AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for youth ages 30 to 50 in Augusta, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Richmond County Coroner Mark Bowen said 100 people died from opioid overdoses last year and 85 more deaths were unconfirmed.
in Mayor Garnet Johnson’s State of the Union Address He spoke Tuesday about how the city plans to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars already in the bank in opioid settlement funds.
Two settlements over several years have contributed more than $7 million directly to the city.
The Mayor says the problem is that the payments are spread out over 18 years and we need to carefully plan the hundreds of thousands of payments we have to make.
The city is getting about $700,000 from the settlement, which will bring in hundreds of thousands of people over the next 18 years.
Dr. Bedder works for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Augusta and as director of AU’s Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program. He said some of the most vulnerable victims of this epidemic are those who are recovering.
“If you don’t treat the withdrawal symptoms, they’ll be right back on the streets to get more drugs to treat the withdrawal symptoms,” he said.
Bedder said a solution is needed immediately, which is why Mayor Johnson is pushing to develop vending machines for the treatment.
“Not just in hotel lobbies, but in bars and nightclubs, anywhere there might be someone who needs treatment for the effects of opioids,” Mayor Johnson said.
But Dr. Vedder says the real solution is long-term care.
“I think the mayor’s idea is a good idea, but it’s just a Band-Aid. It’s great that some deaths can be prevented, but the focus is on treatment and detoxification facilities. We’re not seeing anything from the state. “We have been trying to utilize some of the settlement money that has come in.”
But the amount is increasing every year, and Mayor Johnson says these machines are the best way to make an instant dent.
“Based on the settlement money we’re getting, I don’t know if the settlement money will go that far. But if it’s possible and it works, I feel confident in having that conversation.” I have it and I’m happy about it,” Mayor Johnson said.
Mayor Johnson says it won’t be until March at the earliest that he can get an agenda to move anything forward.
Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.