SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake County will receive $57 million from a recent settlement with opioid manufacturers and distributors, and Mayor Jenny Wilson will request $390,000 to help dismantle drug cartels and keep these deadly drugs off county streets.
According to the settlement, payments to the county will be spread out over 18 years; 46 states and thousands of local governments will share in $26 billion total resulting from the lawsuit.
Mayor Wilson is seeking to restore two dedicated officers to the DEA Metro Narcotics Task Force, positions that were previously cut.
Education, community engagement and prevention efforts will be top priorities for these officers to raise awareness of opioid misuse and overdoses.
"We're taking a two-pronged approach on this issue," Mayor Wilson says. "While we work to prevent addiction before it starts, these additional resources will empower law enforcement to dismantle the source of the problem—the drug cartels flooding our streets with fentanyl and other opioids."
Salt Lake County is seeing a surge in fentanyl use—since 2019, 1.82 million fake pills containing fentanyl have been seized; synthetic opioid is significantly more potent than heroin and can be deadly in even small doses.
According to a 2022 news release from Salt Lake County, District Attorney Sim Gill advised the county to sue "big pharma" because of "the devastating effects of corporate greed, the loss of lives and destruction of families throughout Salt Lake County."
"This is the first step to repair the wake of destruction left behind,” said Gill.
