Addiego Introduces Legislation Dedicating Opioid Settlement Money to Addiction Services

Trenton – In an effort to further combat the growing epidemic of substance abuse statewide, Senator Dawn Addiego has introduced legislation to dedicate all current and future Opioid Settlement dollars solely to addiction services.

“New Jersey families have long suffered from the devastating effects of an opioid crisis that has only been exacerbated by the pandemic,” said Addiego (D — Burlington/Camden/Atlantic). “Dedicating these dollars now will hopefully prevent any future budget diversions and ensure the money is used to save lives and not fill budget gaps.”

This legislation would require the millions of dollars that have already been received and any additional opioid settlement monies be placed in a New Jersey State Treasury ‘Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund.’ This fund would be dedicated solely to supplementing substance use disorder prevention and treatment programs and services in the State.

“Billions of dollars from the 1998 tobacco settlement never made it back to the people who were impacted the most. Monies were largely diverted to other programs and to fill budget holes. Not learning from those mistakes would be

tragic,” said Addiego.

The number of suspected fatal overdoses from heroin and other opioids in New Jersey rose from just over 1200 in 2011 to over 3000 in 2020. That’s a staggering 40% increase. This legislation would establish a solid foundation to save lives, use evidence to guide spending, invest in youth prevention, focus on racial equity, and develop a fair and transparent process

for deciding where to spend the funding.