Anderson County reaches up to $7.5 million settlement to aid opioid crisis

Anderson County will get up to $7.5 million from an opioid settlement, money that will benefit local groups that fight the opioid crisis daily.

The final payments will depend on the number of counties, cities and towns settling across the state with payments starting this year and ending in 2038, said Rusty Burns, the county's administrator.

All funds must go towards projects dealing with the opioid crisis and the county council will plan on how to use the funds among "lots of worthy potential partners," he said.

"We are one of numerous people who've joined in with the opioid situation," Burns said.

The settlements are with drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and its U.S.-based Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies and the settlements are taking place across the country.

Anderson County has seen success from tools like Narcan as they fight the battle against opioid addiction, council member John Wright said.

Narcan is used to reverse narcotic overdoses in emergency situations and is the No. 1 drug that EMS providers are ready with in emergency situations, Shore said.

Wright anticipates some of the funding will go to emergency management and law enforcement as they are often the first to respond to an overdose, Wright said.

The county's fight against opioids is aimed at saving life first and foremost, he said. "To really deal with the root of the problem is to deal with the addiction piece of it."

This crisis is nationwide and a battle that the county plans to keep fighting, he said.

Nationwide: Overdose deaths hit record number in US in 2020 amid pandemic

Opioid misuse and overdoses at epidemic levels

Opioid misuse and overdoses are at epidemic levels across the country, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control reported on its website. The agency said this increase was likely due to anxiety, social isolation and depression.

In 2020, 68 people died from drug overdose in the county, more than double the 32 deaths 2019 had in pre-pandemic times, according to the Anderson County Coroner's Office.

This year, 54 people died in Anderson County.

The overdoses recorded by the Coroner's Office are related to addiction misuse, coroner Greg Shore said.

Drug overdose scenes across the county: Two deputies help save toddler’s life in an Anderson parking lot

In the 25 years Shore has been Anderson's coroner, the rise of synthetic drugs has stood out recently. These potent man-made drugs are reaching addicted people who have no idea their capability, he said.

"It is a chronic problem in our county," Shore said.

Putting people addicted to lethal drugs in prison is not a broad fix since those people need support and help to recover, he said.

When Shore talks to the families of those who die by overdoses, they tell him it's a tough addiction with few programs to help the under-insured or uninsured.

The millions of dollars the county is expecting could go toward helping families and organizations that could help those families face opioid addiction.

Sarah Sheridan is the community reporter in Anderson. She'd appreciate your help telling important stories; reach her at ssheridan@gannett.com or on twitter @saralinasher.

This article originally appeared on Anderson Independent Mail: Anderson County reaches settlement to aid opioid crisis