Feds to distribute $53 million to states to fight opioids

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration says it will distribute $53 million to 44 states in an effort to curb opioid abuse.

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell says the funding will focus on reducing over-prescribing of pain killers, increasing access to treatment and making sure the antidote naloxone is widely available.

The administration is also calling on Congress to provide $1.1 billion in new money, saying legislation recently signed into law didn’t do enough to expand treatment. That bill authorized $181 million in new spending.

Steve Williams, the mayor of Huntington, West Virginia, said in a conference call announcing the funding that opioid abuse is so common he carries an overdose reversal kit with him. He says federal funding is urgently needed so people seeking treatment don’t have to wait months.