This June 17, 2019, file photo shows 5-mg pills of Oxycodone. Cuyahoga County received $117 million in its 2019 settlement with drugmaker Johnson & Johnson. CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish’s second request to use $10 million in opioid settlement money to help develop innovative ideas for addressing addiction again met resistance on Monday.
The county must do something to stop the opioid crisis, Budish urged, because traditional methods haven’t proven as effective as hoped. He agreed with Councilman Jack Schron, who has been the plan’s primary supporter, that Cuyahoga County has an opportunity to lead real change. Officials have repeatedly used the Cleveland Foundation as an example of who could manage the funds, but transferring the money would require a contract and a separate stamp of approval from council. Members indicated Tuesday that the county still has a high bar to clear before that happens.
Gibbons said he funded an addiction clinic that used a treatment method “generally regarded as safe” to help eliminate addiction cravings. The venture ultimately failed because of trouble finding patients for a practice not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, he said, although the treatment method was working.
“I’ve lived it. I survived it.” Gallagher said, later becoming emotional as he recalled some of his own experiences. “I know you’re asking us to put a little faith into what we’re voting on, I would just like more concreteness in the plan,” he said.but members are becoming increasingly aware that they need to decide how to spend the county’s $117.5 million in opioid settlement funds, about $98 million of which remained at the end of August.