OKLAHOMA CITY (May 14, 2025) – Attorney General Gentner Drummond today assailed Gov. Kevin Stitt’s veto of Senate Bill 574, noting that his actions will fuel Oklahoma’s opioid crisis and unequivocally result in preventable deaths.
SB 574, which passed the state Legislature with strong bipartisan support, would give the Oklahoma Opioid Abatement Board additional flexibility in determining opioid abatement grant eligibility and would add public colleges and universities as eligible grant recipients.
“Oklahoma is in the throes of an opioid epidemic, but rather than addressing the problem, the governor continues to play political games,” Drummond said. “Since I took office, I have focused on getting opioid abatement funds into Oklahoma communities to provide recovery and prevention programs. Gov. Stitt is now stifling these desperately needed funds and the inevitable result is opioid deaths that are 100-percent preventable.”
Overdose is the leading cause of death in the United States for Americans ages 18 to 44. In Oklahoma, 1,325 individuals lost their lives from a drug overdose in 2023, the highest number to date.
The Oklahoma Opioid Abatement Board, which is housed in the Attorney General’s Office, awarded more than $12 million in grants last year from opioid lawsuit settlement funds. The board has voted to issue up to $29 million in grant awards this year.
“No one is immune to the threats posed by fentanyl and other opioids,” Drummond said. “Addiction does not discriminate. The governor’s failure to understand the problems Oklahoma is facing and his unwillingness to support measures that would curb our opioid epidemic are tragic.”
