Maryland awards $12.4 M in Opioid Restitution Fund Competitive grants

Annapolis, MD: Lieutenant Governor Aruna K. Miller and Maryland’s Office of Overdose Response have announced $12.4 million in competitive grant awards through Maryland’s Opioid Restitution Fund. The awards will support 28 programs addressing overdose in Maryland using proceeds from prescription opioid-related legal settlements. 

“These awards mark another important step forward in our efforts to rectify the historic harms of the opioid and overdose crisis,” said Lt. Governor Miller. “Far too many Maryland families have lost their loved ones to overdoses. The programs we are funding will make real differences in the lives of Marylanders by increasing support for critical services and care for people with substance use disorders.” 

Maryland’s Opioid Restitution Fund was established in 2019 to receive all money awarded to the state through prescription opioid-related legal action. The fund can only be used to address the impacts of substance use and overdose. 

A full list of the awards can be found here. More information about the Opioid Restitution Fund can be found at StopOverdose.maryland.gov/ORF.

Maryland announces Overdose Response Strategy

Maryland’s Office of Overdose Response also unveiled the Moore-Miller Administration’s updated Overdose Response Strategy, which identifies five goals for reducing overdoses and expanding access to substance use care. 

“Overdose continues to affect communities across Maryland, and we still have work to do,” Maryland Announces Overdose Response Strategy said Special Secretary of Overdose Response Emily Keller. “The goals identified in our Overdose Response Strategy focus on reducing overdoses from all angles and directing resources to areas where they can make an immediate and lasting impact.”

The new strategy replaces Maryland’s previous Inter-Agency Overdose Coordination Plan and will guide the efforts of state agencies working to address substance use and overdose. The five strategic goals include:

• Interrupt Pathways to Substance Use Disorder: Expand efforts that address the social determinants of substance use and overdose risk while disrupting intergenerational cycles of trauma and growing youth-focused prevention programming. 
• Improve Health and Safety for People Who Use Drugs: Empower people with the tools and knowledge to stay safe while building relationships that make it easier to make connections to care.  
• Make Evidence-Based Treatment Accessible for People with Substance Use Disorders: Expand equitable access to evidence-based treatment for individuals with substance use disorder to ensure that anyone seeking treatment can access it whenever they need it regardless of circumstance.
• Build and Sustain Community Infrastructure That Promotes Recovery Capital: Increase structures of support that enable individuals to thrive.
• Improve Outcomes for People Who Use Drugs Who Encounter the Criminal Legal System: Decrease criminal involvement for people who use drugs and expand services for individuals who are already involved in the criminal legal system.

The plan was compiled by Maryland’s Office of Overdose Response using input from the Maryland Overdose Response Advisory Council, which is open to the public, chaired by Lt. Governor Aruna Miller, and includes representatives of 18 state offices and agencies. Input from local Overdose Prevention Teams and community feedback from town halls held in each of Maryland’s 24 local jurisdictions was also considered. 

Maryland’s Office of Overdose Response will coordinate with all state agencies to track progress toward the state’s overdose response goals.