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Opioid Settlement Funds to Target Overdose Prevention: More than $7 million over nine years dedicated to strategies and treatment

San Rafael, CA – Marin County Public Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis updated the Board of Supervisors on March 28 about the state of the local opioid crisis[PDF] and outlined strategies to reduce fatal overdoes in Marin in 2023. This year’s strategies are centered around OD Free Marin, a broad coalition dedicated to reducing the risk of drug overdoses. The coalition coordinates county-wide strategies and includes Marin County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, Public Health, health care providers, schools, and community members.

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Marin County Public Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis updated the Board of Supervisors on March 28 about the state of the local opioid crisis[PDF] and outlined strategies to reduce fatal overdoes in Marin in 2023.
Marin County Public Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis updated the Board of Supervisors on March 28 about the state of the local opioid crisis[PDF] and outlined strategies to reduce fatal overdoes in Marin in 2023.

San Rafael, CA – Marin County Public Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis updated the Board of Supervisors on March 28 about the state of the local opioid crisis[PDF] and outlined strategies to reduce fatal overdoes in Marin in 2023.

This year’s strategies are centered around OD Free Marin, a broad coalition dedicated to reducing the risk of drug overdoses. The coalition coordinates county-wide strategies and includes Marin County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, Public Health, health care providers, schools, and community members.

Willis concluded his presentation with a training on how to use Narcan, a life-saving nasal spray that stops an overdose as it is happening.

OVERDOSES IN MARIN COUNTY:

  • Marin County averages one fatal overdose each week.
  • Marin overdose deaths doubled in the past three years.
  • After cancer and heart disease, accidental drug overdose is the third most common cause of death among Marin residents under age 75.
  • Fentanyl, a high potency opioid, is driving the increase in overdoses.

OD Free Marin focuses on community education, overdose prevention, and connecting people with substance use disorders to mental health, recovery and treatment programs. Expanding these programs is part of the initial investment of Marin County’s opioid settlement funds[External].

Marin County will receive $800,000 annually for nine years from settlements with pharmaceutical companies for downplaying the addictive and potentially lethal impacts of prescription opioids. In 2021, Marin joined a nationwide lawsuit[External] against opioid manufacturer Johnson and Johnson and the largest pharmaceutical opioid distributors: McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and Cardinal Health. Additional settlements with three pharmacy chains — CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart — and two additional manufacturers — Allergan and Teva – are still pending.

Prescriptions for opioid painkillers, once the primary contributor to opioid overdoses, have decreased over 300% since 2015 in Marin. OD Free Marin’s work reflects a changing overdose landscape, particularly the increase in deaths due to the synthetic opioid fentanyl.

“It’s good that the industry that helped create this crisis is funding some of the solutions,” Willis said. “This money will help us save lives. The crisis is getting worse nationally and in our own backyard.

“It hits home. So many of us have a family member, a friend, or a colleague touched by overdose.”

Those interested in the OD Free Marin initiative are encouraged to:

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 16 – 22, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 16 – 22, 2025

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UPDATE: PepsiCo Meets with Sharpton Over DEI Rollbacks, Future Action Pending

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The more than hour-long meeting included PepsiCo Chairman Ramon Laguarta and Steven Williams, CEO of PepsiCo North America, and was held within the 21-day window Sharpton had given the company to respond.

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By Stacy M. Brown
BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent

Rev. Al Sharpton met Tuesday morning with PepsiCo leadership at the company’s global headquarters in Purchase, New York, following sharp criticism of the food and beverage giant’s decision to scale back nearly $500 million in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The more than hour-long meeting included PepsiCo Chairman Ramon Laguarta and Steven Williams, CEO of PepsiCo North America, and was held within the 21-day window Sharpton had given the company to respond. Sharpton was joined by members of the National Action Network (NAN), the civil rights organization he founded and leads. “It was a constructive conversation,” Sharpton said after the meeting. “We agreed to follow up meetings within the next few days. After that continued dialogue, NAN Chairman Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson and I, both former members of the company’s African American Advisory Board, will make a final determination and recommendation to the organization on what we will do around PepsiCo moving forward, as we continue to deal with a broader swath of corporations with whom we will either boycott or buy-cott.”

