This month, we look at abuse of opioid settlement funds, another state investing in the Norway prison model and a trans woman’s story about surviving solitary confinementWelcome Back MindSiters, This month, a woman tells her story of surviving solitary confinement with a little support from her mentor — Big Mama. Plus, millions of dollars in opioid settlement funds are being distributed and spent across the country with little oversight. To read more about Handlang’s time in solitary confinement in her own words, read her complete essay by clicking here. But many local leaders have little to no training in addiction policy and may lack robust local health departments and policy guardrails to assist them. In New York, government entities have collectively received about $3.1 billion in opioid settlement dollars, according to the Opioid Settlement Tracker, a comprehensive database of settlement funds.