An Ice Rink To Fight Opioid Crisis: Drug-Free Fun vs. Misuse of Settlement Cash - KFF Health News
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A decision about how to spend settlement funds in Carter County, Kentucky, which was hit hard by the opioid epidemic, offers a window into the choices that surround this windfall.

A Kentucky county nestled in the heart of Appalachia, where the opioid crisis has wreaked devastation for decades, spent $15,000 of its opioid settlement money on an ice rink.

  • wraithcoop@programming.devEnglish
    2·
    2 days ago

    “How is ice-skating going to teach [kids] how to navigate recovery, how to address these issues within their home, how to understand the disease of addiction?”

    Maybe by giving them something to do other than drugs? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. They get free admission for completing the DARE program which (in theory) educates them on exactly that. In my experience it was mostly fear mongering but that’s a separate issue that needs addressing.

    It’s not even a significant portion of the funds they’re getting, can these people see past their own noses?