The Whitfield County Board of Commissioners has voted to move forward with the settlement of a class-action lawsuit against drugmaker Johnson & Johnson, which stands accused of ignoring the improper use of opioid drugs.
Commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve a resolution to work directly with Georgia Attorney General Christopher M. Carr to resolve the lawsuit and accept allocated settlement funds.
(READ MORE: Cities wracked by opioids close to getting $26 billion settlement)
Commission chair Jevin Jensen said the county does not yet know the exact dollar amount it will receive in the settlement, though it is expected to be around $2 million.
"That amount is dependent on how many counties pass similar resolutions and, of course, that is then divided up based on population, but our rough estimate is $2 million," he said during the meeting on Tuesday. "That's what we expect to receive, but we will determine the exact amount in the coming months."
Jensen said the county intends to use the money to fund programs that help those struggling with opioid addiction, such as the local drug court. Participants in the drug court program are required to attend weekly treatment meetings and groups, provide testable urine/saliva/hair samples for drug screening, pay weekly participant fees and show forward progress through the program's phases, all with the goal of reducing substance abuse, crime and recidivism.
He said providing assistance through prevention, treatment, medicine and education is the best way to work toward a drug-free community.
"We would like to put that to use helping those who have suffered the most, who are in our jails, and people who suffer from addiction," Jensen said on Tuesday. "We have a drug court that has been highly successful. We have several nonprofits in the area that work with folks in the drug courts to have long-term sobriety, so we will address where the money goes once we get the final report from the attorney general."
According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, Whitfield County is not the only county in the region to have been hard hit by the opioid crisis.
Data shows that the number of deaths specifically linked to the use of opioids increased by 45% from 2019 to 2020, with 116 reported deaths linked to opioid use.
In order to provide a baseline for counties with varying population sizes, the state calculates opioid-related death rates per 100,000 people. The statewide average in Georgia for 2020 was 12.2 deaths per 100,000. Of the 10 counties in the Northwest Georgia Health District - which contains Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Haralson, Paulding, Polk and Walker counties - seven saw rates higher than that.
(READ MORE: Arrests lead to two Hamilton County deputies being exposed to opioids)
In Whitfield County specifically, the Georgia Department of Public Health's annual report on opioid overdoses said there were 10 opioid-related deaths total in 2020 and 34 emergency department visits related to opioid-involved overdoses.
Contact Kelcey Caulder at kcaulder@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6327. Follow her on Twitter @kelceycaulder.