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Pa. counties fight for more freedom over how to spend opioid money with $247M more on the way

The article from WESA discusses how Pennsylvania counties are seeking a larger share of the state's opioid settlement funds. Despite the state receiving over $1 billion from settlements with pharmaceutical companies, counties argue that they are not receiving enough to address the opioid crisis effectively at the local level. The state has allocated funds for various programs, but counties like Allegheny and Philadelphia have initiated lawsuits claiming that the distribution of these funds is inadequate. They assert that local governments are better positioned to understand and respond to the specific needs of their communities. The contention revolves around the state's decision to retain a significant portion of the funds for state-level initiatives, while counties believe they should control more of the money to directly combat the opioid epidemic in their jurisdictions.

Read the Full WESA Article at:
[ https://www.wesa.fm/politics-government/2024-12-01/pennsylvania-opioid-settlement-money-counties-lawsuit ]