Sharpton initially raised concerns in an April 4 letter to Laguarta, accusing the company of abandoning its equity commitments and threatening a boycott if PepsiCo did not meet within three weeks. PepsiCo announced in February that it would no longer maintain specific goals for minority representation in its management or among its suppliers — a move that drew criticism from civil rights advocates. “You have walked away from equity,” Sharpton wrote at the time, pointing to the dismantling of hiring goals and community partnerships as clear signs that “political pressure has outweighed principle.” PepsiCo did not issue a statement following Tuesday’s meeting. The company joins a growing list of major corporations — including Walmart and Target — that have scaled back internal DEI efforts since President Donald Trump returned to office. Trump has eliminated DEI programs from the federal government and warned public schools to do the same or risk losing federal funding. Sharpton has vowed to hold companies accountable. In January, he led a “buy-cott” at Costco to applaud the retailer’s ongoing DEI efforts and announced that NAN would identify two corporations to boycott within 90 days if they failed to uphold equity commitments. “That is the only viable tool that I see at this time, which is why we’ve rewarded those that stood with us,” Sharpton said.

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Target Reels from Boycotts, Employee Revolt, and Massive Losses as Activists Plot Next Moves

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Target is spiraling as consumer boycotts intensify, workers push to unionize, and the company faces mounting financial losses following its rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

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By Stacy M. Brown
BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent

Target is spiraling as consumer boycotts intensify, workers push to unionize, and the company faces mounting financial losses following its rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. With foot traffic plummeting, stock prices at a five-year low, and employee discontent boiling over, national civil rights leaders and grassroots organizers are vowing to escalate pressure in the weeks ahead. Led by Georgia pastor Rev. Jamal Bryant, a 40-day “Targetfast” aligned with the Lenten season continues to gain traction. “This is about holding companies accountable for abandoning progress,” Bryant said, as the campaign encourages consumers to shop elsewhere. Groups like the NAACP, the National Newspaper Publishers Association, and The People’s Union USA are amplifying the effort, organizing mass boycotts and strategic buying initiatives to target what they call corporate surrender to bigotry.

Meanwhile, Target’s workforce is in an open revolt. On Reddit, self-identified employees described mass resignations, frustration with meager pay raises, and growing calls to unionize. “We’ve had six people give their two-week notices,” one worker wrote. “A rogue team member gathered us in the back room and started talking about forming a union.” Others echoed the sentiment, with users posting messages like, “We’ve been talking about forming a union at my store too,” and “Good on them for trying to organize—it needs to happen.” Target’s problems aren’t just anecdotal. The numbers reflect a company in crisis. The retail giant has logged 10 straight weeks of falling in-store traffic. In February, foot traffic dropped 9% year-over-year, including a 9.5% plunge on February 28 during the 24-hour “economic blackout” boycott organized by The People’s Union USA. March saw a 6.5% decline compared to the previous year. Operating income fell 21% in the most recent quarter, and the company’s stock (TGT) opened at just $94 on April 14, down from $142 in January before the DEI cuts and subsequent backlash. The economic backlash is growing louder online, too.

“We are still boycotting Target due to them bending to bigotry by eroding their DEI programs,” posted the activist group We Are Somebody on April 14. “Target stock has gone down, and their projections remain flat. DEI was good for business. Do the right thing.” Former congresswoman Nina Turner, a senior fellow at The New School’s Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy, wrote, “Boycotts are effective. Boycotts must have a demand. We will continue to boycott until our demands are met.” More action is on the horizon. Another Target boycott is scheduled for June 3–9, part of a broader campaign targeting corporations that have abandoned DEI initiatives under pressure from right-wing politics and recent executive orders by President Donald Trump. The People’s Union USA, which led the February 28 boycott, has already launched similar weeklong actions against Walmart and announced upcoming boycotts of Amazon (May 6–12), Walmart again (May 20–26), and McDonald’s (June 24–30). The organization’s founder, John Schwarz, said the goal is nothing short of shifting the economic power balance.

“We are going to remind them who has the power,” Schwarz said. “For one day, we turn it off. For one day, we shut it down. For one day, we remind them that this country does not belong to the elite, it belongs to the people.” As for Target, its top executives continue to downplay the damage. During a recent earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Jim Lee described the outlook for 2025 as uncertain, citing the “ripple” effects of tariffs and a wide range of possible outcomes. “We’re going to be focusing on controlling what we can control,” Lee said. But discontent is spreading internally. A Reddit post from a worker claimed, “The HR rep is doing his best to stop the bleeding, but all he did was put a Bluey band-aid on what is essentially a severed limb.”

Several employees criticized the company’s internal rewards system, “Bullseye Bucks,” for offering what amounts to play money. “Can’t pay rent or buy food with Bullseye Bucks,” one wrote. Others urged their colleagues to join unionizing efforts. “Imagine how much Target would lose their mind if they were under a union contract,” one team leader wrote. “It needs to happen at this point.” One former manager said they left the company after an insulting raise. “Quit last year when they gave me a 28-cent raise. Best decision I’ve ever made.” From store floors to boardrooms, the pressure is growing on Target. And as calls for justice, equity, and worker rights get louder, one worker put it plainly: “We’re all screwed—unless we fight back.”

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