With two of the companies that produced opioids agreeing to tentative settlements, many municipalities are contemplating what to do with the settlements.

The city of Ironton is part of some 2,000 cities and towns that have sued big pharmacy companies and distributors because of the addiction problems and deaths the drugs have caused.

Earlier this week, the Associated Press reported that a deal worth as much as $12 billion was being negotiated between Purdue Pharma and its owners, and the state and local governments. Purdue Pharma is the maker of OxyContin and the lawsuit alleges that the company underplayed how addictive and deadly the drug was.

In January, Ironton City Councilman Nate Kline sponsored and ordinance to join the lawsuits. He pointed out the city had 89 overdoses in 2018 and six of those ended in death.

“I wanted Ironton to be included in the lawsuit because Ironton is the perfect example of what has happened in this epidemic,” he said. “First and foremost, we have taken a toll. Our police department is overtaxed because how drugs have affected our community. Ironton and Lawrence County are ground zero for the epidemic.”

While it could be a long time before the settlement money reaches the plaintiffs, Kline said that if there was money coming to the city from this case, he would like it to be used for the police department and economic development.

“Personally, I would like to see a priority placed on overall safety for our community and making sure our police department is fully equipped to protect our citizens, he said.

He added he would like to partner with the county government to do community and economic development projects to improve the quality of life for residents.

“We need to improve the quality of life and promote things that would maybe steer people away from drug activities,” Kline said.

Earlier this week, Purdue Pharma’s principal owners, the Sackler family, made a tentative offer that they would “relinquish control of the company under the deal, to which about half the states and lawyers representing thousands of local governments have agreed. The company would pay out the up to $12 billion over time,” the Associated Press reported.

Kline said that he doesn’t know how much money could come to Ironton or any city.

“I don’t think it is too much considering all that has been taken from us,” Kline said.

The Associated Press has reported, “roughly half the states that have sued Purdue in state court have not agreed to settle. Several state attorneys general have vowed to continue their legal battles against the company.”

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine filed suit against Purdue Pharma on May 31, 2017 when he was the state’s attorney general.

“While it took far too long, Purdue Pharma has finally settled so that they can begin paying to clean up the mess they created when they worked to convince the public that their prescription opioids were not addictive,” he said in statement on Thursday. “They were addictive, and tens of thousands of Ohioans have died or had their lives destroyed by those addictions. The collateral damage has been significant: traumatizing children, stretching our foster care and social service systems excruciatingly thin, and increasing the burden on law enforcement.”

He said now that the settlement is close to being finalized, the focus must turn to how to work to combat this damage using these settlement funds.

“Money from this settlement must be used to fund our long-term commitment to reducing substance use disorders and improving the health of vulnerable Ohioans,” he said.