Don't Waste America's Best Chance to End the Opioid Crisis

The opioid settlements represent one of the largest public health investments in American history. They should become one of the greatest accountability success stories as well.

Julio Rivera | July 10, 2026

The opioid epidemic remains one of the deadliest public health disasters in American history. While the nature of the crisis has evolved from overprescribed painkillers to illicit fentanyl and increasingly lethal synthetic drugs, the devastation continues to claim lives in communities across the country. At this pivotal moment, governments have been handed an unprecedented opportunity to fight back. The question is whether they will use it wisely.

Before the first opioid settlement dollars were ever distributed, Americans were given a promise. The billions recovered through lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies would not become another government windfall. They would be used to help the communities devastated by addiction. They would fund treatment, expand recovery services, strengthen prevention efforts, support law enforcement, and save lives.

Now comes the test of whether government intends to keep that promise. Over the coming years, nearly $58 billion in opioid settlement funds will flow into states and local communities across America. At a time when illicit fentanyl continues to poison neighborhoods, overdose deaths remain unacceptably high, and dangerous new synthetic drugs like nitazenes and xylazine are emerging, these resources represent one of the greatest opportunities in a generation to turn the tide against the opioid epidemic.

But opportunity means little without accountability. Last month, leaders from across the country gathered in Denver for the inaugural National Opioid Settlement Conference, a first-of-its-kind effort dedicated to ensuring settlement dollars are spent transparently, effectively, and for the people and communities they were intended to serve. The conference reflected an........

© American Thinker