Inslee Wants to Dump $82 Million for Fentanyl Treatment Centers

Armed with money from the controversial opioid lawsuit settlement from last October, Gov. Inslee on Monday announced his goal of having multiple fentanyl and other treatment centers in WA state.

  Gov. wants to open two new community engagement hubs

According to MyNorthwest.com, Inslee had a roundtable Monday in Everett attended by law enforcement, medical experts, and so-called addition experts.

Inslee wants to open two new 'community hubs' where people could come in off the street, get medication to help combat fentanyl and other addictions and treatment programs right away.

The plan would begin with two, and two more such centers to open in the next couple of years. No mention was made of where these centers would be located.

The money would come from the settlement of the opioid lawsuit. In October of 2022, the three largest pharmaceutical companies, including McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc, and Amerisource Bergen Drug Corp. settled a lawsuit with the state. WA AG Bob Ferguson blamed the opioid epidemic on the marketing and pushing of such drugs by these companies as to why the state was seeing growing numbers of overdoses and deaths.

The $82 million would come from the $518 million the state got from the suit.

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However, according to the University of Washington's Additions, Drug and Alcohol Institute, Fentanyl and Meth showed the biggest increase in overdose deaths with 40 and 34 percent increase between 2019 and 2020.  What did opioids and prescription drugs do?  According to the UW Website:

• "Fentanyl-involved deaths doubled, with 652 deaths in 2020 compared with 321 deaths in 2019. Fentanyl has contributed to a greater share of drug deaths, ~10% in 2017 to ~40% in 2020.
• Deaths involving psychostimulants, primarily methamphetamine, increased 34%, from 540 in 2019 to 725 in 2020.
• Heroin and prescription-type opioid deaths were relatively flat."