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The New Yorker (7 Oct 2026)

Highlighting problems with opioid settlement spending

The New Yorker (7 Oct 2026)
Chris Cooper - Adaptation (2002)
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How the Billions from the Opioid Settlement Are Being Spent

We discuss the slow spending and the lack of local guidance (these things are connected!). Both these things contribute to misspending on law enforcement.

Millions from the Opioid Settlement Are Being Spent on Law Enforcement
People often call money from the opioid settlement “blood money,” and you might expect that it would go mostly to the families of people who died of overdoses. But much of it has gone to law enforcement—for squad cars, jail costs, drones, and more.

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Jonathan Stoltman, PhD
Jonathan has worked as a researcher and advocate focusing on opioid addiction treatment and recovery since 2013. He completed his PhD in Lifespan Developmental Psychology from West Virginia University in 2019. Jonathan’s academic work has appeared in leading journals, conferences, and media outlets. He has been working on opioid settlement-related topics since 2020.

Why You Can Trust OPI

The Opioid Policy Institute exists to help communities improve their response to opioid-related death and disease. We provide evidence-based research and analysis that translates complex legal guidance and public health research into practical, usable insights. Our focus is on transparency, accountability, and community healing by increasing access to evidence-based prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery supports.

OPI’s analysis reflects a collaborative, team-based approach. We blend real-world and academic experience to help ensure our work is methodologically sound, grounded in evidence, and attentive to real-world implementation challenges. We focus on asking the right questions, surfacing tradeoffs, and helping communities build robust responses to addiction.

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

Jonathan JK Stoltman (PhD)

Jonathan JK Stoltman (PhD)

Jonathan JK Stoltman, PhD is Director of the Opioid Policy Institute. They have been an addiction scientist since 2013. Their work has appeared in leading academic journals and in the media.

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