The Black Box: Inside Mississippi’s opioid settlement spending

Mississippi has been received tens of millions of dollars in opioid settlements each year since 2022, and the use of those dollars has been mostly a mystery. But a Mississippi Today investigation this summer found that of over $124 million the state has received, less than $1 million has been used by public officials to address addiction. Managing editor Kate Royals and mental health reporter Allen Siegler speak with Tricia Christensen, a nationally recognized leader in overdose prevention and opioid settlement spending from Tennessee, about how this compares to other states and what it means for Mississippians harmed by the overdose epidemic.