Opioids

An analysis by the Health Policy Institute of Ohio found that in most other states, people live longer.

Ohio and its communities are expected to receive about $2 billion from pharmaceutical companies over the course of 18 years to compensate for harm caused by opioids. But there's not much oversight over how the money will be spent.

Ohio's senior senator, Democrat Sherrod Brown, has been around a long time, and he knows that good legislation is good politics.

Agencies can apply for a portion of the $4.8 million administered by the OneOhio Recovery Foundation through May 3.

Butler is the largest county in its region and has seen the most overdoses and deaths from opioid use.

Overdose deaths peaked in 2017 in Hamilton County, and were down 31% from that peak last year.

How does the state plan to use the opioid settlement money to address its substance abuse crisis?

The Hamilton County Addiction Response Coalition and public health agencies say there have been at least two dozen emergency room visits from Dec. 3 to Jan. 2 for overdoses, with three suspected overdose deaths.

Some $1.5 billion flowed to local government coffers this year, sparking debates about transparency and how to spend the money. Here are 5 takeaways from a year's worth of reporting on the issue.

"Since the outset of the epidemic, opioids had affected mostly poor, working-class white families in Appalachia," said Bryan Hubbard of the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission. "But data revealed that in 2021, the impact of opioids began to reach well beyond Appalachia to urban, poor and working-class Black families."