ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)— An advisory board approved recommendations on how the state could spend $47million dollars it received from the opioid settlement fund for fiscal year 2026.
The recommendations will be included in a report.
The Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Board was created to make sure money from opioid settlements go to those who need them.
Some members of the board questioned if the money was being spent wisely. Truth Pharm, a group that advocates for victims of opioid abuse says those questions should have prevented the board from approving the recommendations.
“What is wild about the process that happened today is the board admitted their report is flawed,” said Alexis Pleus, founder of Truth Pharm. “They admitted they don’t have enough data to complete the report, and yet they voted to move forward to voting and finalizing and submitting the report with a simultaneous statement that they disagree with the report that they’re submitting.”
However, others pointed to the report’s November 1st deadline as a reason to vote on Monday.
“There’s not necessarily a consensus, but that’s also why people vote in order to decide what those recommendations are and also part of the voting today was about whether the report should actually be delivered by the deadline or not,” explained Chinazo Cunningham, Commissioner of the Office of Addiction Services and Supports. “Not everybody agrees, but it’s a diverse group of people with different experiences and backgrounds and that’s part of what makes our state great.”
As for the recommendations, the commissioner breaks them down.
“The categories include, harm reduction, treatment, prevention, recovery services, addressing the social needs of people with addiction, addressing special populations that include pregnant and parenting people, people with COVID and mental health disorders and addiction, adolescence, people involved with the criminal justice system,” listed Cunningham.
After some edits are made, the report will be sent to the governor and legislature. It will also be made available online to the public.
