The Monroe County commissioners authorized the allocation of $200,000 from the Opioid Settlement Fund to the Carbon Monroe Pike Fentanyl Awareness Campaign at their meeting on July 19.

The money is part of a settlement of a class-action lawsuit against two pharmaceutical companies and over a period of 18 years, said Commissioner John Moyer.

Sharon Laverdure, the chairwoman of the commissioners, said, “We are in the process of starting our campaign to help people understand and be aware of the seriousness and the dangers of the problem with opioids.”

Laverdure said Monroe County is joining Carbon and Pike counties for the awareness campaign.

“I look forward to getting that awareness out to our public,” she said.

In all, Monroe County is going to get $7,074,544, Moyer said.

“That is just from that lawsuit,” he said. “The thing that hamstrings us is it’s only for opioid addiction.”

Moyer said the conditions of the settlement are to help people who have an addiction to opioids, such as fentanyl.

“It can’t be used for anything else,” he said, which means if a new drug surfaces, this money cannot be used to treat people with that addiction. “But those who are suffering from opioids will have increased services.”