The Town of Westbrook has received $4,104.11 as part of a larger settlement related to the opioid crises. The town will now decide the best way to utilize the money.

At a Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting on Oct. 11, Finance Director Donna Castracane told the Board that the Town had received the money as part of a federal settlement. Castracane said that there are no restrictions for how the town can use the roughly $4,100.

“We have the money. Now, we have to decide what to do with it,” Castracane said, adding that some other towns are using the money to help at-risk youth.

The money stems from a major settlement finalized in early 2022. Four companies — Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson – agreed to pay $26 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits brought against the companies that alleged their business practices have contributed to the opioid epidemic across the nation. The four companies admitted to no wrong doing in the settlement.

According to statistics from the state of Connecticut, the number of lives lost to unintentional drug overdoses in Connecticut has continued to increase, up to 1,528 in 2021 from in 1,374 in 2020. Those statistics show a significant increase in deaths from 2012 to 2021, by 327 percent, and 93 percent of all overdose deaths were attributed to an opioid, with fentanyl being the most popular.

To help combat the issue in the state earlier this year the legislature passed HB 5430, An Act Concerning Opioids. The bill allowed for items like evidence-based treatments and harm reduction measures as well as expanded mobile access to methadone. The bill also legalized fentanyl testing strips and implements a “peer navigator” pilot program to serve people struggling with opioid use.