Three years in, funds to fight opioids still unspent in some Michigan counties

There is often a question we're posed: Is opioid settlement spending going too slow, or is it going okay?

We know spending it “quickly” is relative and may seem contradictory to spending it well. It's not, but it is definitely difficult to spend it fast and well.

I think there are two things happening with “slow” spending:

1. It is taking three years because there's a deliberate process…while that's a little too long for us…at least there's a deliberate process happening. This is ok-ish.
2. It's been three years, and there hasn't been any deliberation or movement towards spending it because they have no idea what to do…that's a really big problem.

Slow doesn't always mean catastrophically bad. Some places spent it quickly and might as well have lit the cash on fire (check our WFAM database). So in some ways, I have hope that the slow money may still go towards things that work. Yes, there are thousands of preventable deaths that are the real cost for being slow. That is excruciatingly painful to write. But I do genuinely get that this all takes time because most people who have just been handed this cash don't know what to do and feel the responsibility of spending this money well.

One thing these “money is sitting there” stories sometimes miss is the lack of support for the counties in most places. It is worth keeping in mind that some places have had a task force and people working on the opioid syndemic for years. These are usually big cities or university towns that have the resources to put towards those sorts of efforts.

Other places just don't have that capacity.

It's part of the reason the opioid syndemic has been so bad in so many places. Most places didn't have the support to work on those issues when they popped up. Expecting those same places to be able to spend this money well and quickly remains a catastrophic decision at the start of this settlement process.

Three years in, funds to fight opioids still unspent in some Michigan counties - Bridge Michigan

Funds meant to save lives in Michigan’s drug war are still sitting in the bank accounts of some local governments.

Bridge MichiganRon French