Hampton Roads, NC agencies push efforts to fight fentanyl crisis [Video]

NORFOLK, Va. — Dare County officials laid out their plan to allocate $370,000 over the next year to support the fight against the opioid epidemic. 

Nearly $100,000 will purchase naloxone and fentanyl test strips for community distribution, along with additional funding for community initiatives and peer support specialists. 

In 2021, several drug companies agreed to reach a $26 billion settlement in a lawsuit over their roles in creating and fueling the opioid epidemic. 

North Carolina received $750 million with 85 percent of the funding allocated for local governments to support communities impacted by opioids. 

Over the next 18 years, Dare County is scheduled to receive more than $6.2 million.

“It’s a high percentage of our community that is dying from fentanyl,” said Roxana Ballinger, Dare County …