Connecticut has wasted little time spending federal grant money aimed at fighting the opioid crisis.
An Associated Press analysis of the first wave of the grants shows the state ranks ninth in the percentage of funds received that have been spent. It has used nearly 83 percent of the $5.5 million it was given last year.
About $2.4 million went to treatment programs, $1 million went to prevention efforts and another $1 million was spent on recovery programs.
Congress approved the money as part of a two-year, nearly $1 billion grant program to fight the opioid epidemic. Connecticut is getting another $5.5 million this year, and another $22 million for the next two years.
More than 1,000 people died from accidental drug overdoses in the state last year.
