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The invite list for the White House’s upcoming “summit” on naloxone pricing and accessibility has some noteworthy omissions. Two of the most prominent organizations focused on providing cheaper overdose-reversal medications will be conspicuously absent from Tuesday’s event: Harm Reduction Therapeutics, a nonprofit drug manufacturer currently seeking approval for a naloxone nasal spray, and Remedy Alliance, a group that distributes cheap naloxone to harm-reduction groups across the country. (Facher, 6/15)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: Opioid Settlement Payouts To Localities Made Public For First Time 

Thousands of local governments nationwide are receiving settlement money from companies that made, sold, or distributed opioid painkillers, like Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, and Walmart. The companies are shelling out more than $50 billion total in settlements from national lawsuits. But finding out the precise amount each city or county is receiving has been nearly impossible because the firm administering the settlement hasn’t made the information public. Until now. (Pattani, 6/16)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: Find Out How Much Opioid Settlement Cash Your Locality Received 

Companies that made, sold, or distributed opioid painkillers are paying out more than $50 billion in settlements over nearly two decades. So far, more than $3 billion has landed in state, county, and city coffers. �������ýҕ�l Health News obtained documents from BrownGreer, a court-appointed firm administering the settlements, which show exact dollar amounts — down to the cent — that local governments have been allocated so far. Curious to see how much your locality has received? Click on the documents below. (Pattani, 6/16)

In its life-and-death battle against the drug epidemic, Kentucky has made gains in “breaking down the stigma” to reach out for treatment, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday while releasing statistics showing the state’s overdose fatalities declined but remain staggeringly high. Kentucky had 2,135 overdose deaths in 2022, down more than 5% from the prior year and the first statewide decline since 2018. (Schreiner, 6/15)

The state of Minnesota is pumping $200 million over the next four years into fighting the substance abuse crisis. Supporters say the changes, which include a slate of new policies, are aimed at reducing overdose deaths and taking a more comprehensive public health approach to addressing substance use disorder and recovery. (Van Oot, 6/15)

Construction workers have nearly twice the rate of substance abuse as the national average, and the rate of suicide for men working in construction is about four times higher than that of the general population. “There were too many funerals that I went to for suicides, too many for overdose,” said Don Willey, who worked with Laborers' Local 110 for 37 years as both a laborer and as a business manager. “We have members that are grandparents that are raising their grandchildren.” (Woodbury, 6/15)

A former Eagle River nurse practitioner convicted on charges that she killed patients by overprescribing millions of opioid pills was sentenced Thursday in federal court to serve 30 years in prison. (Williams, 6/15)