KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Michigan Communities now use alcohol tax revenue to fund substance abuse services, but some are about to get a windfall that could keep them well-funded for years.
And Kalamazoo is one of those communities that joined lawsuits against pharmaceutical firms, distributors and drug stores blamed for putting pain-killers like OxyContin on the market that were highly addictive.
Deputy County Administrator Lyndi Warren says up to 75 to 85% of the money they will receive from the multiple lawsuit settlements must be spent on substance abuse remediation.
She says they have just received the first of multiple checks from two of the settlements with a third also just settled.
The County already has a million dollars in the bank from the partial payments in the first two, with estimates of up to $20-million eventually rolling in.
Meetings have already begun to determine how much of that money could help internal County Programs, and how much could be farmed out to local clinics and healthcare agencies with the final decision being up to the County Board.
However, some County commissioners opposed joining the suits, fearing it might hurt Pfizer, but the local drug maker was not among the companies sued.
reporting from John McNeill
