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Orange County expected to receive $8 million from the $15 million settlement to tackle the opioid crisis in Florida.
Central Florida recently received $15 million as part of a settlement in a lawsuit filed against pharmacy chains like CVS and Walgreens for their role in the opioid addiction crisis. And already some of those funds has found their way to local programs and organizations seeking to prevent and mitigate drug overdoses.
In Orlando, the nonprofit Project Opioid is going directly to bars, restaurants and nightspots downtown both to educate these establishments on overdose prevention and training — and to provide them with Kloxxando, if they so choose.
Kloxxando is a more powerful form of the Narcan nasal spray currently used to treat victims of an opioid overdose. As synthetic opiates (especially fentanyl) became too potent for a single dose of Narcan, the upgraded Kloxxando is a timely new tool. The FDA-approved spray can be used to safely treat overdoses, without any medical training.
Project Opioid will be distributing Kloxxando doses to businesses in downtown Orlando over the next several months. The distribution is part of the Downtown Overdose Reversal and Intervention Program, which aims to mitigate opioid addiction and overdoses in the area.
“Downtown is the epicenter for our nightlife, and unfortunately the same can often be said of our drug scene,” said Project Opioid founder Andrae Bailey in a press statement.
Project Opioid also aims to ensure law enforcement have access to Kloxxando spray.
Over 5,000 units of this drug were given to Project Opioid by Hikma Pharmaceuticals, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Of the lump $15 million settlement payout, Orange County will receive nearly $8 million, Seminole County $4 million, Osceola County nearly $7 million, Brevard County receiving $6 million, and Lake County will get $2 million according to WFTV.
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