The Yale Program in Addiction Medicine Presents: "Finding Solutions to the Opioid Crisis: Principles for the Use of Funds from the Opioid Litigation"

States, cities, and counties will soon be receiving funds from opioid manufacturers, pharmaceutical distributors and pharmacies as a result of litigation brought against these companies for their role in the opioid epidemic that has claimed more than half a million lives over the past two decades. Governors, attorneys general, and legislators will face difficult decisions in determining the best use of the funds.

The Yale Program in Addiction Medicine welcomes Joshua M. Sharfstein, MD (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) to discuss adoption and implementation of five key principles for the use of funds from the opioid litigation.

1. Spend money to save lives.
2. Use evidence to guide spending.
3. Invest in youth prevention.
4. Focus on racial equity.
5. Develop a fair and transparent process for deciding where to spend funding.

Dr. Sharfstein is Vice Dean for Public Health Practice and Community Engagement, director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative, and Professor of the Practice in Health Policy and Management. Previously, he served as the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Principal Deputy Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as Commissioner of Health for Baltimore City, and as health policy advisor for Congressman Henry A. Waxman. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Public Administration.

This event is part of the Yale Program in Addiction Medicine's Finding Solutions for the Opioid Crisis speaker series made possible by generous support from the Sandgaard Foundation.