Ka‘ū News Briefs, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022

Hawaiʻi County will help determine the use of $79 million in opioid settlement funds coming to the State of Hawaiʻi. Photo from NPR

SEVENTY-EIGHT MILLION DOLLARS IN OPIOID SETTLEMENT FUNDS will be used in all four Hawaiʻi Counties. Gov. David Ige and the mayors announced Tuesday that an Advisory Committee of the counties will determine the recommended uses for Hawaiʻi's share of $26 billion to be distributed nationally. The settlements resolve lawsuits against the three largest drug distributors and one of the largest drug manufacturers in the country.
    Hawaiʻi’s portion of these settlements was determined by a formula that takes into account population and impact of the opioid crisis. The $78 million includes approximately $63 million over 18 years from the settlement with the three major distributors and $15 million over nine years from the Johnson& Johnson settlement.
    The counties and Hawaiʻi state government agreed to use 85 percent of the funds for opioid treatment, prevention, and education, as well as other abatement measures and strategies. The other 15 percent is reserved for treatment, prevention, and education on other risky substances.
    A Memorandum of Agreement facilitates compliance with national settlement agreements. Eighty-five percent of opioid settlement funds will be spent in consultation with an Advisory Committee composed of equal numbers of state and county representatives. Each year, at least 15 percent of the total will be spent at the local level, and each county will determine how its respective share is spent.  The governor said, “Too many of us know children, spouses, neighbors, or colleagues who are suffering every day from the impacts of drug addiction and misuse. I want to thank our mayors and our community, healthcare and government stakeholders who have come together to help the people of Hawaiʻi. Our efforts will be successful because all stakeholders are working closely together to achieve success.”
    Hawaiʻi County Mayor Mitch Roth said, “Thanks to this collective statewide effort spearheaded by Gov. Ige and our healthcare providers, our counties will each be able to receive much-needed resources to combat the opioid crisis that we see island-to-island, community-to-community. Many of our first responders and local non-profit organizations have been working in the trenches to keep our families safe and free from the adverse effects of opioids and other illicit substances, and now we can look to amplify their efforts through this settlement. The work that our Corporation Counsels and State Attorney General’s Office have put in to ensure that we hold pharmaceutical companies accountable to our local communities cannot go understated, and we mahalo them for their dedication and commitment to justice.”
    Other anticipated settlements with major drug makers will contribute millions more to the state and counties’ abatement efforts. "In addition, cases against and investigations into other opioid actors are ongoing, and Hawaiʻi could see millions more when these are concluded," says a statement from the governor.
POLICE ARRESTED 16 FOR DUI from Aug. 1 through Aug. 7. Hawaiʻi Island police arrested the motorists for driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Two were involved in a traffic accident. One was under the age of 21.
    So far this year, there have been 613 DUI arrests compared with 684 during the same periodlast year, a decrease of 10.4 percent. There were no arrests in Kaʻū for DUI this past week, with six DUI arrests since January. In South Hilo there were 175, Puna 131, and Kona 226.