CHATHAM – The Chatham Select Board recently voted unanimously in favor of opting in to an opioid-related settlement that was opened to municipalities throughout the Commonwealth.
The settlement was announced by Attorney General Maura Healy.
The state will be receiving a percentage of the money from the agreement which was reached with three large opioid-producing companies.
In considering whether or not to enter into the class-action lawsuit, the board considered potential uses for the funding that they would receive by entering in.
Services for addiction recovery were one of the potential uses discussed.
The opioid epidemic is a big problem on the Cape, with Chatham alone having reported six overdoses and one fatality from this year, and four overdoses with one fatality last year.
“The amount of money we’ll ultimately get is wholly undetermined at this point in time. We can only look at the $23-26 billion total settlement sum at this point in time. It will be allocated between the Commonwealth and the participating municipalities within the Commonwealth,” noted Chatham Town Counsel Patrick Costello.
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