Cumberland County updates opioid‑settlement spending; officials report 8 overdoses so far this year

Brenda Eilif Lager, executive director of the criminal county drug and alcohol commission, told the Cumberland County Finance meeting that the county has spent opioid‑settlement funds on medication‑assisted treatment in the county jail, school‑based prevention and specialty courts and on increasing access to naloxone (Narcan).

"The world around us has done that pretty well with changing the whole way we do PDMPs and doctors have to double check and limiting prescriptions," Lager said as she described the county’s mitigation strategy. She said Cumberland County has had eight overdoses so far this year and that last year the county recorded 28 overdoses.

The update said the largest share of settlement spending in the most recent six‑month reporting period went to medication‑assisted treatment (MAT) in the county jail. Lager reported 30 people on methadone and 77 on Suboxone or Subutex at the jail; presenters reported 117 inductions were performed, with 92 ultimately meeting criteria…