FORT KENT, Maine — The Aroostook County commissioners on Feb. 19 voted to distribute $300,000 in opioid settlement funds to five local organizations for projects related to harm reduction and substance use recovery.
The funds are part of a national settlement against pharmaceutical companies for contributing to the ongoing opioid epidemic.
According to the Washington Post, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency data shows that more than 26.6 million prescription pain pills were supplied to Aroostook County residents between 2006 and 2014.
The Washington Post’s analysis showed that Aroostook’s top five distributors were Cardinal Health with 8.5 million pills, McKesson Corp. with 5.4 million, Walmart with 4.3 million, Eckerd Corp with 3.1 million and Rite Aid with 2.1 million pills.
County Commissioners also established an opioid task force which includes members of local recovery communities. County Administrator Ryan Pelletier said last year that he and other officials wanted the group to consist of people who had gone through substance use recovery themselves or who had seen and worked with family and friends who dealt with similar challenges.
Aroostook County is receiving a total of $2.7 million via the settlement over the next 14 years.
Based on a recommendation from the opioid task force review committee, $75,000 will be distributed to the Aroostook County Action Program for a recovery project, $50,000 will go to the Aroostook Mental Health Center for a treatment project, $75,000 will go to Michael’s Active Recovery for a recovery project, $50,000 will go to Mi’kmaq Health for a harm reduction project, and $50,000 will go to the Northern Maine Wellness Clinic for a treatment project.
Pelletier thanked Steve Pelletier, who administers funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, and Operations Assistant Tammy Pelletier for their help throughout the process.
“[Steve Pelletier] really stepped up to help the committee walk through the application process,” Ryan Pelletier said. “That’s not in his job description. He volunteered to do that. Tammy also worked really well with the committee chairs in the scoring process and putting all of the information out to them so that they could do a good job of reviewing that.”
Commissioner William Dobbins asked who would be responsible for accounting for these funds and ensuring that the money is spent on each project.
Pelletier said it will be treated similarly to the distribution of APRA funds. He said the five organizations will now receive a letter from the County congratulating them on the award, after which officials will work with each organization throughout the process to make sure the funds are being spent correctly.
Dobbins asked who is responsible for ensuring that the work is getting done, and Pelletier said that he and Finance Director Dana Gendreau will oversee much of the work. He said Steve Pelletier will also offer assistance, since the distribution will be similar to the ARPA program.
Ryan Pelletier said Aroostook County has received nearly $800,000 in opioid relief funds, and that they want to see how this initial disbursement goes before spending a larger sum of the money.
“We want to go through this first round and see how it works before we commit ourselves,” Pelletier said.
