By John Pacenti
Florida’s portion of the massive national settlement with opioid manufacturers netted Delray Beach more than $239,000 so far. But a leading advocate — and chair of a key advisory committee — says municipalities would be better served partnering up with the county than going it alone in providing services.
“It’s best if we put all of our money together to have the best outcomes and the most impactful changes in abating this epidemic,” said Maureen Kielian. She chairs the Behavioral Health, Substance Abuse and Co-Occurring Disorders Advisory Committee for Palm Beach County.
“Why would Palm Beach Gardens, for instance, want to open an ASU (Addiction Stabilization Unit)? They can’t afford to, whereas we could do it and service these folks.”
There was some confusion among officials and stakeholders about how much in settlement funds Palm Beach County and its municipalities will receive through 2039. On June 27, the county’s drug czar — John Hulick, head of the Office of Behavioral Health and Substance Use Disorders — clarified that the total is $122 million, of which $25 million has been distributed.
The wild card in all of this is the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision June 27 rejecting the settlement portion with Purdue Pharma because it would shield its owners, the Sackler family, from liability for civil claims related to the manufacturing of OxyContin. How that will affect the $50 billion settlement with the states is unknown, but Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote, “There may be a better deal on the horizon.”
The Sacklers’ ill-gotten gains are badly needed in a settlement that involves multiple opioid manufacturers and pharmacies. Of the 7,769 overdose deaths in Florida in 2022, 6,157 were attributed to opioids, according to the state Health Department reports.
Delray Beach spokeswoman Gina Carter said the city since 2022 has received $239,554. The City Commission was set to address how to use the money at its June 18 meeting, but the matter has been pushed to the July 16 agenda, she said.
Ariana Ciancio, a mental health specialist with the Delray Beach Police Department and a member of the advisory committee, said nobody has talked to her about how the money could be spent.
Mayor Tom Carney did not return a phone or text message for his thoughts on the issue.
Commissioner Angela Burns, also on the county’s advisory committee, said she would call for a workshop, saying the whole subject area is new to her.
“Staff is working on something now,” she said. “I’m looking for something that would be educational.”
That’s exactly what Kielian fears, saying that good-intentioned educational efforts from the days of “Just Say No” have been ineffective.
“These are — again — once-in-a-lifetime funds. We don’t need any more nonsense poster contests, stress balls or tchotchkes — that’s costing lives.”
The 18-member committee, including many on the front lines of the crisis, has recommended that 90% of the money go to housing, recovery support, job training, youth assistance and prevention. The rest would be earmarked for acute crisis care, such as medical detox.
Burns did say the amount Delray Beach has to work with currently is “just not a lot of money.”
“You hate to start a program and then have to end it because the funds run out,” she said.
Delray and drug recovery
Still, Delray Beach remains one of the top centers for drug treatment and recovery in the nation, if not the world. The city is home to 35 certified providers, according to the Florida Association of Recovery Residences.
It also played a starring role in the fraud scandal that rocked the industry some eight years ago and saw operators, associates and doctors go to federal and state prison.
At the advisory committee’s June 13 meeting, Kielian criticized proposals to use the money for programs such as foster children aging out of the system.
“I want to be very clear, I’m very empathetic towards that population; however, that’s not what the settlement is for,” said Kielian, also the head of Southeast Recovery Advocates.
She also worried the county could see the money as a piggy bank to shore up unexpected budget demands — such as funding its portion of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new law banning homeless people from public spaces.
There are no safeguards that prevent states or counties from using settlement funds on programs already funded — and then moving the money supplanted back to the general fund, she said.
Comedian and political commentator John Oliver dedicated a May episode of HBO’s Last Week Tonight to the opioid settlement, saying some states are funneling it to law enforcement.
The advisory committee on June 13 adopted a motion calling on the county to use the opioid settlement for what it is intended to do.
County Commissioners Gregg Weiss, Michael Barnett and Sara Baxter have said they lost siblings to the opioid crisis. County Mayor Maria Sachs said at a May 21 workshop on the subject that she would follow the recommendations of the advisory committee.
“People need a house, job training, meds and treatment — right there in their community. Those who have been through it, lead us,” she said.
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