Eric Thomason, clinical director and a board‑certified psychiatric nurse practitioner at Crawford County Mental Health, asked the Crawford County Commission to approve a $50,000 use of opioid settlement funds to expand naloxone distribution across the county.

"A bulk of 60% of the funds ... total request 50,000, 30,000 would go to the direct procurement of naloxone," Thomason said, laying out a three‑part plan: $30,000 to buy naloxone through a wholesaler; $15,000 for community outreach events, staffing, training and distribution; and $5,000 to create QR‑code cards and outreach linking residents to a statewide program that can ship free naloxone to residents who enroll online.

Thomason told commissioners the project would not require hiring new staff; existing staff would carry out work and some overtime costs would be covered. He said distribution would prioritize locations and populations with low access to healthcare, including smaller towns, bars and university settings, and that the county would run distribution events countywide rather than concentrating everything in Pittsburg or Girard.

Thomason cited clinical literature indicating that access to naloxone is the major factor determining survival after an opioid overdose and said easy distribution and broad availability matter more than intensive formal training for laypeople. He also described a plan to collect voluntary, confidential reports via QR code to document instances where distributed naloxone was used.

A commissioner asked about the county's current opioid settlement balance. The county's representative said the balance was about $130,000 and that the county receives roughly $80,000–$100,000 annually as settlement payments. The commissioner then asked staff to provide a history of how opioid funds were spent over the past two years to help evaluate the $50,000 proposal.

Thomason said the county's medication‑assisted treatment work has expanded significantly and that naloxone distribution would complement treatment and rescue efforts. No formal vote or appropriation occurred at the meeting; commissioners directed staff to compile funding history and said they would consider the request at a later date.