Butler County gets $830K to fight opioid epidemic

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Cincinnati, announced today the Butler County Mental Health and Addiction Services received funds to fight the opioid epidimce through the CURES law enacted by Congress in 2016. MICHAEL D. PITMAN/FILE

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Cincinnati, announced today the Butler County Mental Health and Addiction Services received funds to fight the opioid epidimce through the CURES law enacted by Congress in 2016. MICHAEL D. PITMAN/FILE

U.S. Senator Rob Portman, R-Cincinnati, announced today that Butler County will received more than $830,000 in federal opioid funding through the 21st Century CURES law.

The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services disbursed $26 million through local Alcohol, Drug, and Mental Health boards and statewide initiatives. This is the second consecutive year Ohio has received opioid funding that Portman helped secure in the CURES law Congress enacted in 2016.

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The Butler County Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Services Board will receive $833,882.

“These new funds will help the community’s efforts to combat the heroin and prescription drug epidemic gripping our state,” Portman said in a statement. “I was proud to help secure the opioid funding included in the CURES legislation, and I have seen firsthand how this law is making a difference across our state.”

The 21st Century CURES legislation was enacted in December 2016. It provided $1 billion in federal funds over two years to states and communities to fight the heroin and prescription drug epidemic.

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While this funding is “another positive step forward,” Portman said, “We must do more.”

Portman said bills, including legislation he’s passed and introduced, “will help us turn the tide of addiction in Ohio and around the country.”

Portman has introduced the Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Prevention Act, which seeks to stop synthetic drugs like fentanyl from being shipped into the U.S., and the Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act 2.0, which is designed to provide additional resources and strengthen the federal government’s response to the opioid crisis.

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