Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announces $26M grant to fight opioids

Gov. Tom Wolf announced Wednesday that the state has been granted $26.2 million to help in the fight against opioids.

Known as a State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis Grant and issued through the federal 21st Century Cures Act, this is the second year in a row that the state has qualified for funds.

“Fighting the opioid and heroin epidemic and helping the Pennsylvanians impacted by the disease of addiction have been priorities for my administration since day one,” Wolf said in a release. “This funding allows my administration to continue progress made because of the first year of Cures Act funding, and I thank the federal government for its support and partnership in fighting this epidemic.”

According to the release, the funds will be used to continue progress made last year, to improve access to evidence-based addiction treatment and to provide support to initiatives that focus on workforce development and under-served populations.

“The programs and initiatives made possible by the... grant expand the tools providers have when treating individuals with a substance use disorder,” Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Jennifer Smith said in the release. “Evidence-based programs work, and this award will continue that investment and allow us to provide greater support and help for our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians.”

The announcement comes in the middle of National Addiction Treatment Week, which aims to raise awareness for addiction and the availability of treatment.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, “opioids were involved in 42,249 deaths in 2016 and opioid overdose deaths were five times higher in 2016 than 1999.”

According to a late March release by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, opioids kill an American every nine minutes.

Matthew Medsger is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-226-4675, mmedsger@tribweb.com or via Twitter @matthew_medsger.