Escambia County to get nearly $20 million in opioid settlement money. How it will be spent

Escambia County is expected to get about $19.5 million from opioid litigation settlements over the next 18 years.

That is the tentative amount awarded to the area after settlements with pharmaceutical distributors, companies and pharmacies that were sued for their role in contributing to the opioid crisis.

The money is scheduled to be distributed annually and is to be used for opioid abatement, including addiction prevention and treatment. The amount is tentative because the state of Florida can also hold back money for state projects and some lawsuits are still pending.

Distribution to Escambia County started in December 2022 and the Opioid Abatement Funding Advisory Board, which evaluates funding requests and makes recommendations to the board of county commissioners, currently has about $2.4 million.

The board is made up of five members who were appointed by city and county leaders. So far, it has approved just under $700,000 in requests with most of the money going to hand-held narcotics analyzers for local law enforcement.

The analyzers can help officers identify what kind of drugs they come across during investigations. That’s important because even trace amounts of drugs like fentanyl can kill or harm someone, police say.

The Escambia Sheriff’s Office requested and received about $490,000 for 14 hand-held narcotics analyzers.

Escambia Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Morgan Lewis said the department recently finished training on the devices. They’ve only been in use about two weeks, and she didn’t know if deputies had used them yet.

The Pensacola Police Department also requested and received about $180,000 for three narcotics analyzers. PPD spokesman Mike Wood said the equipment is in, but officers must still train on the equipment before using it during their shift.

Wood said the devices are valuable tools because drugs like opioids and fentanyl can come in different forms and the analyzers help officers know what they’re dealing with.

“We had one close call when an officer inhaled fentanyl and we had to give him Narcan,” said Wood. “We also had to evacuate the building one morning because of an exposure inside the building. These incidents happened several years ago, but it's happened all over the country with officers getting exposed because it takes just a very minute amount for that to happen.”

Narcan is a safe medication widely used by emergency medical personnel and other first responders to prevent opioid overdose deaths. The Opioid Abatement Funding Advisory Board recommended and the county approved another $25,000 for a Narcan vending machine to be placed in Brownsville, but according to county financial data it appears the machine has not been ordered yet.

In April, the board approved an opioid abatement strategy that includes the process and criteria for people and groups to apply for funding, but it must first be approved by county commissioners.

“Once the county commission approves it, it will go out through the county to all these agencies that want some of this money or have a program they're interested in funding,” explained board chair and former Pensacola Police Chief John Mathis. “Once we review the projects and make a decision, that's what we recommend to the county commission. Hopefully, going through our process will make a difference, because in Escambia County we have one of the highest death rates in the whole state.”

The abatement strategy is prioritized by three categories: treatment and recovery; prevention; and criminal justice. According to data from the District One Medical Examiner’s Office, which includes Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties, last year the area ranked as the deadliest in Florida for opioid-related deaths.

Attorney General Ashley Moody held a press conference in Pensacola to highlight the problem. She referenced the 2022 Interim Drugs Identified in Deceased Persons report that shows that between January and June 2022, 350 people in the Pensacola medical district died with opioids in their system , and 217 of those deaths were of fentanyl or its analogous ingredients .

Denise Manassa is director of community prevention for CDAC Behavioral Healthcare, a primary resource for substance-abuse prevention and treatment of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties.

Manassa said CDAC supports the board’s mission and the opportunities it provides to further addiction treatment. She said the goal is to help community members reduce risk-taking behaviors and promote resilience through prevention and education.

“A holistic approach to the opioid settlement money is what will help our community move forward and achieve what our unique community needs are,” Manassa said. “For example, building problem solving and communication skills in our children and youth. Intervention is stepping in with an individual to encourage them when they start to have struggles to seek help. Meet them where they are in their thought process, keeping it client centered.  Then the treatment side is the process of addressing and managing their dependency and underlying issues.”

The Opioid Abatement Funding Advisory Board’s next meeting is June 3.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Escambia County to get nearly $20 million in opioid settlement money. How it will be spent