WEST HOLLYWOOD—The City of West Hollywood announced on October 26, that it has reached out to the United States Department of Justice to request possible financial assistance for the city’s drug use prevention and treatment programs targeting methamphetamine addiction. The request was made following a recent settlement between USDOJ and CVS Pharmacy Inc., which resulted in CVS agreeing to pay $77.6 million to resolve a government investigation into illegal activity.
In an agreement reached on October 13, CVS Pharmacy Inc. admitted to unlawfully selling materials used in the making of methamphetamine to criminals. CVS will pay the government $75 million in civil penalties as well as forfeit $2.6 million in profits earned due to illegal conduct.
In a letter sent on October 24, West Hollywood Mayor Pro Tempore John J. Duran remarked to USDOJ Attorney General Eric Holder that the funds could now be used in the fight against drug addiction in the city. Duran explained that allocating funds to fight and treat drug addiction cases in the West Hollywood community has historically been very successful, and that the community is “anxious” to see how the funds will be used.
“West Hollywood has for years now allocated general fund dollars to pay for beds in residential treatment facilities to support men and women struggling with addiction,” says Duran. “[The city] continues to fund prevention efforts like the WeHo Life campaign, the Tweakers Project and others to educate people about the risks of getting addicted to meth.”
Duran went on to detail that the city of West Hollywood has taken on a “leadership role” in the treatment of methamphetamine addiction, much in the same way it did with the AIDS epidemic in the mid-1980s.
For more information, please contact Mayor Pro Tempore Deputy Hernan Molina at 323-848-6460.
