Who’s Policing Opioid Settlement Spending? A Crowdsourced Database Might Help

We were fortunate to have some news coverage of our opioid settlement waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement (WFAM) resource when it launched back in July 2025.

This article introduced our new tool for collective action: a way for people to expose and challenge the waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement of opioid settlement funds in their communities.

We have been arguing since the beginning that these funds are intended to support those harmed by the opioid crisis...and with a million ways to spend the money, there are a million ways to misspend it. The standard seems simple: does this spending reduce opioid related morbidity and mortality.

Attorneys general should be enforcing that standard too, said Stoltman, of the Opioid Policy Institute. “If you’re going to bang your chest about how much money you got for your state for opioids,” he said, “what are you doing to make sure that it’s actually being spent well?”

This tool isn’t about asking the government to do the right thing. It’s about giving communities the power to document harm, organize resistance, and demand accountability. The money belongs to the people who’ve been failed by these systems. Spending in ways not aligned with reducing opioid related morbidity and mortality further harms the people this money is purportedly for.

To shine a light on these issues, we'll be sending regular updates documenting opioid settlement waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement and what can be done about it.

Who’s Policing Opioid Settlement Spending? A Crowdsourced Database Might Help - KFF Health News

Billions in opioid settlement money was meant to be spent on treating and preventing addiction — but what happens if it’s misspent? Some advocates say attorneys general need to pay closer attention. If they don’t, a new tool might empower the public.

KFF Health NewsAneri Pattani

Opioid Policy Institute by Jonathan JK Stoltman, PhD is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0