Monday: What Should Dane County Do with Opioid Settlement Money?

MADISON, Wis. (WMDX) – Dane County leaders want your input on how to use opioid settlement money. 

Governments across the country sued pharmaceutical companies, marketers, distributors and retailers, saying they knowingly fueled the opioid epidemic. Companies largely settled. 

The state of Wisconsin is set to receive $780 million by 2038. That’s for the state, and to local municipalities who had joined the lawsuits. 

Dane County has already gotten some settlement money, and will get more. Now, the county’s Health and Human Needs Subcommittee is asking for residents’ suggestions on how to use it. 

They have a wide variety of options: sober living facilities, mental health treatment that includes substance use disorder treatment, helping people find housing, harm reduction kits… there’s a long list. 

There’s a meeting Monday, April 28 at 5 p.m. where residents can weigh in. It’s at the City-County Building, but people can also speak virtually via Zoom. For more information about attending the meeting, click here. 

Nationally, states and local governments have been awarded more than $50 billion from opioid lawsuits.