From Naloxone to Suppressors: Settlement Cash for Law Enforcement

In the Appalachian region, local police are often viewed as first responders in crisis situations.

Bre Dolan, a 35-year-old from Hardy County, West Virginia, sees the rationale behind this. During her youth, when her father struggled with addiction and mental health issues, the police were usually the first line of help. Dolan describes them as "dedicated officers" who care deeply about the wellbeing of their community.

However, she questions whether they can address the underlying causes of the persistent addiction crisis her state faces.

"Most arrests are of addicts," she mentioned, indicating that these individuals require medical intervention, not incarceration.

Dolan's father was situationally similar, and she herself faced similar challenges.

Having conquered her own addiction 14 years ago, Dolan is taken aback by reports of local government allocations — large settlements from pharmaceutical companies implicated in the overdose epidemic — being spent on law enforcement tools like Tasers, patrol vehicles, and night vision equipment.

"How does this really tackle the core issue?" Dolan wonders. "How does it assist families dealing with addiction?"

Across the nation, over $61 million from opioid settlements was directed towards police-related endeavors in 2024, according to an in-depth investigation by KFF Health News, along with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Shatterproof, an addiction-focused nonprofit. Some initiatives, like pairing social workers with officers on overdose calls, are supported by public health experts, yet there is skepticism about using funds to bolster police weaponry.

These settlements are intended to support addiction treatment efforts. Though settlement agreements impose rules to prevent misuse, akin to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement of the 1990s, interpretations of "appropriate use" can vary widely.

For some experts, like addiction medicine doctor who once battled opioids himself, certain law enforcement expenses don't align with the settlement's intended purpose.

"The money came at the cost of lives," he emphasized. "Not utilizing it to improve systems so no one experiences these losses again is, in my opinion, unjustifiable."

As detailed records and expenditures were collected and analyzed by KFF Health News and its partners, they discovered more than 10,500 spending examples. However, the details offer just a glimpse of 2024 due to reporting inconsistencies and gaps across jurisdictions.

Community Expectations and Allocation Choices

Dolan has firsthand experience with addiction spanning generations. During her father’s substance-induced episodes, young Dolan was sometimes expelled from home with her younger siblings. Her own addiction eventually led to imprisonment.

Though she found recovery independently and secured a job as an EMT, Dolan aspires to ease the recovery journey for others.

She suggests employing social workers or setting up family recovery programs to alter children's futures could be transformative.

"Someone could have intervened to support my father," she reflected. "Anything might have been possible."

Local government officials often see law enforcement as the primary solution, especially in remote regions, and their communities support this view.

Oak Hill's city manager noted that if prevention and treatment were priorities, funds might have been funneled into grants for treatment centers. Instead, local administrations, not equipped for such initiatives, procured drones and surveillance technology for police.

Similarly, in Clarkdale, Arizona, funds were used for equipment aiding not just law enforcement but also community engagements.

Political leanings of constituents significantly influence these funding decisions.

"This is how my community wants me to decide," a Hardy County Commissioner remarked, as the county directs about a quarter of its settlement money to support law enforcement.

Funding Basic Services

In some areas, settlement money helps sustain frontline services.

For example, Mantua Township in New Jersey designated funds for police salaries and wages as per their public records. No comments were received from township officials.

In Los Angeles County, settlement money bridged funding gaps for firefighter salaries until projected revenue began accruing.

An official termed the spending "appropriate," highlighting how the opioid crisis burdens emergency services.

While using this settlement money as a stopgap is not against its rules, it wasn't the intended purpose.

The chair of the FED UP! Coalition expressed concerns, noting this money represents losses from families and drug companies alike. Using it for maintaining current conditions is both "painful" and "disheartening."

As federal budget constraints loom, there are fears of this situation worsening.

New Jersey lawmakers have already directed settlement money towards buffering health systems from Medicaid reductions — a decision opposed by the state’s chief legal and financial officers.

In contrast, some states, including Colorado, are taking steps to ensure transparency and prevent settlement funds from simply backfilling existing budgets.

Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Missouri plan to enhance their public reporting mechanisms to ensure proper tracking by 2026. Similarly, the Mississippi attorney general’s office will soon offer detailed information on expenditures.

Jennifer Twyman, a Louisville, Kentucky advocate, stresses the need for change.

Having battled opioid addiction for 20 years, Twyman now works to combat homelessness and reform drug policies. To her, spending not directly aiding people with addiction misrepresents the essence of the settlements.

"The money should have gone to those who need it most," she lamented. "It could have been my life at stake."

KFF Health News continues its commitment to delivering detailed, unbiased reporting on critical health topics, under the umbrella of KFF, a respected source of health policy analysis and journalism.