News

Maine Spent $3 Million in Opioid Settlement Money, $19 Million Unspent

Photo: 560 WGAN Newsradio


A new report shows Maine spent $3 million in opioid settlement funds last year.

The money comes from nationwide settlements with more than a dozen pharmaceutical companies that made or sold prescription opioids.

It’s intended to address harms caused by the opioid epidemic by supporting treatment, harm reduction, recovery, and prevention efforts.

The new data collected by the attorney general’s office and the University of Southern Maine shows more than $19 million in funds that have yet to be spent.

It shows that 29 local governments spent some funds last year, with just over 40 percent of the money going to police departments and jails.

The counties and municipalities spent the most on harm reduction and treatment efforts, while prevention programming received the least amount of funding.

The settlement money has been coming after years of lawsuits brought by dozens of states and hundreds of plaintiffs against companies such as Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, and CVS Pharmacy, contending the companies profited from misleading information about the addictive and deadly aspects of pharmaceutical opioids.

Latest Headlines

1 day ago in Entertainment

Oscars preview: Producers tease ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ and ‘Sinners’ celebrations

The producers behind the 98th Academy Awards have set out to celebrate not just the hit song "Golden" from "KPop Demon Hunters", but the cultural phenomenon of the film itself. That logic is why the only other nominated song that will get a moment on the broadcast is "I Lied to You," from "Sinners," a blockbuster hit and the most-nominated film of all time.

1 day ago in Entertainment, Music

Q&A: Shakira says she feels like she’s just getting started. A Rock Hall nomination begs to differ

Shakira is on her way to drop her son off at flag football practice. It's an ordinary experience for a mother who, in the not-so-recent past, has been at the center of some pretty extraordinary circumstances.

2 days ago in Entertainment

‘Dancing with the Stars’ pro Mark Ballas leaps back to Broadway in ‘Chicago’

Mark Ballas is returning to Broadway in "Chicago" and the "Dancing with the Stars" pro will be reuniting with an old friend. Ballas, playing slippery lawyer Billy Flynn starting April 6, will share the stage with his Roxie, Whitney Leavitt, the "Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" star who was his dancing partner on "Dancing with the Stars" last year.

3 days ago in Entertainment

Multiple gunshots fired near Rihanna’s LA home and a woman is taken into custody

Los Angeles police took a woman into custody after she fired gunshots outside Rihanna 's gated home, according to authorities and news reports on Monday.

3 days ago in Entertainment

Pixar’s ‘Hoppers’ bounds to No. 1 as Warner Bros.’ ‘The Bride!’ is on life support

Disney and Pixar's environmental adventure "Hoppers" topped the North American box office this weekend with $46 million in domestic ticket sales in its opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.