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by DENISE MARTIN

The Chisago County Opioid Action Council has selected its second round of grant winners to be dispersed next month, with $200,000 available to four winners.  

County Commissioner and Council liaison Marlys Dunne announced finalists for funding.  One is a program that connects first responders with counseling;  also a returning grantee, the “Know the Truth” organization which is doing in-school outreach, the Forest Lake based Center for Youth and Families and the final grant is for financial support for an enforcement/surveillance effort focusing on unlawful opioid activity. 

Funds that the county  disperses through the Council come to counties through the State  Counties are apportioned an amount based on the historic impacts of opioid case investigation, court time, and other local costs in addressing related social factors like child protective services for example.

Lawsuit settlements involving opioid manufacturers were tapped into by the Minnesota Attorney General.  Chisago County got $2.2 million in the first wave with payouts arriving over 18 years.  This settlement in 2021 involved three pharma distributors and one big pharma manufacturer. who avoided criminal prosecution by settling.  They were charged with misrepresenting the product which in turn led to over-prescribing.  

In a 2022 settlement involving two more manufacturers and a number of retail pharmacies; Chisago County is earmarked for $1.6 million.

The Chisago County opioid action council set a deadline to submit this round of grant proposals of June 11 at 4 p.m.   

The council’s first-ever grants in  2024,  were about $92,980.  

Stated priorities for eligible applicants included doing work on narcotics public awareness, outreach and harm reduction concerning legal and illegal opioids.  In the first grant round educational and substance response materials were made available,  funding organizations that included: Fentanyl Free Communities Foundation, the sheriff’s office, Canvas Health and aid to Steve Rummler Hope Network.  Naloxone (Narcan) overdose reversal meds were stocked and made available locally along with test strips to identify fentanyl presence in a substance.

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