Michigan towns, cities, townships and counties have $176 million sitting in bank accounts meant to fight the state’s opioid crisis.The state’s first official accounting of spending by local governments of opioid settlement funds, produced by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, found that 17.7% of funds received since checks began arriving three years ago had been spent by mid-December 2025.The funds — Michigan’s share of national settlements with drug manufacturers and distributors for their role in sparking the opioid crisis — are meant to help mitigate drug use and deaths. On average, a Michigander dies every six hours from an opioid overdose, with about 2,000 dying last year.Michigan governments are slated to receive nearly $1.8 billion from opioid settlements by 2040. Half of the settlement amount will be distributed directly to county, city, and township governments, with the rest distributed to the state for drug prevention services.
The report, released Thursday, was a breakthrough in itself. Bridge reporting in 2024 revealed that, unlike other states, Michigan was not tracking how local governments were spending what would eventually amount to more than $700 million. That decision made it difficult for residents to know how much money was being spent and on what.
