Published: 08/3/2026 | Author: Eric Owens

Opioid settlement dollars have now reached schools and classrooms in northwest Alabama. Florence’s city council voted unanimously to approve Mayor Ron Tyler’s resolution directing a portion of the city’s opioid settlement funds toward a school-based prevention program. The vote gives Florence City Schools $300,000 over three years to address opioid addiction before students encounter it.

For many Alabamans, the funding arrives at a timely moment. The Yellowhammer State features a wide range of inpatient programs, data systems, and grassroots community organizations like Narcotics Anonymous to help anyone at any level of care. But many people still fall through the cracks. Vulnerable young people now have a fighting chance to strengthen their resilience against drugs. 

Officials dubbed the program Falcons Against Opioids, named after the district mascot. It launches with the 2027 school year and features four pillars: enhanced curricula, school platforms and activities to spread awareness, staff training and community outreach.

The Money’s Origin

Opioid settlement funds consist of payments from litigation against pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies. Cities, counties, and states receive allocations and decide locally how to spend them within the terms of their settlements. Florence routed part of its share of the funds directly to the school district, which received the grant from the city rather than from the state.

Deputy Superintendent Dr. Roderick Sheppard described the award as a chance for the district to get ahead of a national problem and “a great opportunity for Florence city schools to be proactive” to the nationwide crisis.

Entering the First Year

Year one revolves around visibility. Like other drug education programs in California and Arkansas, Sheppard described future assembly programs featuring speakers to talk to students about opioid risks, plus a 5K, t-shirts, wristbands, and a social media campaign. District leaders plan to expand the program in year two.

The athletics department spearheads the initiative. Athletics directors Myra Miles and Tim Bowens took the lead to prepare events tied to the program for the coming school year.

Sheppard framed the goal as reaching students before decisions get made. “There are things that students sometimes do to try to get along,” he noted, but those actions can “be detrimental to their life.” Educating them on the front end about the dangers of opioids might one day save their life or someone they know.

Contamination is the Message

Sheppard pointed to a specific risk that reshapes prevention messaging. “Drugs today have lots of synthetics and things,” he observed. “So somebody could be thinking they’re just experimenting with marijuana and be able to get something that will take them out of here.”

That concern reflects what has changed in the illicit drug supply. Other school districts specially warn students about illicitly manufactured fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, now turns up in counterfeit pills and in powders sold as other substances. A person can be exposed to a dangerous opioid without intending to use one and without any tolerance to it. Prevention messaging built only around avoiding opioids misses that pathway entirely.

Understanding Opioids and Overdose

Opioids include prescription medications such as oxycodone, hydrocodone and morphine, along with heroin and fentanyl. They act on receptors in the brain and brainstem that regulate pain and ultimately breathing. At higher doses, opioid overdose slows or stops breathing, which makes it fatal.

Signs of an opioid overdose include unresponsiveness, very slow or stopped breathing, blue or gray lips and fingertips, and pinpoint pupils. 

Naloxone, sold under brand names like Narcan, reverses an opioid overdose by displacing opioids from those receptors. Accordingly, folks can buy naloxone over the counter in the United States, and it works whether or not the person intended to take an opioid.

Harm Reduction Alongside Prevention

Prevention education and harm reduction address different moments. For instance, prevention aims to keep exposure from happening. Harm reduction aims to keep someone alive when it does.

Both matter in a school community. Naloxone in school buildings, education programs for staff and coaches to recognize an overdose, and fentanyl test strips for older students and families are all measures districts have adopted alongside education programs. 

Florence’s four pillars include staff training, which boosts their emergency response capability should an overdose happen on or off campus.

NA in Alabama & Beyond

For a person with opioid use disorder, or a family member looking for options, several paths exist and they are not mutually exclusive. Medications for opioid use disorder, including buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone, are available through licensed providers and opioid treatment programs. 

In addition, peer support through Narcotics Anonymous is free and available across Alabama and the rest of the county. That’s where we come in. Browse our directory to find NA meetings by city with day, time, and format details.

Feel free to also dial 800-934-1582(Sponsored) to chat with an expert about local treatment options.