The City of Chillicothe has received nearly $27-thousand as part of the One Ohio Opioid Settlement.
According to a Council request from the city auditor's office, the $26,936 payment is the first of 18 total payments that may vary in dollar-amounts each year.
The money is part of more than $1,000,000,000 in lawsuit settlements to Ohio from drug companies involved with making and marketing prescription opioids that led to a dramatic increase in opioid use throughout the State.
The money received through the settlement must be used in certain ways, mainly for addiction treatment and recovery, and substance abuse awareness and prevention.
City Auditor Kristal Spetnagel has requested that a city council committee accept and appropriate the city’s portion of the settlement award, and that a new city fund be created to track the revenue and expenditures, as advised by the State of Ohio.