PORTLAND, Ore. — The Biden-Harris Administration announced on Friday new funding to tackle the U.S. opioid crisis. They are shelling out more than $1.5 billion to address the overdose epidemic.
Perhaps no drug poses a bigger threat right now than fentanyl. It is being trafficked into the U.S. at an alarming rate.
Earlier this week, deputies with the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office seized 92,000 fentanyl pills during a traffic stop. They also seized other drugs laced with fentanyl.
The Oregon Health Authority said in 2021 nearly a third of Oregon's counties saw more people die from a fentanyl overdose than from any other overdose.
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The Biden-Harris Administration has seen enough. They are sending more than $1.5 billion to states, tribal lands and territories to help fight the drug problem.
Among other things the dollars will go towards expanding access to drug treatment and recovery support and making the life-saving drug Narcan more accessible.
OHA is getting more than $15 million. The Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board is getting $6.7 million. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and Siletz Indians are getting a combined $700,000.
KGW spoke to a founding member of Oregon Moms for Addiction Recovery.
"This life, that we've not chosen, has helped us understand you can't always believe what you hear," Pam Connelly said. "I'm excited and hopeful but at the same time I want to see how the money will be spent and how it'll be distributed."
Connelly is cautiously optimistic about the investments.
The state of Washington is also getting some of the funding. The Washington State Health Care Authority is receiving more than $27 million. Two different tribes are getting a combined $600,000.