Editorial: Funding the opioid fight

The nationwide epidemic of opioid abuse may not have hit Hawaii as hard as other states — we have among the lowest rates for drug overdose deaths involving opioids, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Still, state officials have rightly been aggressive in pursuing solutions to counteract the abuse of the powerful and addictive painkillers before the problem turns into a crisis.

But it’s an expensive proposition, and the state’s coffers may not be deep enough; help is needed. On Monday, the state Department of Health said it received an additional $4 million in federal grants to combat opioid abuse.

Among the recipients of the funds will be Hawaii Opioid Initiative, a partnership of state agencies and community groups that seeks a coordinated effort to improve treatment and prescription protocols, among other things.

And in June, state Attorney General Clare Connors filed lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors, who stand accused of aggressively marketing the drugs while downplaying the health risks. Notable among them is the OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, its related entities and members of the wealthy Sackler family who owned the company.

“We will aggressively litigate this case to ensure that Hawaii’s taxpayers are not alone in shouldering this burden,” Connors said.

That’s reasonable; after all, nearly every state and thousands of municipalities have sued Purdue. Earlier this month, some 23 other states and 2,000 municipalities reached a tentative settlement, but Hawaii has no plans to join them.

The proposal “does not provide anything close” to the reported $10-$12 billion settlement amount, and doesn’t do enough to hold the defendants accountable, the AG’s office said.