$55 Million Grant Given To Ohio To Address Opioid Epidemic

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Ohio Department of Health will receive a $55 million grant to address the opioid addiction crisis. The funds will be used to expand access to addiction treatment, especially medication-assisted treatment.

The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Senator Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, announced the funding on Wednesday.

“There isn’t a community in Ohio that hasn’t been touched by the addiction crisis,” said Brown in a statement. “This much-needed investment will expand access to medication-assisted treatment that so many Ohioans rely on to help them in their recovery.”

The grants come from HHS' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The program is designed to reduced opioid overdose deaths by helping meeting treatment needs throughout the nation.

Ohio has been at the heart of the opioid crisis for years, with a 2016 congressional report even calling the state the "face" of the epidemic. In 2017, there were 4,854 heroin-related deaths in the Buckeye State. The primary ingredient in many of these overdose deaths is a heroin-analogue called fentanyl.

Fentanyl was involved with 71 percent of unintentional overdose deaths in 2017, that's up from 58 percent in 2016 and 38 percent in 2015. The drug is usually mixed in with other street drugs like cocaine, heroin, and psychostimulants like methamphetamine.

State officials have been focused on curbing the over-prescribing of pain medications. In Ohio, 3.4 million prescription pain pills were distributed between 2006-2012. While in Cuyahoga County county, 267,000 prescription pain pills were distributed between 2006-2012.