misuse.”

National litigation against opioid manufactures began in December 2017 and Howard County filed its own lawsuit in May 2019. States and their subdivisions reached a settlement agreement with the defendants in February 2022. As a result of that settlement, Howard County received approximately $230,000 in December 2022 and is expected to receive $12.3 million in the next 15 to 20 years. The settlement payments will be deposited into an opioid abatement fund established by the county.

In Howard County, fatal opioid overdoses fell from a high of 47 in 2020 to 31 in 2022, a 34-percent decrease. Nonfatal overdoses fell from a high of 188 in 2018 to 111 in 2022, a 41-percent decrease.

The Opioid Collaborative Community Council consists of the following 17 voting members:

• Barbara Allen, James' Place Inc. (Chair)
• Quinton Askew, 211MD
• Robin Bartko, Coach/Community Advocate
• Sarah Blankenship, Maryland Coalition of Families
• Mark Donovan, Congruent Counseling
• Joanie Elder, Donleigh House
• Beth Harbinson, Family Advocate/SOBAR
• Sean Hughes, Attorney/Community Advocate
• Mimi Matthews, Clergy
• Jack Matthews, Peer Recovery Specialist
• Sarah McCoy, Grassroots
• Debbie Nix, Parent Advocate
• Teron Powell Silverman, Treatment Solutions
• Joan Webb Scornaienchi, HC Drug Free
• Theresa Thomas, Hilda's Place
• Cindy Johnson, Community Representative
• John Way, Veteran's Advocate